At 114 pages, this year's homeowners' insurance reform package touches on many issues familiar to those who have followed the legislative course of homeowners' reforms since Governor Charlie Crist started his populist crusade after the 2006 general election. Once again, changes to the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation took center stage, although compared to earlier sessions, the changes were neither drastic nor unexpected.

In keeping with calling the bill the “Homeowners' Bill of Rights Act,” the legislation includes a variety of provisions designed to swing the regulatory oversight of the industry more in favor of the Office of Insurance Regulation and the Department of Financial Services. Many of these provisions had their genesis in the Senate Select Committee on Property Insurance Accountability. For example, greater scrutiny will be applied to the results of market conduct examinations, and the law will specify in greater detail what constitutes unfair trade practices and under what conditions a document can be declared a trade secret. Then there is more emphasis placed on the use of windstorm mitigation and the Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Methodology, including the use of the Florida Public Hurricane Loss Model. Here is a review — which is by no means comprehensive — of the major issues covered by the new property law.

Citizens