| The following is a reprint from State Senator Lori Berman’s report : Special Session 2022D Florida’s property insurance market is currently the worst in the nation. Last week, we returned to Tallahassee in the hope of working towards meaningful solutions to address this crisis that has fallen upon our people. CS/SB 2D: Property Insurance: This legislation: Creates a $2 billion reinsurance fund and rewrites rules on coverage denials and attorney fees relating to property insurance litigation; Appropriates $150 million for the My Safe Florida Home Program to provide hurricane mitigation inspections and matching grants for the performance of hurricane retrofitting on homestead single family homes with a value of $500,000 or less; Prohibits contractors from making written or electronic communications that encourage or induce a consumer to contact a contractor or public adjuster for the purposes of making a property insurance claim for roof damage with some exceptions; Prohibits an insurer from refusing to issue or refusing to renew a homeowner’s insurance policy insuring a residential structure with a roof that is less than 15 years old solely because of the age of the roof, and much more. For a deeper analysis of the bill, click here. We were told by the bill sponsor that the changes under his bill would not affect insurance premiums for at least 18 months, if at all. I was also shocked that the legislation ignored issues relating to the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp., which holds over 850,000 policies (many of which are in South Florida). There were no changes to address Citizens’ growth in policies and premiums. I supported the call of the special session to address the insurance crisis and wanted to support meaningful reform, but this legislation will not provide the relief families need. It missed the mark. SB 4D: Building Safety Long-awaited legislation to reform Florida’s condo inspections laws following the tragedy at Surfside passed during this special session. The new law makes the following changes: Requires structural integrity reserve studies to determine how much funding condominium associations should set aside to make repairs to buildings; Reserve funding requirements based on structural integrity reserve studies and waivers or reductions of reserves are prohibited; Requires visual inspections every 10 years (after initial inspections) for condominium buildings three stories or higher that have been occupied for 30 years, or 25 years if the buildings are within three miles of a coastline; Additional inspections are required if “substantial structural deterioration” is found; Requires inspection reports to be distributed to condominium associations and local building officials and requires summaries to be distributed to unit owners and made available to condo buyers; County commissions may pass local requirements for repairs to buildings with structural deterioration. Both bills have already been signed by the Governor and take immediate effect. |
We’ve included Senator Berman’s information above if you want to contact her.
And as always, if you need an Insurance quote, please contact Cronin Insurance.
Low rates, choice of companies, and personal advice, Cronin Insurance is the Wise Choice.
