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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 hurricane mitigation grants and 2
insurers' regulations; amending s. 215.5586, F.S.; 3
revising legislative intent; specifying that hurricane 4
mitigation grants funded through the My Safe Florida 5
Home Program may be awarded only under certain 6
circumstances; requiring the Department of Financial 7
Services to require that certain mitigation 8
improvements be made as a condition of reimbursing a 9
homeowner approved for a grant; amending ss. 624.407 10
and 624.408, F.S.; increasing the surpluses required 11
for certain insurers applying for their original 12
certificates of authority and maintaining their 13
certificates of authority, respectively; amending s. 14
624.4073, F.S.; specifying prohibitions for persons 15
who were officers or directors of an insolvent 16
insurer, officers or directors of a managing general 17
agent of an insolvent insurer, attorneys in fact of an 18
insolvent reciprocal insurer, or officers or directors 19
of an attorney in fact of an insolvent reciprocal 20
insurer; providing applicability; requiring the Office 21
of Insurance Regulation to prohibit insurers or 22
reciprocal insurers from paying any compensation to 23
certain persons for certain violations until the 24
violations are remedied; providing an effective date. 25
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 27
28
Section 1. Section 215.5586, Florida Statutes, is amended 29
to read: 30
215.5586 My Safe Florida Home Program. —There is 31
established within the Department of Financial Services the My 32
Safe Florida Home Program. The department shall provide fiscal 33
accountability, contract management, and strategic leadership 34
for the program, consistent with this section. This section does 35
not create an entitlem ent for property owners or obligate the 36
state in any way to fund the inspection or retrofitting of 37
residential property in this state. Implementation of this 38
program is subject to annual legislative appropriations. It is 39
the intent of the Legislature that, subject to the availability 40
of funds, the My Safe Florida Home Program provide licensed 41
inspectors to perform hurricane mitigation inspections of 42
eligible homes and grants to fund hurricane mitigation projects 43
that result in property insurance credits, di scounts, or other 44
rate differentials on those homes. The department shall 45
implement the program in such a manner that the total amount of 46
funding requested by accepted applications, whether for 47
inspections, grants, or other services or assistance, does not 48
exceed the total amount of available funds. If, after 49
applications are processed and approved, funds remain available, 50
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the department may accept applications up to the available 51
amount. The program shall develop and implement a comprehensive 52
and coordinated approach for hurricane damage mitigation 53
pursuant to the requirements provided in this section. 54
(1) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTIONS. — 55
(a) To be eligible for a hurricane mitigation inspection 56
under the program: 57
1. A home must be a single -family, detached residential 58
property or a townhouse as defined in s. 481.203; 59
2. A home must be site -built and owner-occupied; and 60
3. The homeowner must have been granted a homestead 61
exemption on the home under chapter 196. 62
(b)1. An application for a hurrica ne mitigation inspection 63
must contain a signed or electronically verified statement made 64
under penalty of perjury that the applicant has submitted only 65
one inspection application on the home or that the application 66
is allowed under subparagraph 2., and the application must have 67
documents attached which demonstrate that the applicant meets 68
the requirements of paragraph (a). 69
2. An applicant may submit a subsequent hurricane 70
mitigation inspection application for the same home only if: 71
a. The original hurri cane mitigation inspection 72
application has been denied or withdrawn because of errors or 73
omissions in the application; 74
b. The original hurricane mitigation inspection 75
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application was denied or withdrawn because the home did not 76
meet the eligibility crite ria for an inspection at the time of 77
the previous application, and the homeowner reasonably believes 78
the home now is eligible for an inspection; or 79
c. The program's eligibility requirements for an 80
inspection have changed since the original application da te, and 81
the applicant reasonably believes the home is eligible under the 82
new requirements. 83
(c) An applicant meeting the requirements of paragraph (a) 84
may receive an inspection of a home under the program without 85
being eligible for a grant under subsectio n (2) or applying for 86
such grant. 87
(d) Licensed inspectors are to provide home inspections of 88
eligible homes to determine what mitigation measures are needed, 89
what insurance premium discounts may be available, and what 90
improvements to existing residential properties are needed to 91
reduce the property's vulnerability to hurricane damage. An 92
inspector may inspect a townhouse as defined in s. 481.203 to 93
determine if opening protection mitigation as listed in 94
subparagraph (2)(e)1. would provide improvements to mitigate 95
hurricane damage. 96
(e) The department shall contract with wind certification 97
entities to provide hurricane mitigation inspections. The 98
inspections provided to homeowners, at a minimum, must include: 99
1. A home inspection and report that summariz es the 100
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results and identifies recommended improvements a homeowner may 101
take to mitigate hurricane damage. 102
2. A range of cost estimates regarding the recommended 103
mitigation improvements. 104
3. Information regarding estimated premium discounts, 105
correlated to the current mitigation features and the 106
recommended mitigation improvements identified by the 107
