Northwest Florida legislators Sen. Don Gaetz and Rep. Alex Andrade have introduced legislation to “hold down” property insurance costs in Florida.
In a joint press release, the lawmakers laid out some of the details of SB 554/HB451 which would require insurance companies to pay businesses and families quickly, streamline the adjustment process, open the books of companies that ask for rate increases, and create a way for attorney fees to be paid by claimants and companies during the claims process.
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“High property insurance rates are one of the reasons in-migration has slowed,” Senator Gaetz said in the press release. “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.”
By streamlining the adjustment process, the bill proposes adjusters use software selected by the state’s insurance commission to keep updated data on market costs of repairs.
The bill also addresses rate increases by requiring companies to reveal self-dealing with related companies. According to the release, this would prevent companies from artificially depressing their financial state to justify rate increases. Companies would also face higher penalties for not paying settled claims in a prompt manner.
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Florida is one of the states in the U.S. with the highest property insurance rates with homeowners paying $3,340 per year on average in 2023, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
In recent years, the Florida legislature passed bills to discourage insurance litigation and reduce rate increases. Gaetz and Andrade say their proposed bill goes further.
“There is no silver bullet that will automatically drive down property insurance costs,” the sponsors said in the release. “But we need to do more than reduce litigation. Our bill tackles other drivers of insurance costs and provides a transparent framework for honest rate-setting and prompter payments.”
