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Florida lawmakers passed a plan that could lead to larger rate increases for customers of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and steps to curb roof-damage claims and lawsuits.
Grappling with problems in the property-insurance market, Florida lawmakers Friday passed a plan that could lead to larger rate increases for customers of the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and steps to curb roof-damage claims and lawsuits.
But the plan was not as far-reaching as a Senate proposal that would have effectively shifted more costs to many homeowners when they sustain roof damage.
Senate Banking and Insurance Chairman Jim Boyd, R-Bradenton, said everybody “had to give a little bit” in negotiations over the bill (SB 76). But he said it would bolster an insurance market that has seen wide-ranging rate increases and policies pouring into Citizens Property Insurance.
Floridaâs property insurance revamped by lawmakers
The bill could lead to larger rate increases for customers of the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and steps to curb roof-damage claims and lawsuits.
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By Jim Saunders
Updated Apr. 30
TALLAHASSEE â Grappling with problems in the property-insurance market, Florida lawmakers Friday passed a plan that could lead to larger rate increases for customers of the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and steps to curb roof-damage claims and lawsuits.
But the plan was not as far-reaching as a Senate proposal that would have effectively shifted more costs to many homeowners when they sustain roof damage.
Florida Legislature Passes Major Changes to Auto, Property Insurance Markets
The actions follow weeks of back-and-forth debate on the proposals between the House and Senate chambers.
Stakeholders say neither of the potential new laws will do enough to accomplish lawmakers’ goals of reducing rates or weeding out fraud in their respective insurance industries. Both bills are now headed to Governor Ron DeSantis, who will have to sign them before they can become law.
The bill attempts to address some of the issues plaguing the state’s homeowners insurance market in which insurers lost more than $1.5 billion in last year. It passed Friday in the Senate by a vote of 35 to 5 and 75 to 41 in the House.
“I do believe it will help the market kind of rebuild itself,” Boyd, the bill sponsor, said.
The bill, however, drew criticism from some lawmakers who said it went too far and others who said it didn’t go far enough. Sen. Annette Taddeo, D-Miami, complained about the prospect of increased rate hikes for Citizens customers.
“There is no sugar-coating this,” Taddeo said. “It literally is going to raise the rates.”
But Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, said the bill will not fix financial problems in the insurance market.
“We are on an unsustainable trajectory,” Brandes said. “This bill is 40 percent of what it needed to be.”