Insurance reform takes a backseat in Florida Legislature, Insurance Council continues to press forward with changes

As insurance reform loses momentum amongst legislators, the Florida Insurance Council says that it will continue pushing for major changes to the state’s regulations and the Citizens Property Insurance group. Reform has fallen to the wayside in the current session of the state’s Legislature, which will begin next week. While lawmakers focus more on budget and redistricting, the much needed insurance changes are not to be considered until the next legislative session, which will happen much later in the year. The Insurance Council is pushing for changes to the state’s…

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Insurance companies now face massive losses due to sinkholes in Florida

Sinkholes that are destroying Florida houses are now costing insurance companies in that state hundreds of thousands of dollars as claims begin rolling in. In fact, in three claims alone linked to sinkholes that cracked floors and broke water pipes, insurers had to pay out over $500,000. Among those three houses in question, none of the homeowners used the money to try to repair their homes. Instead, they are among the hundreds living in Florida’s “sinkhole alley” – which consists of the counties of Hillsborough, Hernando, Pasco, and Pinellas –…

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Florida legislators feeling pressure to solve the fraud plaguing the state’s insurance industry

Florida Governor Rick Scott is pressuring lawmakers to make changes to some of the state’s auto and property insurance laws. The Governor claims that these laws are each costing consumers millions of dollars. Legislators have been trying to find a resolution for the issue for over a decade but have so far been unable to make any headway. Governor Scott is now pushing for a solution to be found quickly to prevent further financial stresses falling upon consumers. State law requires Floridian drivers to purchase personal injury protection. The issue…

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Citizens board of governors submits new legislative agenda to Florida lawmakers

The governing board of Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has agreed on a new legislative agenda that could save the state-run insurance program more than $1.5 billion in insured losses. The board met with state legislators this week in Orlando to discuss the agenda, particularly what legislators can do to make the insurance program more efficient. The board expressed the importance of making cuts to the types of properties the program can insure and has begun pressuring lawmakers to hasten the rate at which premiums can rise. Earlier this year,…

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Florida legislators consider allowing surplus insurers to participate in Citizens Property Insurance Corp

In an effort to make Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. more sustainable in the future, lawmakers are now considering opening up the state-run insurance program to surplus carriers. Legislators believe that by allowing surplus insurers to participate, the program will go through a depopulation period as consumers take advantage of the wider variety in policies they have access to. Currently, the state-run program covers more than 1.5 million policyholders. With the program being so large, Governor Rick Scott believes that the only two solutions for sustainability lie in depopulating or…

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