Several ideas have been proposed by lawmakers to help the state repair its current crisis.
As Florida state lawmakers take on the annual legislative session, one of the top issues their constituents have been pushing to tackle has to do with the homeowners insurance crisis there.
Lawmakers and industry officials aren’t currently in alignment about the changes required for this outcome.
Governor Ron DeSantis already proposed a budget in December in which he intended to cut taxes to homeowners insurance. That said, this type of move would have only a minor impact on the amount Floridians pay in total for their policies every month. Mike Yaworsky, the insurance regulator in Florida, announced later that month that he was pursuing new legislation to boost transparency from insurers.
So far, the legislation that has been filed shows that lawmakers in Florida are looking into a large number of other solutions, including providing struggling residents with direct subsidies or providing Citizens Property Insurance – the state-run insurer of last resort in the state – to provide a larger number of homes with coverage.
It is unknown which – if any – of the proposed homeowners insurance ideas will become a reality.
The Republican leaders of the House and Senate have yet to reveal if they have any specific plans for this issue in the upcoming session. Much of the filed legislation for the home coverage market has been sponsored by Democrats. Over the last few years, they have put forth a spectrum of proposals with the intention of correcting this crisis. That said, the Legislature is controlled by Republicans, who haven’t allowed any of those proposals to pass.
That trend is only expected to continue in 2024.
“They didn’t listen to us then. I suffer no illusion that they would listen to us now,” said House Democrats leader Rep Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa)
Among the homeowners insurance ideas proposed so far include:
- HB 41: Mortgage Loans and Insurance Payments Grant Program
- SB 102/HB 1017: Property Insurance
- SB 178: Resolution of Disputed Property Insurance Claims
- HB 329/SB 860: Financial Assistance for Homeowners
- SB 348: Insurance Rebate Program for Low-Income Seniors
- HB 565/SB 604: Coverage by Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
- SB 802/HB 655: Condominium Windstorm Pilot Program
- SB 1070/HB 809: Personal Lines Residential Property Insurance
- SB 1106/HB 889: Coverage by Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
- HM 371: Federal catastrophe pool
