Fla. Legislature May Mull Deductible Issue Soon

By Matt Brady

NU Online News Service, Nov. 30, 7:25 p.m. EST?Florida lawmakers are expected to begin work in a few weeks on the thorny issue of how to help residents who face the prospect of paying multiple deductibles after their homes were damaged by more than one of the four hurricanes battering the state last summer.

A special session of the state legislature has been called for Dec. 13, and although a formal agenda has not yet been set, it is likely that the hurricane deductibles issue will be among the topics debated.

The topic may also arise tomorrow when a hearing by the state Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance is scheduled.

Julie Pulliam, a spokesperson for the American Insurance Association's Southeast Regional Office, said in the forefront among proposals being offered on the issue is a plan by Gov. Jeb Bush and state Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher to provide reimbursement for those policyholders who were required to pay multiple deductibles.

Ms. Pulliam said the state has estimated that the proposal would give refunds to approximately 29,000 policyholders who were required to pay multiple deductibles, although she noted that the number could change as more claims are filed.

The insurance industry, Ms. Pulliam said, "has agreed in principle that something should be done to help these policyholders."

She added however, that questions remain regarding the reimbursement proposal, specifically issues regarding the administration of the program and how the reimbursements would be funded. The industry, Ms. Pulliam said, would "prefer the state CAT fund, or some other state revenue."

Ms. Pulliam noted that other proposals for dealing with the subject have come from all directions. "Everybody is throwing these ideas out there," she said.

Gov. Bush, she noted, held a cabinet meeting last week to evaluate the alternatives before coming down in favor of the reimbursement plan. A slightly altered version of the that plan has also been proposed in which insurers would pay the reimbursements up front and then make up for the loss in their next rate filing, but Ms. Pulliam noted that such a plan would run afoul of state rate filing laws.

The agenda for the special session should be set by next week, and Ms. Pulliam said that if the hurricane deductible issue is left out of the schedule, it is unlikely that lawmakers will address it until next spring.

Insurers are hoping for a "very limited" agenda on insurance issues, she said, and would rather have lawmakers work on insurance issues next year. "We would prefer to wait for the regular session in March," she said.

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