NU Online News Service, May 11, 1:22 p.m.EDT--Florida Governor Jeb Bush is set to sign legislationenacting a series of hurricane-related insurance reforms includinga section placing restrictions on non-renewals of homeownerspolicies.

Passed late last week by the state legislature, the bill, SB1486, is designed to resolve issues that arose in the wake of lastyear's string of major storms. A spokesman for the governor said heintends to sign the bill, although he has not yet actually receivedit from the legislature.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher commented that,"Following last year's devastating hurricanes, there was a cleardemand from storm victims for simpler insurance policies that wouldallow Floridians to better understand what they are buying. Thislegislation is a giant step forward in providing transparency andaccountability in homeowners insurance policies."

Insurance industry representatives said the legislationrepresents a partial victory, as some of the regulatory burdens itimposes are offset by improvements it makes for the marketplace interms of catastrophe protection.

It would bar insurers from non-renewing policies until at least90 days beyond the completion of storm repairs and require insurersto pay replacement costs to homeowners up front.

Insurers would also be required to provide homeowners with a"policy checklist" clearly outlining exactly what is and is notcovered, and to offer a range of hurricane deductibles, disclosingthe potential cost effects of each choice.

The bill also mandates that carriers increase the amount ofcoverage they offer to cover the costs of rebuilding a home to meetnew building codes from 25 percent to 50 percent. Also, a publichearing could be requested for any rate request exceeding 15percent.

However, the measure would also expand the current mediationprogram for claims disputes to allow commercial residentialinsureds to participate.

The legislation creates a low interest loan program offering upto $1 million for homeowners to make changes to their homes toreduce potential hurricane losses and requires insurers to notifycustomers what discounts are offered for making such changes.

A further change would reset the Florida Hurricane CatastropheFund retention level to $4.5 billion and apply that level to eachof the two largest storms of the season.

"Throughout the session, legislative leaders faced the difficulttask of crafting compromise legislation that would keep insurerswriting property insurance in Florida, but that also would respondto consumer concerns regarding insurance availability andconsumers' understanding of their homeowners policies," said CecilPearce, vice president of the southeast region for the AmericanInsurance Association.

"While we are concerned with some of the regulatory aspects ofthe bill, we nonetheless commend the leadership for the deliberateand thorough process that led to the passage of this compromisemeasure," he added.