Bill Watch

Recap of Week 8 & Preview of Week 9 of Session

This was supposed to be the last week of session for the Florida Legislature but House and Senate leaders late last Thursday announced they’re still far apart on a new state budget, capping a week that The Floridian headlined as The Wheels Are Off in the Florida Capitol.

Senate President Ben Albritton, April 24, 2025. Courtesy, The Florida Channel

Senate President Ben Albritton said he was “disappointed to report we have not yet reached an agreement on allocations with the House,” over how to bridge the nearly $4.5 billion divide between the two chambers’ budget plans for the next fiscal year. He lauded House Speaker Daniel Perez as a “good partner.” Perez, however, blamed the Senate for a lack of compromise and “pathological overspending,” in a fiery speech on the House floor. We don’t know if the two leaders will extend the session for a few days beyond this Friday’s (May 2) scheduled end or send lawmakers home to return later in May.

House Speaker Daniel Perez, April 24, 2025. Courtesy, The Florida Channel

In the meantime, Perez and his committee chairs last week chopped up a series of bills into pieces, creating “a whole slew of revamped and almost totally new bills. 1 bill went from 3 pages to nearly 600,” as leverage, wrote Capitol reporter Gary Fineout posting on X. That includes Albritton’s Rural Renaissance plan passed in the Senate to boost services and economic development in rural areas. It also includes a series of pro-litigation insurance measures, as you’ll read below in this Bill Watch. The Senate is not scheduled to take up any property insurance bills, at least today and tomorrow (April 29).

As former Associated Industries President & CEO Jon Shebel reminded me in my latest Florida Insurance Roundup podcast, “In the final two or three days of the legislature, there’ll be amendment after amendment that they try to sneak on to various bills to do the same thing. It’s what the trial lawyers do every session. It never stops. It never ends,” he said. Jon should know – he shepherded the very successful Workers’ Compensation reform efforts 20 years ago in Florida that have resulted in one of the lowest workers’ comp insurance rates in the country. The parallels – and lessons learned – that we discuss on the podcast apply to our 2022-2023 property insurance consumer reforms and should be instructive to this legislature as they consider changing them this week.

The James Madison Institute has posted a short video featuring former Florida House Speaker Paul Renner on how Florida’s litigation reforms are working and how undoing these reforms, as some in the legislature want to do, would take us backward resulting in resumption of rate increases. The Floridian article above also discusses the lost faith and confidence that Speaker Perez, an attorney among a group of lawyer lawmakers pushing pro-litigation reform, is suffering as a result.

Also last Thursday: the House Healthcare Budget Subcommittee ended its meeting after just 10 minutes, with Chair Alex Andrade declaring the Hope Florida investigation over since none of the three witnesses appeared to testify. To close the tumultuous day, Senate Minority Leader Jason Pizzo (D-Sunny Isles Beach) announced on the Senate floor that he was leaving the Democratic Party, declaring the party “dead,” and said he has registered as a no party affiliation voter. Pizzo, whose seen as a likely gubernatorial candidate in 2026, was quickly replaced as minority leader by Senator Lori Berman (D-Boynton Beach) and later criticized by state party chair Nikki Fried.

Meanwhile, on the Florida State University campus, the student union will reopen today (April 28) from 3-5pm for a special remembrance of the victims of the April 17 massacre that killed two people and injured six others. Additional operating hours for this week of final exams are to be announced.

Some bills below have been combined with others in the hope of increasing the success of passage; others have been moved into our “Bills Not in Play” section, while many there already are now marked “dead.” And a couple passed this last week and await the Governor’s signature. Please let us know if we can add any additional information for you.

