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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to insurance; creating s. 11.91, F.S.; 2
creating the Property Insurance Commission; providing 3
membership of the commission; providing powers and 4
duties of the commission; amending s. 20.121, F.S.; 5
providing for the election of the Commission er of 6
Insurance Regulation; providing terms for the 7
commissioner; conforming provisions to changes made by 8
the act; creating s. 112.3134, F.S.; prohibiting the 9
commissioner from engaging in certain activities or 10
employment for a specified period after leav ing 11
office; providing sanctions for violations; 12
authorizing specified entities to collect penalties; 13
amending s. 215.5586, F.S.; revising homeowners' 14
eligibility criteria for mitigation grants under the 15
My Safe Florida Home Program; amending s. 494.0026, 16
F.S.; requiring interest earned on insurance proceeds 17
received by mortgagees and assignees to be paid to 18
insureds; amending s. 624.401, F.S.; prohibiting 19
property insurers from claiming insolvency under 20
specified circumstances; authorizing persons who 21
engage in property insurance activities in other 22
states to engage in insurance activities in this state 23
under certain circumstances; amending s. 627.0629, 24
F.S.; requiring residential property insurers to 25
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release specified information to insureds upon 26
request; amending s. 627.701, F.S.; prohibiting 27
property insurers from using certain defenses as 28
claims denials; amending s. 627.715, F.S.; requiring 29
insurance agents to advise insurance applicants of 30
flood risk; amending s. 627.7152, F.S.; revising 31
requirements for risk assignment agreements; creating 32
s. 627.7155, F.S.; providing duties of the Office of 33
Insurance Regulation; requiring the Department of 34
Financial Services to adopt rules regarding 35
allegations of insurance fraud made by insurers or 36
their employees or c ontractors; providing requirements 37
for such rules; providing fines; requiring the Office 38
of Program Policy Analysis and Government 39
Accountability to conduct a study of the effectiveness 40
of the property insurance mediation program; providing 41
requirements for the study; requiring a report to the 42
Legislature; amending chapter 2022 -268, Laws of 43
Florida; increasing an appropriation to the My Safe 44
Florida Home Program; providing an effective date. 45
46
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 47
48
Section 1. Section 11.91, Florida Statutes, is created to 49
read: 50
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11.91 Property Insurance Commission. — 51
(1)(a) There is created the Property Insurance Commission, 52
which shall consist of six members: 53
1. Two members appointed by the President of the Se nate. 54
2. One member appointed by the Minority Leader of the 55
Senate. 56
3. Two members appointed by the Speaker of the House of 57
Representatives. 58
4. One member appointed by the House Minority Leader. 59
(b) Each member shall serve at the pleasure of the of ficer 60
who appointed the member. A vacancy on the commission shall be 61
filled in the same manner as the original appointment. From 62
November of each odd -numbered year through October of each even -63
numbered year, the chair of the commission shall be appointed b y 64
the President of the Senate, and the vice chair of the 65
commission shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of 66
Representatives. From November of each even -numbered year 67
through October of each odd -numbered year, the chair of the 68
commission shall be appointed by the Speaker of the House of 69
Representatives, and the vice chair of the commission shall be 70
appointed by the President of the Senate. The terms of members 71
shall be for 2 years and shall run from the organization of one 72
Legislature to the organi zation of the next Legislature. 73
(2) The commission shall be governed by joint rules of the 74
Senate and the House of Representatives, which shall remain in 75
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effect until repealed or amended by concurrent resolution. 76
(3) The commission may conduct its meet ings through 77
teleconferences or other similar means. 78
(4) The commission shall be staffed by legislative staff 79
members, as assigned by the President of the Senate and the 80
Speaker of the House of Representatives. 81
(5) The commission has the power and duty to: 82
(a) Review and evaluate the insurance marketplace and 83
studies of the various insurance markets. 84
(b) Review and comment on market data produced by the 85
Office of Insurance Regulation. 86
(c) Review and comment on the setting of reserve 87
requirements for insurers. 88
(d) Exercise all other powers and perform any other duties 89
prescribed by the Legislature. 90
Section 2. Paragraphs (a) and (d) of subsection (3) of 91
section 20.121, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 92
20.121 Department of Financial Ser vices.—There is created 93
a Department of Financial Services. 94
(3) FINANCIAL SERVICES COMMISSION. —Effective January 7, 95
2003, there is created within the Department of Financial 96
Services the Financial Services Commission, composed of the 97
Governor, the Attorn ey General, the Chief Financial Officer, and 98
