From http://www.thefloridahurricanelawyer.com/blog/?p=24
Several bills are floating around the Florida legislature which deregulate the insurance industry in Florida or strip away vital rights held by insureds in disputes with their insurance carriers. The legislative session launched earlier this month with bills which allowed Citizens to raise its rates by as much as 25% each year, prohibited Citizens insureds from retaining a public adjuster to assist in the handling of their claim, and rewording the consumer protections contained within the bad faith statute. The most offensive bills so far are SB408, SB 1462, SB 1592, SB 1330 and SB 1714. You can track the progress of these bills and see the text of them here: http://www.flsenate.gov/session/bills
What has been most notable about this legislative session so far is that the insurance industry has chosen to take on public adjusters as a whole as a means to control what the industry deems to be rampant fraud and misrepresented claims. Curiously, coinciding with the introduction of these bills, a high profile arrest was made in order to support the industry's position. Considering that Citizens is seeking to ban its insureds from hiring a public adjuster, the timing is awfully convenient. Here is a link to the article.... http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2011-03-10/business/sfl-public-adjuster-arrested-insurance-fraud-link-031011_1_public-adjuster-insurance-fraud-policyholders-in-claims-disputes
Needless to say, these bills bear watching as they progress through their respective committees. There are a number of pro-consumer legislators (Most notably Representative Rick Kriseman, Senator Mike Fasano, and Representative Carlos Trujillo) who have been actively trying to alert the public of the threat to consumers that this proposed legislation would pose. Here is a link to a St. Petersburg Times article which discusses their efforts and their specific complaints about the bills which are currently pending: http://www.tampabay.com/news/politics/stateroundup/fasano-kriseman-outraged-over-bills-that-deregulate-florida-insurance/1158964
This entire situation bears watching as the passage of any of these bills could change the landscape of the property insurance industry and could significantly impact the duties and obligations of insurers and their insureds alike. So stay tuned!
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As a whole, real estate agents, homeowners, insurance agents, mortgage brokers, wind mitigators, inspectors, etc. need to make our opinion known.
If we have an increase in insurance premiums, expect a tidal wave of uninsured homes. Consider if a hurricane like Katrina hit us in the next few years. The amount of uninsured homes would be dramatically higher, devastation last longer and rebuilding immoble. I'm already paying $3300 a year for insurance for a home 55 years old and non flood zone. If I am feeling the pinch now, imagine a retiree who own outright or have a small mortgage. A fixed income is a fixed income. Their investment can be washed away and with no insurance - insurmountable loss.
Also consider those who are barely breaking even on their monthly payments vs monthly income. We will see a wave of foreclosures based on the hardship of not being able to keep paying for the insurance. Their monthly payments will go up if their insurance is escrowed in with the mortgage and taxes. To go from $1500/month to $1700/month is a huge difference in the long term or short term.
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