“Updated” bills are so noted with updates within each bill noted in blue font:

Property Insurance – Litigation & Claims:
Property Insurance Claims Dead
Court Judgment Interest Rates and Insurance Reports and Practices Dead
Attorney Fee Awards in Insurance Actions Updated
Insurance (Truenow) Dead
Insurance (Berfield) Updated & Dead
Litigation Financing Dead
Mandatory Human Reviews of Insurance Claim Denials Dead
Evidence of Damages to Prove Medical Expenses in Personal Injury or Wrongful Death Suits Updated

Property Insurance – Regulation:
Office of Insurance Regulation Dead
Insurance and Hurricane Mitigation Grants Dead
Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form Dead
Property Insurer Financial Strength Ratings Dead
Residual Market Insurers Updated
Insurer Accountability to Insureds Updated & Dead
Roof Contracting Updated
Insurance Research Updated

Property Insurance – Citizens Property Insurance Corporation:
Coverage by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Dead

Property Insurance – Condominiums:
Condominium Associations Updated

Automobile Insurance:
Motor Vehicle Insurance Updated & Dead
Attorney Fees and Costs for Motor Vehicle Personal Injury Protection Benefits Dead

Preparedness & Resilience:
Resilient Buildings Dead
Nature-based Methods for Improving Coastal Resilience
Emergency Preparedness and Response

Property Insurance – Litigation & Claims:

(UPDATED) Attorney Fee Awards in Insurance Actions ̶ HB 1551 by Rep. Hillary Cassel (R-Dania Beach), an attorney, and the similar SB 426 by Senator Jonathan Martin (R-Fort Myers), another attorney, would essentially undo the 2023 session’s elimination of one-way attorney fees signed into law under HB 837. This past Friday, April 25, HB 1551’s provisions were folded into SB 832, a totally unrelated phosphate mine liability bill that has the Senate President’s support, has passed the Senate, and awaits action in the House. This is generally seen as a House negotiating tactic that the phosphate bill will die unless tort reform is negotiated by the Senate, something it has shown no interest in doing to this point across multiple bills, including this one. SB 832 is now headed back to the Senate.

Also on Friday, Governor DeSantis reiterated his pledge to veto any bill that rolls back the legal reforms of 2022 & 2023 that he signed into law. “If you didn’t know anything else about the House and you just saw what they were pushing, you would think that they are all sponsored by Morgan & Morgan,” DeSantis said in an interview with a Jacksonville television. “You might as well as put the billboard on the top of the Florida House of Representatives.”

Citizens Property Insurance has done its own analysis of the impact of HB 1551, finding it “effectively reinstates the one-way attorney’s fee provision… because HB 1551 incorrectly measures a ‘win’ at trial.” Citizens sites an analysis by former Florida Supreme Court Justice Ricky Polston that explores exactly how HB 1551 would work as written. The Citizens analysis concludes: “Complete trial victories happen, but often the winner is the party who gets a verdict closest to its pre-trial expectation. Under HB 1551, the winner, or ‘prevailing party,’ at trial is measured against the insurance company’s offer only; the policyholder’s pre-trial demand is completely disregarded. Further, HB 1551 adds the policyholder’s attorney’s fees and costs to the judgment, all but guaranteeing the policyholder will recover fees in most cases.” Read More (Return to Top of List)

(UPDATED) Evidence of Damages to Prove Medical Expenses in Personal Injury or Wrongful Death Suits ̶ HB 947 by Rep. Omar Blanco (R-Miami) and SB 1520 by Senator Erin Grall (R-Fort Pierce) are pro-litigation measures. HB 947 as originally filed at the beginning of session provoked business community and other leaders to vehemently oppose its provisions which would reverse the impactful 2023 tort reform legislation by repealing parts of the accuracy in damages law while changing other parts. In essence, the 2023 tort reform requires juries to see all the relevant medical costs versus the often inflated “sticker price” of medical care which could lead to higher damage awards, increasing medical malpractice insurance premiums. Former House Speaker Paul Renner, who presided over the 2022-2023 litigation reforms, urged lawmakers to vote “no” on HB 947 in an explosive tweet on April 3, warning “Billboard lawyers want those savings back in their pockets.”

Prior to this past Friday, April 25, the provisions of HB 1551 in the above section had been included here in HB 947. Former Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty testified before the Judiciary Committee that returning to the old attorney fee scheme would send the wrong message to reinsurers and market investors, leading to rate increases in reinsurance and ultimately to policyholders.