the Commissioner of Agriculture, which shall for purposes of 99
this section be referred to as the commission. Commission 100
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members shall serve as agency head of the Financial Services 101
Commission. The commission shal l be a separate budget entity and 102
shall be exempt from the provisions of s. 20.052. Commission 103
action shall be by majority vote consisting of at least three 104
affirmative votes. The commission shall not be subject to 105
control, supervision, or direction by the Department of 106
Financial Services in any manner, including purchasing, 107
transactions involving real or personal property, personnel, or 108
budgetary matters. 109
(a) Structure.—The major structural unit of the commission 110
is the office. Each office shall be heade d by a director. The 111
following offices are established: 112
1. The Office of Insurance Regulation, which shall be 113
responsible for all activities concerning insurers and other 114
risk bearing entities, including licensing, rates, policy forms, 115
market conduct, claims, issuance of certificates of authority, 116
solvency, viatical settlements, premium financing, and 117
administrative supervision, as provided under the insurance code 118
or chapter 636. The head of the Office of Insurance Regulation 119
is the Director of the Offic e of Insurance Regulation, who may 120
also be known as the Commissioner of Insurance Regulation. 121
Beginning with the General Election in 2024, the Commissioner of 122
Insurance Regulation shall be elected. The commissioner elected 123
in 2024 shall serve a term of 2 y ears; thereafter, the 124
commissioner shall serve a term of 4 years. 125
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2. The Office of Financial Regulation, which shall be 126
responsible for all activities of the Financial Services 127
Commission relating to the regulation of banks, credit unions, 128
other financial institutions, finance companies, and the 129
securities industry. The head of the office is the Director of 130
the Office of Financial Regulation, who may also be known as the 131
Commissioner of Financial Regulation. The Office of Financial 132
Regulation shall includ e a Bureau of Financial Investigations, 133
which shall function as a criminal justice agency for purposes 134
of ss. 943.045-943.08 and shall have a separate budget. The 135
bureau may conduct investigations within or outside this state 136
as the bureau deems necessary to aid in the enforcement of this 137
section. If, during an investigation, the office has reason to 138
believe that any criminal law of this state has or may have been 139
violated, the office shall refer any records tending to show 140
such violation to state or federa l law enforcement or 141
prosecutorial agencies and shall provide investigative 142
assistance to those agencies as required. 143
(d) Appointment and qualification qualifications of the 144
Director of the Office of Financial Regulation directors.—The 145
commission shall appoint or remove the each Director of the 146
Office of Financial Regulation by a majority vote consisting of 147
at least three affirmative votes, with both the Governor and the 148
Chief Financial Officer on the prevailing side. The minimum 149
qualifications of the dir ectors are as follows: 150
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1. Prior to appointment as director, the Director of the 151
Office of Insurance Regulation must have had, within the 152
previous 10 years, at least 5 years of responsible private 153
sector experience working full time in areas within the sc ope of 154
the subject matter jurisdiction of the Office of Insurance 155
Regulation or at least 5 years of experience as a senior 156
examiner or other senior employee of a state or federal agency 157
having regulatory responsibility over insurers or insurance 158
agencies. 159
Before 2. Prior to appointment as director, the Director 160
of the Office of Financial Regulation must have had, within the 161
previous 10 years, at least 5 years of responsible private 162
sector experience working full time in areas within the subject 163
matter jurisdiction of the Office of Financial Regulation or at 164
least 5 years of experience as a senior examiner or other senior 165
employee of a state or federal agency having regulatory 166
responsibility over financial institutions, finance companies, 167
or securities companies. 168
Section 3. Section 112.3134, Florida Statutes, is created 169
to read: 170
112.3134 Commissioner of Insurance Regulation; Office of 171
Insurance Regulation. — 172
(1) A person who has served as Commissioner of Insurance 173
Regulation may not: 174
(a) Personally represent another person or entity for 175
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compensation before the Office of Insurance Regulation; or 176
(b) Serve as an employee or contractor of an entity 177
regulated by the Office of Insurance Regulation 178
179
for a period of 7 years after vacating that office. 180
(2) A person who violates subsection (1) may be punished 181
by: 182
(a) Public censure and reprimand; 183
(b) A civil penalty not to exceed $10,000; or 184
(c) Forfeiture of any pecuniary benefits received for 185
conduct that violates this section. The amount of the pe cuniary 186
