Sen. Don Gaetz (R-Crestview) and Rep. Alex Andrade (R-Pensacola) have proposed legislation aimed at tackling Florida’s soaring property insurance costs. The bipartisan effort, known as SB 554/HB451, seeks to address what the lawmakers described as a crisis affecting residents and businesses across the state.
- The comprehensive legislation represents a significant shift in Florida’s approach to property insurance reform, focusing on systemic changes to rate-setting mechanisms and claims processing while increasing transparency in insurance company operations.
“Floridians pay far more for property insurance than anyone anywhere else in the nation,” the legislators stated in their joint announcement. The impact of these high rates extends beyond individual homeowners, with Sen. Gaetz pointing out that the crisis is actively deterring migration to Florida.
“High insurance costs make the Free State of Florida into the Unaffordable State of Florida for many seniors on fixed incomes trying to stay in their homes, young families including military families trying to buy their first homes and businesses of every size,” he explained.
The economic implications reach even further, according to Rep. Andrade, who highlighted the strain on public services. “The State Economist’s three-year forecast shows that our ability to pay the costs of public education, health care and other important expenses of state government are negatively affected by the increasing costs of property insurance.”
DETAILS: The proposed legislation introduces several key reforms. A cornerstone of the bill is the requirement for adjusters to share damage assessments in a machine-readable format, utilizing state-approved software to standardize repair cost estimates. This measure aims to expedite the claims process and reduce delays in settlements.
The bill also targets transparency in insurance company operations. Following revelations that some insurers have used related-party transactions to justify rate increases – with one company reportedly shifting over $100 million to co-owned subsidiaries – the legislation would require insurance companies to disclose any self-dealing with affiliated entities. Also, insurers must reveal executive compensation packages when requesting rate increases.
DIG DEEPER: Despite previous legislative attempts to control insurance rates by reducing litigation over the past two years, costs have continued to rise for eight consecutive quarters. The new bill addresses this by establishing a framework for sharing litigation costs between insurers and policyholders while also increasing penalties for insurance companies that delay paying settled claims.
- While acknowledging that there is “no silver bullet” solution, the sponsors emphasize that their approach goes beyond just limiting litigation. They stated, “Our bill tackles other drivers of insurance costs and provides a transparent framework for honest rate-setting and prompter payments.”