Insurance

Reducing the cost of property insurance and increasing the resiliency of Florida’s infrastructure

Changes made in recent legislative sessions have helped to stabilize Florida’s insurance market, but the high cost of coverage is foremost in the minds of many Florida homeowners. Florida TaxWatch will continue to support efforts to increase competition, reduce frivolous lawsuits and litigation costs, reduce the size of the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, and expand the My Safe Florida Home and My Safe Florida Condo Programs and other home hardening programs and incentives.

LEGISLATION THAT PASSED

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation – SB 1028 has the goal of attempting to remove more policies from state-run Citizens, to continue to return it to the insurer of last resort. The bill creates two commercial line clearinghouses–one for authorized insurers and one for surplus lines (insurers that are not regulated like authorized insurers). New applications or renewals would first go through the authorized clearinghouse and if an equal or better policy is not offered within five days, the application would go through surplus lines. Applicants will have to accept an offer with “equal or better” coverage and a premium within 115% of the Citizens policy.  SB 1028 passed the House and Senate.

LEGISLATION THAT DID NOT PASS

Property Insurance Affiliates – HB 1399 creates new oversight requirements for property insurers’ transactions with affiliates, requiring fair and reasonable financial arrangements, mandatory registration for affiliates, and consideration of affiliate revenue in rate filings. Following reports that insurers in Florida shifted billions to affiliates while claiming storm-related losses, this legislation seeks increased oversight of property insurance company payments to affiliated, commonly owned entities. HB 1399 was passed by the full House.

Disputes with Citizens Property Insurance Corporation – HB 863 would require Citizens Property Insurance Corporation to offer and clearly disclose an arbitration option before the Division of Administrative Hearings for claim disputes. This would end Citizens’ ability to require policyholders to resolve disputes before the Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) without the policyholders’ consent. The bill sponsor believes Florida homeowners should not be subject to a separate system of justice simply because they are insured by a state created company. The bill was approved by the full House in Week 4, but the Senate companion did not move.

Residential Property Insurance – HB 767 will improve transparency and education for property insurance consumers. It would require the Office of Insurance Regulation to maintain a consumer resource center online, offering rate filings, market trends, mitigation credits, claim processes and consumer rights. Insurers would be prohibited from factoring the value of land into coverage or claim adjustments, with limited exceptions for shorelines or land modified by erosion or accretion. Insurers would have to notify consumers if they offer an enhanced discount for a roof system that uses a secondary water resistance. HB 767 was approved by the full House in Week 7.

Mandatory Human Reviews of Insurance Claim Denials – HB 527 authorizes carriers, insurers, and HMOs to use AI but not as the only basis for denial. It requires human professionals to verify claim details, policy terms, and AI outputs before denying or reducing payments. HB 527 passed the full House in Week 8. The Senate bill was never heard in committee.

My Safe Florida Condominium Pilot Program – This program was created in 2024 to provide eligible condominium associations free inspections and grant funding for wind mitigation improvements. SB 1706 expands the program, which is currently limited to condo associations located 15 miles inward of a coastline, to all condo properties in the state, providing that they were built before January 1, 2008 and at least 80 percent of the occupied units within the condominium are owned or occupied by a person or family whose annual income is at or below 80 percent of the area median income. The bill specifies that grant funds can only be used for mitigation improvements recommended in an inspection report that will result in a mitigation credit, discount or other rate differential. A condominium association receiving a grant is required to complete 100 percent of the opening protection improvements to the common elements which were recommended in the final inspection report.  SB 1706 passed the full Senate but was not taken up by House. In addition, these provisions were also in HB 1221 and SB 1452, larger bills relating to the Department of Financial Services. Although the House advanced their bill to the floor with zero “no” votes, it amended these condo provisions out of SB 1452, which passed.