benefits must be paid to the General Revenue Fund. 187
(3) The Attorney General and Chief Financial Officer are 188
independently authorized to collect any penalty imposed under 189
this section. 190
Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 191
215.5586, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 192
215.5586 My Safe Florida Home Program. —There is 193
established within the Department of Financial Services the My 194
Safe Florida Home Program. The department shall provide fiscal 195
accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership 196
for the program, consistent with this section. This section does 197
not create an entitlement for property owners or obligate the 198
state in any way to fund the inspection or retrofitting of 199
residential property in this state. Implemen tation of this 200
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program is subject to annual legislative appropriations. It is 201
the intent of the Legislature that the My Safe Florida Home 202
Program provide trained and certified inspectors to perform 203
inspections for owners of site -built, single-family, residential 204
properties and grants to eligible applicants as funding allows. 205
The program shall develop and implement a comprehensive and 206
coordinated approach for hurricane damage mitigation that may 207
include the following: 208
(2) MITIGATION GRANTS. —Financial grants shall be used to 209
encourage single-family, site-built, owner-occupied, residential 210
property owners to retrofit their properties to make them less 211
vulnerable to hurricane damage. 212
(a) For a homeowner to be eligible for a grant, the 213
following criteria must be met: 214
1. The homeowner must have been granted a homestead 215
exemption on the home under chapter 196. 216
2. The home must be a dwelling with an insured value of 217
$500,000 or less. Homeowners who are low -income persons, as 218
defined in s. 420.0004(11), are exempt from this requirement. 219
3. The home must have undergone an acceptable hurricane 220
mitigation inspection after July 1, 2008. 221
4. The home must be located in the "wind -borne debris 222
region" as that term is defined in the Florida Building Code. 223
4.5. The building permit application for initial 224
construction of the home must have been made before January 1, 225
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2008. 226
5.6. The homeowner must agree to make his or her home 227
available for inspection once a mitigation project is completed. 228
229
An application for a grant must contain a signed or 230
electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury 231
that the applicant has submitted only a single application and 232
must have attached documents demonstrating the applicant meets 233
the requirements of this paragrap h. 234
Section 5. Subsection (2) of section 494.0026, Florida 235
Statutes, is amended to read: 236
494.0026 Disposition of insurance proceeds. —The following 237
provisions apply to mortgage loans held by a mortgagee or 238
assignee that is subject to part II or part II I of this chapter. 239
(2)(a) Insurance proceeds received by a mortgagee or 240
assignee that relate to compensation for damage to property or 241
contents insurance coverage in which the mortgagee or assignee 242
has a security interest must be promptly deposited into a 243
segregated account of a federally insured financial institution. 244
(b) Any interest earned on insurance proceeds received by 245
a mortgagee or assignee that relate to compensation for damage 246
to property or contents insurance coverage in which the 247
mortgagee or assignee has a security interest must be paid to 248
the insured. 249
250
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This section may not be construed to prevent an insurance 251
company from paying the insured directly for additional living 252
expenses or paying the insured directly for contents insurance 253
coverage if the mortgagee or assignee does not have a security 254
interest in the contents. 255
Section 6. Subsection (5) is added to section 624.401, 256
Florida Statutes, to read: 257
624.401 Certificate of authority required. — 258
(5)(a) A property insurer may not claim insolvency in this 259
state if the insurer still acts as an insurer, transacts 260
insurance, or otherwise engages in insurance activities in any 261
state other than this state, regardless of whether these 262
insurance activities are property insurance activities. 263
(b) Effective January 1, 2024, any person who acts as a 264
property insurer, transacts property insurance, or otherwise 265
engages in property insurance activities in any state other than 266
this state may act as an insurer, transact insurance, or 267
otherwise engage in insurance activities in this state only if 268
that person does not exclude property insurance from the 269
person's insurance transactions or activities. 270
Section 7. Subsection (9) is added to section 627.0629, 271
Florida Statutes, to read: 272
627.0629 Residential property insurance; rate filings. — 273
(9) An insurer must release to an insured all information 274
relating to an inspection or an underwriting report upon the 275
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insured's request. 276
Section 8. Subsection (11) is added to section 627.701, 277
Florida Statutes, to read: 278