Then on Friday, another reorganization of the bill occurred to improve its chances of passage. Like HB 1551, this bill’s provisions were also placed into SB 832, the totally unrelated phosphate mine liability bill that has the Senate President’s support, has passed the Senate, and awaits action in the House. This is generally seen as a House negotiating tactic that the phosphate bill will die unless tort reform is negotiated by the Senate, something it has shown no interest in doing to this point across multiple bills, including HB 947’s counterpart, SB 1520. So the Senate must now take up the revamped SB 832.

Also this past Friday, the governor’s legislative affairs director shared in a post on X an email from Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky, containing highlights of his Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) analysis of HB 947, with the HB 1551 provisions. Yaworsky wrote that “HB 947 threatens to dismantle the hard-won progress achieved through Florida’s historic tort reform efforts in 2022 and 2023. These reforms were pivotal in stabilizing our insurance sector after years of unsustainable litigation-driven losses.”

The rest of the Commissioner’s email reads:

Specifically, HB 947 proposes to:

Return to a legal framework that incentivizes aggressive litigation tactics;
Remove the practical application of offer of judgment statutes, eliminating tools that currently encourage early and fair settlements;
Expand the admissibility of inflated medical expenses, which will likely inflate damage awards and claims costs;
And signal to capital markets and reinsurers that Florida is backtracking—undermining investor confidence in our risk environment.

Since the 2022–2023 reforms, Florida has seen measurable and unprecedented improvements:

Reinsurance rates have declined. In 2024, risk-adjusted costs dropped by 1.70%—a stark reversal from the 27.03% increase in 2022.
Twelve new insurers have entered the Florida market since the reforms—an unmistakable vote of confidence in our stabilized landscape.
Lawsuit filings are down 23% year-over-year, reducing systemic legal pressure on carriers.
Homeowners are seeing relief:
- 19 insurers have approved rate reductions;
- 37 insurers filed no increase at all;
- And per S&P Global, Florida had the lowest average homeowners insurance rate increase in the nation for 2024.

Based on market history and regulatory experience:

Insurance rates would again increase at a pace that Florida consumers cannot bear.
Such premium impacts would lead to a marketplace where insurers would be less likely to remain and grow. This ultimately leaves consumers, once again, facing fewer and fewer options at higher and higher costs.
Citizens Property Insurance, the state-backed insurer of last resort, will again swell in market share—placing billions in contingent liability on Florida taxpayers.

In conclusion, HB 947 does not “balance the scales.” It resurrects the very legal incentives that made Florida an outlier in litigation and a cautionary tale where the whims of powerful interests outweigh the insurability of the public.

A vote for HB 947 is a vote to:

Raise rates on Florida families,
Clog the courts with profit-driven lawsuits,
Chill private investment in our state, and
Shift financial risk back onto the public.

Yaworsky concluded, writing “Florida cannot afford to go back. The very reforms that have restored market stability risk being dismantled. This is not risk management ̶ it’s policy-induced crisis creation.” (Return to Top of List)

Property Insurance – Regulation:

(UPDATED) Residual Market Insurers ̶ HB 643 by Rep. John Snyder (R-Stuart) was resurrected last Tuesday, April 22, with new language from HB 881 regarding affiliate relationships of insurance companies. The language has changed somewhat and applies to affiliate fees for only admitted property insurance companies and not the surplus lines carriers. Added back into this bill is the repeal of the diligent effort required for agents to place business in the surplus lines market. The bill was then retitled to “financial services.” The bill:

Authorizes the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) to process background checks for insurance personnel.
Requires fair, documented affiliate compensation, including Managing General Agents (MGAs); authorizes the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) to require fee-for-service model beginning July 2026; requires OIR to approve payments, dividends, and capital transfers to affiliates.
Requires all affiliate payments to comply with new standards.
Removes the definition of “diligent effort” relating to surplus lines.
Revises surplus lines eligibility by eliminating the requirement that agents seek coverage from authorized insurers before placing coverage in the surplus lines market, replacing it with a standard that allows export if the coverage is not generally available from authorized insurers; clarifies that the full amount of insurance may be exported without layering; and retains the required disclosure to insureds.
Authorizes Citizens Property Insurance to offer policyholders the option, at issuance or renewal, to resolve claim disputes through arbitration before the Division of Administrative Hearings, with specific notice and selection requirements.
Reduces the coursework requirement for general lines agent licensure from 200 to 60 hours.

