Florida lawmakers are a step closer to passing a large insurance bill to reform the state's last-resort insurer.

The Florida House on April 30 passed an amended version of Senate bill 1770 to change what properties can be underwritten by Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

Still, there are many provisions to be worked out between the state Senate and House.

Donovan Brown, state government relations counsel for the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, says the bill is “another incremental step forward in the attempt to make Citizens the insurer of last resort by reducing the amount of policies entering into our bloated residual marketplace.”

Citizens has grown to become the largest property insurer in the state.

Basically, the Senate and House agree on two major components found in each bill—the appointment of an inspector general to keep an eye on Citizens' operations and the creation of a clearinghouse in an effort to keep policies in the private market.

The clearinghouse would allow new and renewed policies to be shopped to private insurers before landing at Citizens. A comparative rate analysis would be generated.

Brown says the bills (The House basically amended SB 1770 with its own version, HB 909) agree on nearly 20 provisions, but about three dozen more are different or aren't included in the Senate bill.

Among the provisions to be hashed out concern what properties can be taken by Citizens in terms of location and insured value. The House bill would ban Citizens from writing any structure with a value of more than $1 million starting in 2014. The cap would be lowered gradually to $700,000 in 2017.

The House bill also has no language on rates. The Senate bill outlines a plan to keep the 10-percent glide path of rate increases adopted previously. Homes taken out of Citizens by the private market but then return within 18 months would also hop back on the glide path.

However, the Senate bill would require Citizens' rates to be actuarially sound for new business starting Jan. 1, 2014.

“Much work still needs to be done to address Citizens' rate inadequacy in order to depopulate Citizen's policy count and reduce the potential for a Citizens 'hurricane tax' to negatively impact Florida consumers,” Brown says.

Nearly all Florida policyholders can be assessed by Citizens in the event it needs money to pay claims—amounting to a “hurricane tax.”

The R Street Institute, a libertarian think tank, says the Citizens reform bill “will not stop the bleeding, but it is a good start in slowing it down.”

The Senate will now consider the House's amendments. They could bounce the bill back to the House again if changes are made. The Legislative Session ends May 3.

“The Senate would do well to concur quickly and send the bill to Gov. Scott's desk,” adds R Street Florida Director Christina R. Camara.

Interestingly, the House defeated a stand-alone clearinghouse bill that would have allowed policies to be placed into the surplus market. Lawmakers also considered this option a year ago. It too fizzled.

Special Reports /

Florida Lawmakers Advancing Bills to Reform Last-Resort Insurer

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