inspection. 108
(f) To qualify for selection by the department as a wind 109
certification entity to provide hurricane mitigation 110
inspections, the entity must, at a m inimum, meet the following 111
requirements: 112
1. Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who are licensed or 113
certified as: 114
a. A building inspector under s. 468.607; 115
b. A general, building, or residential contractor under s. 116
489.111; 117
c. A professional engine er under s. 471.015; 118
d. A professional architect under s. 481.213; or 119
e. A home inspector under s. 468.8314 and who have 120
completed at least 3 hours of hurricane mitigation training 121
approved by the Construction Industry Licensing Board, which 122
training must include hurricane mitigation techniques, 123
compliance with the uniform mitigation verification form, and 124
completion of a proficiency exam. 125
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2. Use hurricane mitigation inspectors who also have 126
undergone drug testing and a background screening. The 127
department may conduct criminal record checks of inspectors used 128
by wind certification entities. Inspectors must submit a set of 129
fingerprints to the department for state and national criminal 130
history checks and must pay the fingerprint processing fee set 131
forth in s. 624.501. The fingerprints must be sent by the 132
department to the Department of Law Enforcement and forwarded to 133
the Federal Bureau of Investigation for processing. The results 134
must be returned to the department for screening. The 135
fingerprints must be taken by a law enforcement agency, 136
designated examination center, or other department -approved 137
entity. 138
3. Provide a quality assurance program including a 139
reinspection component. 140
(2) HURRICANE MITIGATION GRANTS. —Financial grants shall be 141
used by homeowners to make improvements recommended by an 142
inspection which increase resistance to hurricane damage. 143
(a) A homeowner is eligible for a hurricane mitigation 144
grant if all of the following criteria are met: 145
1. The home must be eligible for an inspection u nder 146
subsection (1). 147
2. The home must be a dwelling with an insured value of 148
$700,000 or less. Homeowners who are low -income persons, as 149
defined in s. 420.0004(11), are exempt from this requirement. 150
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3. The home must undergo an acceptable hurricane 151
mitigation inspection as provided in subsection (1). 152
4. The building permit application for initial 153
construction of the home must have been made before January 1, 154
2008. 155
5. The homeowner must agree to make his or her home 156
available for inspection once a mit igation project is completed. 157
6. The homeowner must agree to provide to the department 158
information received from the homeowner's insurer identifying 159
the discounts realized by the homeowner because of the 160
mitigation improvements funded through the program . 161
(b)1. An application for a grant must contain a signed or 162
electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury 163
that the applicant has submitted only one grant application or 164
that the application is allowed under subparagraph 2., and the 165
application must have documents attached demonstrating that the 166
applicant meets the requirements of paragraph (a). 167
2. An applicant may submit a subsequent grant application 168
if: 169
a. The original grant application was denied or withdrawn 170
because the applicati on contained errors or omissions; 171
b. The original grant application was denied or withdrawn 172
because the home did not meet the eligibility criteria for a 173
grant at the time of the previous application, and the homeowner 174
reasonably believes that the home no w is eligible for a grant; 175
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or 176
c. The program's eligibility requirements for a grant have 177
changed since the original application date, and the applicant 178
reasonably believes that he or she is an eligible homeowner 179
under the new requirements. 180
3. A grant application must include a statement from the 181
homeowner which contains the name and state license number of 182
the contractor that the homeowner acknowledges as the intended 183
contractor for the mitigation work. The program must 184
electronically verify that the co ntractor's state license number 185
is accurate and up to date before grant approval. 186
(c) All grants must be matched on the basis of $1 provided 187
by the applicant for $2 provided by the state up to a maximum 188
state contribution of $10,000 toward the actual cos t of the 189
mitigation project, except as provided in paragraph (h). 190
(d) All hurricane mitigation performed under the program 191
must be based upon the securing of all required local permits 192
and inspections and must be performed by properly licensed 193
contractors. 194
(e) When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection, 195
grants for eligible homes may be used for the following 196
improvements: 197
1. Opening protection, including exterior doors, garage 198
doors, windows, and skylights. 199
2. Reinforcing roof -to-wall connections. 200
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3. Improving the strength of roof -deck attachments. 201
4. Secondary water resistance for roof. 202
(f) When recommended by a hurricane mitigation inspection, 203
grants for townhouses, as defined in s. 481.203, may only be 204
used for opening protection. 205
(g) A grant may be awarded only for each mitigation 206
improvement that, when applied to the home, will result in a 207
property insurance mitigation credit, discount, or other rate 208
differential. If necessary for the home to qualify for a 209
mitigation credit, discount, or other rate differential, the 210
department must may require that improvements be made to all 211
openings, including exterior doors, garage doors, windows, and 212
skylights, as a condition of reimbursing a homeowner approved 213
for a grant. The dep artment may adopt, by rule, the maximum 214