Please see the bill analysis from the Tuesday April 22, 2025 Commerce Committee. There is no corresponding identical bill in the Senate so we are unable to conjecture if this bill will become law upon the session’s adjournment.

Former Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, in a column last week titled Let Insurance Reforms Work, is critical of both HB 643 and HB 947 in the prior section.

Although the current Diligent Effort requirement is not a perfect way to stop surplus lines carriers from encroachment on the admitted (regulated) market, if it gets repealed, it would blur the line and result in an unlevel playing field in my opinion. We can only hope our surplus lines players will be respectful of the admitted lines being the first line of risk coverage. I’ve been a longtime supporter of keeping the firewall between surplus and admitted lines, and we hope the legislature will be thoughtful and show care in this regard. Read More (Return to Top of List)

(UPDATED) Roof Contracting ̶ SB 1076 by Senator Stan McClain (R-Ocala) and the identical HB 715 by Rep. Juan Porras (R-Miami) expand the definition of a “roofing contractor” to include the evaluation and enhancement of roof-to-wall connections for structures with wood roof decking. SB 1076 is now on its way to the Governor for his expected signature. The bill would allow roofing contractors to install hurricane straps and clips, something that is currently considered structural work to be performed only by building contractors. The measure reflects proposed changes by the Florida Roofing & Sheetmetal Contractors Association and the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors. You can read more in the Insurance Journal. The bill also limits the current right for residential property owners to cancel a roof replacement or repair contract within 10 days of signing the contract or the official start date by limiting it to contracts signed within 30 days after a declared state emergency. (Return to Top of List)

(UPDATED) Insurance Research ̶ SB 114 by Senator Jay Trumbull (R-Panama City) and the similar HB 1097 by Rep. Hillary Cassel (R-Dania Beach) would rename the Florida Catastrophic Storm Risk Management Center to the Florida Center for Excellence in Insurance and Risk Management and move it from Florida International University to Florida State University. Further, the bill would:

Transfer the public hurricane loss projection model from FIU to FSU as well.
Require the center to use the public hurricane loss projection model when necessary.
Require the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) to contract with the center to manage the public hurricane loss projection model.
Require the center to collaborate with OIR to produce an annual report analyzing the property insurance market in this state.

SB 114 is now on its way to the Governor. (Return to Top of List)

Property Insurance – Condominiums:

(UPDATED) Condominium Associations ̶ HB 913 by Rep. Vicki Lopez (R-Miami) is a 99-page bill yet again refining Florida’s condominium laws but with one striking provision: It bars Citizens from providing coverage to condominiums that fail to comply with laws requiring associations to fully budget for future building repairs after a milestone inspection. It also allows associations to take on loans or levy special assessments “without the approval of the membership” to pay for the repairs, along with other provisions. It allows insurance companies to price coverage on the replacement value of the property “as determined by an independent insurance appraisal or update of a previous appraisal…and must be determined every 3 years, at a minimum.”

This House bill has received some public pushback from a few Senate lawmakers. The comparable Senate bills, SB 1742 by Senator Jennifer Bradley (R-Fleming Island) and SB 1600 by Senator Kristen Aston Arrington (D- Kissimmee) don’t have the Citizens prohibition. Both Lopez’ and Bradley’s bills allow condo association members to vote to seek lines of credit, in place of reserves, to fund maintenance and repairs. Bradley’s bill would also authorize a condo board to invest its reserve funds. It would also require creation of a standard inspection form with specific items and establish a statewide database of buildings subject to inspection.

