On May 2, the Senate passed SB 1770 by a 32-1 margin, sendingthe "major" property reform measure of the 2013 Florida Legislatureto the Governor's desk. It is presumed Governor Scott willsign the bill.

While the bill is a much lighter version than what appeared inthe Senate only two weeks ago, it is "major"nonetheless. There are several provisions that will havelittle to no bearing on agents. On the other hand, if youare a Citizens agent, particularly for personal lines, SB 1770promises to create significant changes to youroperation. A few examples  include:

• All personal lines multi-peril and wind-only risks will berequired to be submitted through the CitizensClearinghouse.  Although the bill does not stipulate aneffective date, it is widely believed that Citizens willtry to implement the     Clearinghouse by1//1/2014.           
• The 115% eligibility rule for Citizens new businesswill be enforced rigorously bythe Clearinghouse. All personal lines renewalswill also be required to be submitted through theClearinghouse, however, the risk can only be ruledineligible if the private carrier's quote is equal to or lowerthan that of Citizens (comparable coverage is stillrequired).
• A new 48-hour holding period is created by theClearinghouse. In other words, the applicant mustbe held in the Clearinghouse for 48 hours prior to beingoffered coverage by Citizens to provide private insurers adequatetime to review the risk. 
• Agents are provided unequivocal ownership ofexpirations both with Citizens and any carrierwhich participates in the Clearinghouse.
• Agent commissions paid by carriers participating in theClearinghouse must be equal to that paid by Citizens orthe usual and customary commission paid by the insurerfor that line of business, whichever is greater.
• A new member is added to Citizens Board of Governors,making their revised total, nine. The newaddition is appointed by the Governor (giving him a majorityover other appointing officers) and "serves solely toadvocate on behalf of the consumer."
• A new Inspector General's office will reside withinCitizens. The post will be appointed by theFinancial Services Commission, without regard topolitical affiliation, and report to the chair of theCitizens board. The significance of this development foragents is the new office will have the same wide-sweepingauthority it holds within other divisions of stategovernment. For Citizens, this meansthe Inspector General will likely review agent compliancewith the company's rules and procedures.

The bill is quite long and includes much more that agentsgenerally need to know. Your FAIA lobbying team has beenworking tirelessly and their soon-to-be published2013 Legislative Summary will go into great detail on SB 1770 andother important measures that impact independentagents. Of course the session isn't over quite yet, butthankfully, it's wrapping up. Stay tuned!