In late May the Florida Legislature passed two bills that were meant to stabilize the “troubled” property insurance market. If you have property or have talked to someone who has property insurance this year, you probably know what I am referring to. From an insurance agent’s perspective, this is the craziest market we have faced in quite some time and potentially ever. This makes the most recent legislative session more important than ever in affecting change that positively impacts property insurance consumers in our state. Here is a brief summary of the highlights of what was addressed:
- In the wake of the Surfside condo collapse, there is now mandatory milestone inspections and reserve requirements being addressed at the legislative level.
- There is now a $2 billion Reinsurance to Assist Policyholders (RAP) program for insurers. This is provided at no cost to the insurer which in turn requires participating insurers to reduce their rates for policyholders by June 30th, 2022. They can also defer until next year but must reduce rates by May 1st, 2023 if participating.
- Insurers may not refuse to write or renew policies solely based on a home’s roof age (for roofs that are less than 15 years old). A roof inspection must be allowed before requiring the replacement of a roof as a condition of writing or renewing the insurance policy. If the inspection shows that the roof has 5+ years of useful life then the insurer cannot refuse to write or renew the policy.
- There were various laws passed to address fraud and excessive litigation surrounding property insurance claims. Reach out to me if you’d like more specific details.
While we are yet to see if these changes will significantly affect our industry and the property insurance market, it is good to see that something is being done to curb the affects we have all felt in relation to our property insurance coverages. The storm is not over but we are continuing to weather it as best we can. If you have any further questions or wish to discuss further, I encourage you to reach out to me directly or connect with one of our Park & Associates Insurance Consultants.
Written by Robbie Korth
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Robbie Korth at rkorth@parkassociates.com