SB 1742 is awaiting a hearing on the Senate floor. You can read more about it in this latest April 22 bill analysis. HB 913 was heard and passed out of the House on Wednesday (April 23). You can read more about it in this latest April 17 bill analysis. The Wall Street Journal last week (April 22, 2025) published Why Florida’s Condo Owners Are So Desperate to Sell on how special assessments, insurance increases resulting from unverified building integrity, and limited financing options have elevated costs beyond what some can bear. Governor DeSantis has expressed his preference for SB 1742, while criticizing HB 913.

More than half of the 18,468 condominium buildings insured by Citizens are located in Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties. Per published news articles, approximately 12,000 (3 stories or higher) are required to comply but only 4,096 have done so as of February, according to state officials who said compliance is self-reported and therefore difficult to verify. (For more, read Plea for Condominium Relief Reflected in Bills from our March 3 newsletter.)

Other condominium bills moving through the legislature:

SB 592 by Senator Tom Leek (R-Ormond Beach) would restrict the use of grant funds in the My Safe Florida Condo Pilot Project to those buildings three stories or higher, to help pay for structural fortification against storms. The bill will be heard on the Senate floor tomorrow (Tuesday, April 29, 2025). The House has a similar bill, HB 393 that unanimously passed the full House last Wednesday (April 23). In all, Florida legislators have been considering 15 bills to revive program that helps homeowners with storm prep work, including enhanced funding of the My Safe Florida Home program, for which the Governor has asked the legislature for $600 million in funding.
SB 948 (Real Property and Condominium Flood Disclosures) by Sen. Bradley requires landlords to disclose flood propensity of real property. It also broadens out last year’s passed bill (HB 1049) and would require all sellers to disclose past flooding to buyers. It was passed unanimously by the full Senate; its comparable House bill, HB 1015, is awaiting passage by the full House. (Return to Top of List)

Preparedness & Resilience:

Emergency Preparedness and Response ̶ SB 180 by Senator Nick DiCeglie (R-Pinellas County) and the comparable HB 1535 by Rep. Fiona McFarland (R-Sarasota) address needed changes to emergency preparedness, response, and recovery identified after 2024’s Hurricanes Debby, Helene, and Milton. HB 1535 is still waiting to be heard by the full House. SB 180 passed the Senate unanimously and still awaits action by the House. Senate President Ben Albritton described SB 180 as “robust” in this press release.

Both the Senate and the House bills:

Require local governments each year to designate at least one debris management site and develop post-storm staffing plans.
Require local governments to develop post-storm permitting processes for homeowners and businesses.
Prohibit local governments from increasing fees for building permits and inspections for 180 days after emergencies are declared for hurricanes or tropical storms.
Require local governments establish mutual-aid agreements to bring in help outside their area if needed.

The Senate bill would also require the Department of Environmental Protection to waive or reduce local financial match requirements for beach renourishment projects from Debby, Helene, and Milton. You can read the Senate bill analysis from April 3 for more details.

The House bill would also prohibit counties from imposing moratoriums on rebuilding under disaster declarations from Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton and stop governing bodies from imposing impact fees if rebuilding doesn’t change land-use designations. Rebuilding can also have up to a 130% larger footprint than the pre-hurricane homesteads under the House proposal, allowing for home elevation that often requires it, be it a new external staircase or more space for utilities. The House bill would require all hoisting equipment to be secured 24 hours before anticipated storm impacts, including setting crane towers in a “weathervane position.” This was included as a response to a crane collapse into a St. Petersburg office building during Milton’s high winds. You can read the very latest House bill analysis from April 18 for more details. (Return to Top of List)

