The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation says a recent ruling by the states highest court regarding public insurance adjusters is not favorable for policyholders.
During the legislative session, lawmakers vowed that they were finally taking the necessary steps to start fixing the states battered property insurance market. Now, just a few months later, they are backpedaling from some of those decisions.
Florida Sen. Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, is calling for a repeal of this year’s massive property-insurance bill, SB 408, following the state insurer of last resort’s decision to file for an average 400+ percent rate increase for sinkhole coverage.
PropertyCasualty360.com’s Claims Channel Editor Christina Bramlet is twittering every day about breaking news and timely topics. Check out the latest claim-related tweets.
Forecasters say Florida is among the most likely states to get a hurricane landfall, and storm activity is supposed to be above normal, putting all property insurers in this extremely volatile market on notice.
Nearly three-quarters of Floridians say property insurance is getting more expensive, and more than 60 percent say coverage is harder to get, according to a Quinnipiac University poll.
Although Florida’s property insurance bill SB 408 became law May 17 upon the signature of Gov. Rick Scott, not all the provisions became effective that day.
Insurers are leafing through and interpreting the massive property insurance bill signed by Gov. Rick Scott, which addresses insurance issues related to replacement cost methodology, sinkholes, public adjusters, and claim filing periods.