Florida HB 803, the comprehensive property insurance package beingdebated in Tallahassee, has passed the Florida House EconomicAffairs Committee by a vote of 11-7.

However, according to attorney Megan Grant of Colodny, Fass, Talenfeld, Karlinsky &Abate, P.A., who attended the meeting, the bill now has anumber of amendments. Grant said that of the 17 amendments thatwere discussed, nine were adopted, including amendments that:

• Clarify an exception to licensure exemption for publicadjusters.
• Include language from HB 855 about expedited reinsurancepass-throughs.
• Address the Insurance Capital Build-Up Incentive Program andprovides the ability for insurers to renegotiate the terms ofsurplus notes under certain circumstances.
• Provide for reasonable costs to be charged for private sectoraccess of the public hurricane loss projection model; provides thatsuch fees shall not apply to access and use of the model by theOffice of Insurance Regulation.
• Provide that any notice of a property insurance claim must bemade within four years after the date of loss that caused thecovered damage. The amendment expands applicability to all claims,rather than just hurricane claims, and increases the time fromthree years to four years as previously existed in CS/HB 803.
• Provide that any notice of claim for sinkhole damage must bemade within four years after the policyholder knew or reasonablyshould have known about the sinkhole loss.
• Reduce the amount of notice required to non-renew, cancel orterminate a policy from 180 days to 120 days for thosepolicyholders who have been insured with the insurer for at leastthe five-year period immediately prior to the date of the writtennotice.
• Require an insurer to obtain prior approval before implementinga rate increase for property insurance by bringing back themoratorium of use-and-file until May 1, 2012.
• Change the statute of limitation on property insurance claimsfrom five years to six years from the date of loss.

The companion to HB 803 is SB408 sponsored by Sen. Garrett Richter, R-Naples. SB408 is currently on the Senate floor. If passed by both chambersand signed by Gov. Rick Scott, the bill would become effectiveimmediately.