Nature-based Methods for Improving Coastal Resilience ̶ SB 50 by Senator Ileana Garcia (R-Miami) and HB 371 by Rep. Jim Mooney, Jr. (R-Islamorada) would require the Florida Flood Hub for Applied Research and Innovation to develop guidelines and standards for “green and gray infrastructure” to improve coastal resilience to storms. It would also require the Department of Environmental Protection to adopt rules for nature-based methods for coastal resilience and require a statewide feasibility study with the Department of Financial Services Division of Insurance Agent and Agency Services on the value of applying those methods. Both bills still await final House floor action. SB 50 unanimously passed the full Senate on March 19 and is in House messages. The comparable HB 371 passed the State Affairs Committee on March 20 and is awaiting consideration by the full House. Whichever version passes would then head to the Governor for signature. (Return to Top of List)

Property Insurance – Litigation & Claims:

Dead Mandatory Human Reviews of Insurance Claim Denials ̶ SB 794 by Senator Jennifer Bradley (R-Fleming Island) defines “qualified human professional” and requires an insurance company’s decision to deny claims to be reviewed, approved, and signed off on by the professional. The bill passed unanimously in its March 25 hearing before the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee. Its second of three committee hearings was scheduled for the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government which has no more meetings in this session.

It prohibits artificial intelligence, machine learning algorithms, and automated systems from serving as the basis for denying claims. Of note: Section (4) In all denial communications to a claimant, and insurer shall: (a) Clearly identify the qualified human professional who reviewed the denial decision. There is a comparable House bill (HB 1555) by Rep. Cassel that has yet to receive a hearing. (Return to Top of List)

Dead Property Insurance Claims ̶ SB 1508 by Senator Tom Leek (R-Ormond Beach) and the similar HB 1087 by Rep. Randy Maggard (R-Dade City) remove the existing alternative procedure for resolving disputed residential property insurance claims (mediation) and replaces it with a mandatory one. These bills are dead having never received an initial hearing. Read More (Return to Top of List)

Dead Court Judgment Interest Rates and Insurance Reports and Practices ̶ HB 451 by Rep. Alex Andrade (R-Pensacola) and the similar SB 554 by Senator Don Gaetz (R-Pensacola) would essentially undo the 2023 tort reform under HB 837 that eliminated one-way attorney fees for plaintiff attorneys and reverts to something similar to previous attorney fee calculations under SB 76 that were part of the 2021 reforms. These bills are dead having never received an initial hearing. Read More (Return to Top of List)

Dead Insurance ̶ SB 230 by Senator Keith Truenow (R-Tavares) would put new restrictions on bad faith claims by first requiring a court ruling and final judgment that an insurance company breached the policy contract before a bad faith claim could be filed. This bill is dead having never received an initial hearing. Read More (Return to Top of List)

(UPDATED) Dead Insurance ̶ HB 1047 by Rep. Kim Berfield (R-Clearwater) is a wide-ranging bill that touches on various aspects of Florida’s insurance laws. HB 1047 is comparable to SB 230 by Senator Truenow above and SB 790 by Senator Bradley, which is also not in play. A new version of HB 1047 added a provision making it easier for liability lawsuits to be filed. The new language shrinks the notice requirement and timeline for insurers to react to a lawsuit. It passed the House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee on March 27 on a 12-6 vote, with most Democrats opposing the bill. The bill’s next and last stop was to be in the House Commerce Committee which is not expected to meet anymore during this session. Read More (Return to Top of List)

Dead Litigation Financing ̶ SB 1534 by Senator Jay Collins (R-Tampa) picks up where past efforts in recent sessions made no progress in regulating third-party funding of lawsuits against businesses, including insurance companies. This bill is dead having never received an initial hearing and had no House companion bill. Read More (Return to Top of List)

Property Insurance – Regulation:

