Article
Courtesy of The Miami Herald
By Lawrence Mower
Published January 3, 2024
Tallahassee -- As state lawmakers
reconvene for the annual legislative session next month, one
of the top issues they’re hearing from constituents about is
the state’s homeowners insurance crisis.
Naturally, some lawmakers and officials have ideas.
Gov. Ron DeSantis, in the proposed budget he unveiled in
early December, wants to cut insurance taxes, which would
have a nominal effect on Floridians’ premiums. The state’s
insurance regulator, Mike Yaworsky, said in mid-December
that he was interested in legislation to increase insurers’
transparency.
In legislation filed so far, lawmakers are proposing other
solutions, including giving direct subsidies to struggling
Floridians and allowing the state-run Citizens Property
Insurance to cover more homes.
Whether any of these ideas will become reality is unknown.
House and Senate Republican leaders haven’t unveiled what,
if anything, they have planned for the upcoming session
related to insurance.
Much of the legislation filed so far is sponsored by
Democrats, who have offered up numerous proposals to address
the crisis in recent years. The Republicans who control the
Legislature haven’t allowed any of them to pass, however.
That’s likely to continue this year, Democratic lawmakers
concede.
“They didn’t listen to us then. I suffer no illusion that
they would listen to us now,” said Rep. Fentrice Driskell,
D-Tampa, the leader of the House Democrats.
Here are some of the ideas lawmakers have proposed so far:
HB 41: Mortgage Loans and Insurance Payments Grant
Program
Sponsored by: Rep. Jervonte “Tae” Edmonds, D-West Palm Beach
This bill would create a state-funded program offering
Floridians one-time grants to help pay for their insurance
or mortgages. Grants of $1,500 — or $2,500 for those 65 and
older — could be used to pay for a mortgage loan or
homeowners insurance. Floridians could also apply for grants
of equal amounts for an auto insurance payment.
SB 102/HB 1017: Property Insurance
Sponsors: Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens and Rep.
Jervonte “Tae” Edmonds, D-West Palm Beach
This wide-ranging legislation would make the state’s
insurance commissioner elected instead of appointed and
create a new six-member Property Insurance Commission to
comment on and review state data. The bill makes several
other changes, including limiting how insurers can deny a
claim and requiring insurers to reduce rates when the
Legislature passes laws reforming the industry.
SB 178: Resolution of Disputed Property Insurance
Claims
Sponsor: Sen. Tina Polsky, D-Boca Raton
With insurers blaming lawsuits for driving up Floridians’
premiums, this legislation would require insurers to
participate in mediation when policyholders have a dispute
about their claim.
HB 329/SB 860: Financial Assistance
for Homeowners
Sponsors: Rep. Jervonte “Tae” Edmonds, D-West Palm Beach and
Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-Miami Gardens
To prevent homeowner foreclosures and utility cutoffs, this
bill would give Floridians unspecified amounts of money to
help pay for utilities, mortgages and homeowners insurance
payments.
SB 348: Insurance Rebate Program
for Low-Income Seniors
Sponsor: Sen. Lauren Book, D-Davie
The leader of the Senate Democrats is also pitching a
program to help low-income seniors afford their homeowners
insurance. Under Book’s proposal, Floridians 65 and older
could apply to the state for an insurance rebate equal to
10% of their premiums. It would apply to seniors with an
income equal to or less than 200% of the federal poverty
level, or about $39,440 for a two-person household.
HB 565/SB 604: Coverage by Citizens Property Insurance
Corp.
Sponsors: Rep. Jim Mooney, R-Islamorada, and Sen. Ana Maria
Rodriguez, R-Doral
These lawmakers from South Florida are proposing increasing
the cap on the value of homes that state-run Citizens
Property Insurance can cover in Monroe and Miami-Dade
counties. The corporation could insure homes valued at up to
$1.5 million, instead of the current $1 million, and annual
rate increases in those counties would be capped at 10%.
SB 802/HB 655: Condominium Windstorm Pilot Program
Sponsors: Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez, R-Doral, and Rep.
Hillary Cassel, D-Dania Beach
To help condo owners absorb rising homeowners premiums,
these bipartisan lawmakers want to create a pilot program to
allow state-run Citizens Property Insurance to offer a
cheaper plan. When Citizens assesses a roof claim, it
calculates the premium based on the cost to replace the
roof. Under this pilot program, Citizens would be allowed to
assess roofs by the roof’s depreciation and condition, which
would result in a lower premium. The downside is that
homeowners would have to pay more out of pocket if their
roof is damaged in a storm.
SB 1070/HB 809: Personal Lines Residential Property
Insurance
Sponsors: Sen. Ileana Garcia, R-Miami, and Rep. Alina
Garcia, R-Miami
Like SB 802/HB 655, this proposal would reduce premiums by
allowing insurers to offer less coverage. In this case,
insurers could offer policies that insure an amount equal to
the unpaid principal balance of all mortgage loans on the
home. Insurers would be required to warn customers that in
the event of a loss to the home greater than the unpaid
balance on the mortgages, “YOU WILL INCUR SIGNIFICANT
FINANCIAL LOSSES.”
SB 1106/HB 889: Coverage by Citizens Property
Insurance Corp.
Sponsors: Sen. Ed Hooper, R-Palm Harbor, and Rep. Kim
Berfield, R-Clearwater
Citizens doesn’t insure homes outside of Miami-Dade and
Monroe counties if the cost to replace the home is more than
$700,000. These lawmakers want to change that by allowing
homes between $700,000 and $1 million to be insured with
Citizens if coverage can’t be found on the private market,
but with an additional surcharge of up to $2,500.
HM 371: Federal catastrophe pool
Sponsor: Rep. Kelly Skidmore, D-Boca
Raton
This isn’t a bill, but a memorial that urges Congress to
create a federal catastrophe pool to spread the risk of
major storms — an old idea in Florida. Skidmore’s proposal
doesn’t go into detail about how the federal fund would
work, but past ideas included having states with disaster
pools, such as Florida’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, combine
their resources, with the federal government acting as a
backstop in case the combined fund runs out. A national pool
hasn’t gained traction in Congress for several reasons, most
notably because states aren’t keen on subsidizing Florida’s
coastal growth. In 2007, the U.S. House passed a bill
authorizing the creation of a national catastrophe fund, but
it died after then-President George W. Bush threatened to
veto it.
|