This week kicks off the Florida Senate’s first week of committee meetings in preparation for the January through March 2024 regular legislative session. There are 40 state senators and 120 members of the House of Representatives. These 160 individuals are leading our state along with the Governor and four Cabinet officials to tackle issues such as rising property taxes and insurance, public safety, healthcare, education and much more.
Tomorrow (October 10) at 11am, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee will host Citizens Property Insurance leader Tim Cerio who has been consistent in his message that it makes no sense for his organization’s now 1.4 million policyholders to being paying premiums on average 40% lower than the other 5 million of us in the private insurance market. Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky will speak as well and will be most likely addressing Hurricane Ian and Idalia claims handling, reinsurance costs, and what he believes the next 12 to 18 months have in store for the market and consumers. Lastly, Steve Fielder, Project Manager for the My Safe Florida Home Program, will talk about the program’s success with its push to encourage homeowners to have wind mitigation inspections and to make their homes more resilient to the hand Mother Nature deals us.
From my perspective, LMA has been in discussions with legislators who are seeking ideas to reduce rates in the short term and in the long term. We have provided ideas to do so that could lead to ways to temper rate increases around 13% (such as the proposed Florida Insurance Rate Reduction Mechanism (FIRRM), to build upon the 2022 reforms). Another of our objectives is to assist lawmakers in understanding that Florida’s roof replacement law is outdated and that actual cash value coverage is common in 40+ states, all of whom have well -functioning insurance markets.
Lisa addresses the Professional Insurance Agents of Florida at its annual meeting and trade show
I discussed many of these ideas during my recent presentation to the Florida Professional Insurance Agent (PIA)’s Naples, Florida annual meeting. It was a terrific event with dozens of agents, insurers, service providers and others talking about what is and is not working! I gathered many ideas and would like to hear yours as well. So many of you are seasoned insurance professionals and spend your days in the field and you know first-hand possible solutions to improve our insurance market. Let me hear from you!
Next up is news you can use….have a great week and enjoy this first break in the weather welcoming the Fall!
LMA Newsletter of 10-9-23