(UPDATED) Dead Insurer Accountability to Insureds ̶ HB 881 by Rep. Griff Griffiths (R-Bay County) was supported by the CFO’s office and contained many consumer protection provisions. The version released April 1 has anything but and in fact, has provisions that would inhibit a vibrant competitive market, not reduce rates, and thwart the market momentum currently in place. It adds language that would require insurance companies to provide more details on their affiliate relationships (including Managing General Agents) and allow regulators much greater powers, including even determining the amount of payments and dividends allowed. When weighing whether a fee or commission is fair and reasonable, OIR must look at the actual cost of the service the affiliate provided to the insurer, the financial condition of both companies, the level of debt, the amount and purpose of payments and dividends, whether the contract benefits the insurer, and other information the office needs to make the determination. We recommend that you peruse the proposed committee substitute that became the new bill version. It contains some very charged language as well, including “The Legislature finds that criminal activity of insurers poses a particular danger to the residents of this state.” Many are shaking their heads in disbelief at this defaming characterization within formal bill drafting. This bill is now dead, with its affiliate relationship requirements now part of HB 643 (in the “Bills in Play” section above). (Return to Top of List)

Dead Office of Insurance Regulation ̶ SB 1656 by Senator Jay Collins (R-Tampa) will not be heard this session as the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government has no more meetings. An earlier version of HB 1429 by Rep. Tom Fabricio (R-Miami Lakes) that covers a variety of issues in different insurance lines is stalled as well in the House, having never received a hearing and never having had the language of HB 881 above officially added to it. The original version of HB 1429 proposed regulatory measures intended to improve transparency and target fraudulent practices without overburdening insurance companies. You can read more in the HB 1429 bill analysis produced on April 2. (Return to Top of List)

Dead Insurance and Hurricane Mitigation Grants ̶ SB 1740 by Senator Blaise Ingoglia (R-Spring Hill) and the identical HB 1433 by Rep. Yvette Benarroch (R-Marco Island) cover both insurance regulation and wind mitigation efforts. These bills are dead. SB 1740 is awaiting its second of three committee stops in the Senate Appropriations Committee on Agriculture, Environment, and General Government which has no more meetings scheduled this session. HB 1433 was postponed in its last committee on April 22, marking the end of the road for this bill as well.

It specifies that hurricane mitigation grants funded through the My Safe Florida Home Program may be awarded only to projects that will result in rate credits or discounts. On the regulation side, it increases the Certificate of Authority minimum surplus requirements from $15 million to $35 million for not wholly owned subsidiaries of foreign insurers; from $7.5 million to $10 million for carriers offering only sinkhole coverage; and from $10 million to $12.5 million for carriers offering only renter’s insurance. It also increases the lookback period from 2 years to 5 years for Directors and Officers of insolvent companies and adds attorneys in fact to the lookback period; it prohibits future service as a director of a reciprocal, carrier, MGA, or affiliated entity; but does not change the director’s burden for proving ‘not at fault’ past service. (Return to Top of List)

Dead Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form ̶ SB 1596 by Senator Nick DiCeglie (R-St. Petersburg) authorizes the Governor and Cabinet sitting as the Financial Services Commission to incorporate flood mitigation criteria into the uniform mitigation verification inspection form. The current form includes only wind mitigation criteria. This bill is dead having never received an initial hearing and had no House companion bill. (Return to Top of List)

Dead Property Insurer Financial Strength Ratings ̶ SB 792 by Senator Jennifer Bradley (R-Fleming Island) would require annual insurance reports prepared by the Office of Insurance Regulation for the Legislature and the Governor to include financial strength ratings of property insurance companies issued by third-parties whose fees are not paid for by insurance companies. This bill is dead having never received an initial hearing and had no House companion bill. (Return to Top of List)

Property Insurance – Citizens Property Insurance Corporation:

Dead Coverage by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation ̶ SB 1020 by Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez (R-Doral) and the identical HB 1073 by Rep. Jim Mooney, Jr. (R-Islamorada) would allow higher-priced homes in Miami-Dade and Monroe counties to get coverage from state-backed Citizens Insurance. Current law restricts Citizens from selling policies for homes with replacement dwelling costs of $700,000 or more except in those two counties, where the limit is $ 1 million. The bills would raise the limit in those two counties to $1.5 million. The bills would also require Citizens to annually raise rates by up to 10% in counties without a reasonable degree of competition, such as Miami-Dade and Monroe, as designated by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR). It would also exclude properties in X flood zones from the Citizens flood insurance requirement for wind policies. These bills are dead having never received an initial hearing. (Return to Top of List)

