Florida's property insurance reform bill SB 408 received approval on April 5 from its final Senate committee. In its wake came a frenzy of negative media coverage. A MiamiHerald.com headline said the bill "benefits the industry," presumably at the sole expense of the consumer. A story in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune boldly declared it is " … legislation intended to help Florida's struggling carriers, while offering consumers higher rates, limited rights to challenge carriers and the public burden of paying for sinkhole damage."

Here's the real story: The bill will increase competition by making Florida a less-onerous place to conduct insurance business, help return Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to its roots, and hopefully prevent sinkhole claims from going the way of PIP fraud.

This has to be one of the most fully vetted bills of the Florida 2011 legislative session. Prior to receiving a 9-3 approval in the committee meeting, it chalked up approximately 16 hours of Senate committee hearings and workshops, 70 amendments, and seven staff analyses. (The companion HB 803 passed by a vote of 12-3 in the House's Insurance and Banking Subcommittee.)

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