627.701 Liability of insureds; coinsurance; deductibles ; 279
prohibited denials of claims .— 280
(11) A property insurer that issues or renews an insurance 281
policy or contract covering real property in this state on or 282
after January 1, 2024, may not use a property's preexisting 283
condition, a date of loss that predates the date of a claim, or 284
faulty installation or workmanship as a defense for denying a 285
claim. 286
Section 9. Subsection (8) of section 627.715, Florida 287
Statutes, is amended to read: 288
627.715 Flood insurance.—An authorized insurer may issue 289
an insurance policy, contract, or endorsement providing personal 290
lines residential coverage for the peril of flood or excess 291
coverage for the peril of flood on any structure or the contents 292
of personal property contained therein, subject to this section. 293
This section does not apply to commercial lines residential or 294
commercial lines nonresidential coverage for the peril of flood. 295
An insurer may issue flood insurance policies, contracts, 296
endorsements, or exce ss coverage on a standard, preferred, 297
customized, flexible, or supplemental basis. 298
(8)(a) An agent must provide a written notice to be signed 299
by every the applicant advising the applicant of flood risk. 300
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(b) If before the agent places flood insurance co verage 301
with an admitted or surplus lines insurer for a property 302
receiving flood insurance under the National Flood Insurance 303
Program, the agent must also provide to the applicant, before 304
placing new flood coverage for the property, a written . the 305
notice notifying must notify the applicant that, if the 306
applicant discontinues coverage under the National Flood 307
Insurance Program which is provided at a subsidized rate, the 308
full risk rate for flood insurance may apply to the property if 309
the applicant later seeks to reinstate coverage under the 310
program. 311
Section 10. Paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section 312
627.7152, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 313
627.7152 Assignment agreements. — 314
(2)(a) An assignment agreement must: 315
1. Be executed under a residential property insurance 316
policy or under a commercial property insurance policy as that 317
term is defined in s. 627.0625(1), issued on or after July 1, 318
2019, and before January 1, 2023. 319
2. Be in writing and executed by and between the assignor 320
and the assignee. 321
3. Contain a provision that allows the assignor to rescind 322
the assignment agreement without a penalty or fee by submitting 323
a written notice of rescission signed by the assignor to the 324
assignee within 14 days after the execution of the agreeme nt, at 325
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least 30 days after the date work on the property is scheduled 326
to commence if the assignee has not substantially performed, or 327
at least 30 days after the execution of the agreement if the 328
agreement does not contain a commencement date and the assign ee 329
has not begun substantial work on the property. 330
4. Contain a provision requiring the assignee to provide a 331
copy of the executed assignment agreement to the insurer within 332
3 business days after the date on which the assignment agreement 333
is executed or the date on which work begins, whichever is 334
earlier. Delivery of the copy of the assignment agreement to the 335
insurer may be made: 336
a. By personal service, overnight delivery, or electronic 337
transmission, with evidence of delivery in the form of a receipt 338
or other paper or electronic acknowledgment by the insurer; or 339
b. To the location designated for receipt of such 340
agreements as specified in the policy. 341
5. Contain a written, itemized, per -unit cost estimate of 342
the services to be performed by the assigne e. 343
6. Relate only to work to be performed by the assignee for 344
services to protect, repair, restore, or replace a dwelling or 345
structure or to mitigate against further damage to such 346
property. 347
7. Contain the following notice in 18 -point uppercase and 348
boldfaced type: 349
YOU ARE AGREEING TO GIVE UP CERTAIN RIGHTS YOU HAVE UNDER YOUR 350
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INSURANCE POLICY TO A THIRD PARTY, WHICH MAY RESULT IN 351
LITIGATION AGAINST YOUR INSURER. PLEASE READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS 352
DOCUMENT BEFORE SIGNING IT. YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO CANCEL THI S 353
AGREEMENT WITHOUT PENALTY WITHIN 14 DAYS AFTER THE DATE THIS 354
AGREEMENT IS EXECUTED, AT LEAST 30 DAYS AFTER THE DATE WORK ON 355
THE PROPERTY IS SCHEDULED TO COMMENCE IF THE ASSIGNEE HAS NOT 356
SUBSTANTIALLY PERFORMED, OR AT LEAST 30 DAYS AFTER THE EXECUTION 357
OF THE AGREEMENT IF THE AGREEMENT DOES NOT CONTAIN A 358
COMMENCEMENT DATE AND THE ASSIGNEE HAS NOT BEGUN SUBSTANTIAL 359
WORK ON THE PROPERTY. HOWEVER, YOU ARE OBLIGATED FOR PAYMENT OF 360
ANY CONTRACTED WORK PERFORMED BEFORE THE AGREEMENT IS RESCINDED. 361
THIS AGREEMENT DOES NOT CHANGE YOUR OBLIGATION TO PERFORM THE 362
DUTIES REQUIRED UNDER YOUR PROPERTY INSURANCE POLICY. 363
8. Contain a notice in 18 -point uppercase and boldfaced 364
type disclosing that the assignee is prohibited from taking any 365
legal action without the assignor' s permission, including, but 366