Automobile Insurance:

(UPDATED) Dead Motor Vehicle Insurance ̶ SB 1256 by Senator Erin Grall (R-Fort Pierce) and the identical HB 1181 by Rep. Danny Alvarez (R-Brandon) are a perennial effort to do away with Personal Injury Protection (PIP) coverage under Florida’s No-Fault insurance law and replace it with bodily injury (BI) liability coverage. The primary difference between PIP and mandatory BI is that under PIP, someone injured in an auto accident seeks coverage first under their own PIP policy, whereas under mandatory BI, someone injured in an auto accident would seek recovery from a responsible third-party’s (other driver’s) BI coverage. And more to the point for the trial bar that supports these measures: After an accident, the victim could sue the offending driver directly rather than their insurance company. The bills are similar to the bill vetoed in 2021 by Governor DeSantis, and filed again in 2022, 2023, and 2024. Last year’s bills never received a hearing. Governor DeSantis remains opposed to the idea, telling reporters in early March “I don’t want to do anything that’s going to raise the rates.” HB 1181 passed on a 13-2 vote before the House Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee on March 27, its first of three committee stops. HB 1181 was awaiting its last committee stop in the House Judiciary Committee which is not expected to meet anymore this session. This is yet another bill in a growing list that would allow more insurance lawsuits. “This feels good for the trial attorneys, and maybe we should call this the ‘Insurance and Trial Attorneys Subcommittee’,” said Rep. Mike Caruso (R-Delray Beach) before voting against the bill. SB 1256 never received its first hearing and its referenced committee of first stop is no longer scheduled to meet this session. (Return to Top of List)

Dead Attorney Fees and Costs for Motor Vehicle Personal Injury Protection Benefits ̶ HB 1437 by Rep. John Snyder (R-Stuart) and the identical SB 1840 by Senator Jonathan Martin (R-Fort Myers), an attorney, provides that prevailing parties in lawsuits by health care providers for overdue medical benefits under motor vehicle personal injury protection policies (PIP) are entitled to reasonable attorney fees & costs.

It’s clear now that these bills will not be progressing. HB 1437 passed its first committee stop on March 20 and still awaits its second of three stops before the Insurance & Banking Subcommittee. In testimony, one expert pointed to a 2021 study that indicated auto rates would increase over 40% should a bill of this nature pass. Its Senate counterpart never had a hearing.

It is abundantly clear that a major theme in the House of Representatives is to provide additional avenues for plaintiff attorneys to increase their income. From reversing the 2022-23 property insurance litigation tort reform in HB 1551 this session, to creating a path for plaintiff lawyers to be a “prevailing party” in PIP claims in HB 1437.

The bill addresses overdue medical benefit disputes between medical providers and auto insurers under PIP. Interestingly, there are no provisions determining prevailing party. The bill would leave the decision of who prevails to the courts. The two sides warring over this bill: the insurance and business communities oppose the bill and the Florida Medical Association and the Florida Chiropractic Association support the bill. The common case pattern is where trial attorneys diligently dig into physician files looking for an innocuous insurer payment mistake so they can file a case with this small dollar amount yet leading to large attorney fee awards. It is a familiar pattern. (Return to Top of List)

Resilience:

Dead Resilient Buildings ̶ HB 143 by Rep. Webster Barnaby (R-Deltona) and the similar SB 62 by Senator Ana Maria Rodriguez (R-Doral) would authorize owners of resilient buildings to receive a specified tax credit for those improvements and outlines specific LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) requirements of a building. The bill also creates the Florida Resilient Building Advisory Council which would work with the Department of Environmental Protection. SB 62 passed unanimously in the Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee on February 11 and awaits its next stop in the Finance and Tax Committee. HB 143 passed by a 17-1 vote in the House Natural Resources & Disasters Subcommittee on March 4 and awaits it second of four committee stop. These bills are dead from their lack of progress in reaching either chamber floor. (Return to Top of List)

LMA Newsletter of 4-28-25