not limited to, making a presuit settlement demand or presuit 367
settlement offer. 368
9.8. Contain a provision requiring the assignee to 369
indemnify and hold harmless the assignor from all liabilities, 370
damages, losses, and costs, inc luding, but not limited to, 371
attorney fees. 372
Section 11. Section 627.7155, Florida Statutes, is created 373
to read: 374
627.7155 Office rulemaking. —By January 1, 2024, the office 375
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must adopt rules: 376
(1) Requiring that, each time legislation creating or 377
amending law to reform property insurance takes effect, property 378
insurers must offer mandatory premium rate reduction for their 379
insureds. 380
(2) Ensuring that insurance fraud committed by any person 381
can be easily reported, investigated, and, if necessary, 382
prosecuted. 383
(3) Redetermining flood zones statewide for use when 384
assigning flood risks. 385
Section 12. The Department of Financial Services shall, no 386
later than October 1, 2024, adopt rules regarding any allegation 387
made by an insurer or an employee or contract or thereof of 388
insurance fraud in violation of any provision listed in s. 389
626.9892(2), Florida Statutes. Such rules must include 390
requirements that: 391
(1) The Division of Investigative and Forensic Services in 392
the Department of Financial Services must be inf ormed by an 393
insurer of any such allegation. 394
(2) The department shall promptly investigate such 395
allegations. 396
(3) If the department determines that there was no fraud, 397
the insurer alleging such fraud may be appropriately sanctioned 398
by a fine of up to $10 0,000. 399
(4) All documents relating to such sanctions shall be 400
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public records. 401
Section 13. (1) The Office of Program Policy Analysis and 402
Government Accountability (OPPAGA) shall conduct a study to 403
evaluate the effectiveness of the property insurance m ediation 404
program provided pursuant to s. 627.7015, Florida Statutes. The 405
study's scope must include, but need not be limited to: 406
(a) Improvements in the public's awareness of the program 407
and the advantages of participation in the program. 408
(b) Program resource needs. 409
(2) The study must include recommendations for any changes 410
needed to improve the efficiency of the program to maximize its 411
usefulness as an alternative to litigation. 412
(3) In conducting the study, OPPAGA shall consult with the 413
Department of Financial Services, insurers, and organizations 414
representing insurance consumers. 415
(4) OPPAGA shall submit a report on its findings to the 416
President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of 417
Representatives by December 1, 2024. 418
Section 14. Section 4 of chapter 2022 -268, Laws of 419
Florida, is amended to read: 420
Section 4. (1) For the 2023-2024 2022-2023 fiscal year, 421
the sum of $300 $150 million in nonrecurring funds is 422
appropriated from the General Revenue Fund to the Department of 423
Financial Services for the My Safe Florida Home Program. The 424
funds shall be placed in reserve. The department shall submit 425
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budget amendments requesting release of the funds held in 426
reserve pursuant to chapter 216, Florida Statutes. The budget 427
amendments shall inclu de a detailed spending plan. 428
(2) The funds shall be allocated as follows: 429
(a) Fifty Twenty-five million dollars for hurricane 430
mitigation inspections. 431
(b) Two hundred thirty One hundred fifteen million dollars 432
for mitigation grants. 433
(c) Eight Four million dollars for education and consumer 434
awareness. 435
(d) Two One million dollars for public outreach for 436
contractors and real estate brokers and sales associates. 437
(e) Ten Five million dollars for administrative costs. 438
(3) Any unexpended balance of fu nds from this 439
appropriation remaining on June 30, 2024 2023, shall revert and 440
is appropriated to the Department of Financial Services for the 441
2024-2025 2023-2024 fiscal year for the same purpose. 442
(4) The department may adopt emergency rules pursuant to 443
s. 120.54, Florida Statutes, at any time, as are necessary to 444
implement this section and s. 215.5586, Florida Statutes, as 445
amended by this act. The Legislature finds that such emergency 446
rulemaking authority is necessary to address a critical need in 447
the state's problematic property insurance market. The 448
Legislature further finds that the uniquely short timeframe 449
needed to effectively implement this section for the 2023-2024 450
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2022-2023 fiscal year requires that the department adopt rules 451
as quickly as practica ble. Therefore, in adopting such emergency 452
rules, the department need not make the findings required by s. 453
120.54(4)(a), Florida Statutes. Emergency rules adopted under 454
this section are exempt from s. 120.54(4)(c), Florida Statutes, 455
and shall remain in eff ect until replaced by rules adopted under 456
the nonemergency rulemaking procedures of chapter 120, Florida 457
Statutes, which must occur no later than July 1, 2024 2023. 458
(5) This section shall expire on October 1, 2025 2024. 459
Section 15. This act shall tak e effect July 1, 2023. 460