grant allowances for any improvement allowable under paragraph 215
(e) or paragraph (f). 216
(h) Low-income homeowners, as defined in s. 420.0004(11), 217
who otherwise meet the applicable requirements of this 218
subsection are eligible for a grant of up to $10,000 and are not 219
required to provide a matching amount to receive the grant. 220
(i)1. The department shall develop a process that ensures 221
the most efficient means to collect and verify inspection 222
applications and grant applic ations to determine eligibility. 223
The department may direct hurricane mitigation inspectors to 224
collect and verify grant application information or use the 225
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Internet or other electronic means to collect information and 226
determine eligibility. 227
2. The department shall prioritize the review and approval 228
of such inspection applications and grant applications in the 229
following order: 230
a. First, applications from low -income persons, as defined 231
in s. 420.0004, who are at least 60 years old; 232
b. Second, applications from all other low-income persons, 233
as defined in s. 420.0004; 234
c. Third, applications from moderate -income persons, as 235
defined in s. 420.0004, who are at least 60 years old; 236
d. Fourth, applications from all other moderate -income 237
persons, as defined in s. 420.0004; and 238
e. Last, all other applications. 239
3. The department shall start accepting inspection 240
applications and grant applications no earlier than the 241
effective date of a legislative appropriation funding 242
inspections and grants, as follows: 243
a. Initially, from applicants prioritized under sub -244
subparagraph 2.a.; 245
b. From applicants prioritized under sub -subparagraph 246
2.b., beginning 15 days after the program initially starts 247
accepting applications; 248
c. From applicants prioritized under sub -subparagraph 249
2.c., beginning 30 days after the program initially starts 250
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accepting applications; 251
d. From applicants described in sub -subparagraph 2.d., 252
beginning 45 days after the program initially starts accepting 253
applications; and 254
e. From all other applican ts, beginning 60 days after the 255
program initially starts accepting applications. 256
4. The program may accept a certification directly from a 257
low-income homeowner or moderate -income homeowner who meets the 258
requirements of s. 420.0004(11) or (12), respective ly, if the 259
homeowner provides such certification in a signed or 260
electronically verified statement made under penalty of perjury. 261
(j) A homeowner who receives a grant shall finalize 262
construction and request a final inspection, or request an 263
extension for an additional 6 months, within 1 year after grant 264
approval. If a homeowner fails to comply with this paragraph, 265
his or her application is deemed abandoned and the grant money 266
reverts to the department. 267
(3) REQUESTS FOR INFORMATION. —The department may req uest 268
that an applicant provide additional information. An application 269
is deemed withdrawn by the applicant if the department does not 270
receive a response to its request for additional information 271
within 60 days after the notification of any apparent error o r 272
omission. 273
(4) EDUCATION, CONSUMER AWARENESS, AND OUTREACH. — 274
(a) The department may undertake a statewide multimedia 275
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public outreach and advertising campaign to inform consumers of 276
the availability and benefits of hurricane inspections and of 277
the safety and financial benefits of residential hurricane 278
damage mitigation. The department may seek out and use local, 279
state, federal, and private funds to support the campaign. 280
(b) The program may develop brochures for distribution to 281
Citizens Property Insura nce Corporation and other licensed 282
entities or nonprofits that work with the department to educate 283
the public on the benefits of the program. Citizens Property 284
Insurance Corporation must distribute the brochure to 285
policyholders of the corporation each year the program is 286
funded. The brochures may be made available electronically. 287
(5) FUNDING.—The department may seek out and leverage 288
local, state, federal, or private funds to enhance the financial 289
resources of the program. 290
(6) RULES.—The department shall adopt rules pursuant to 291
ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to govern the program; implement the 292
provisions of this section; including rules governing hurricane 293
mitigation inspections and grants, mitigation contractors, and 294
training of inspectors and contractors; a nd carry out the duties 295
of the department under this section. 296
(7) HURRICANE MITIGATION INSPECTOR LIST. —The department 297
shall develop and maintain as a public record a current list of 298
hurricane mitigation inspectors authorized to conduct hurricane 299
mitigation inspections pursuant to this section. 300
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(8) CONTRACT MANAGEMENT. — 301
(a) The department may contract with third parties for 302
grants management, inspection services, contractor services for 303
low-income homeowners, information technology, educational 304
outreach, and auditing services. Such contracts are considered 305
direct costs of the program and are not subject to 306
administrative cost limits. The department shall contract with 307
providers that have a demonstrated record of successful business 308
operations in areas d irectly related to the services to be 309
provided and shall ensure the highest accountability for use of 310
state funds, consistent with this section. 311
(b) The department shall implement a quality assurance and 312
reinspection program that determines whether initi al inspections 313
and home improvements are completed in a manner consistent with 314
the intent of the program. The department may use valid random 315
sampling in order to perform the quality assurance portion of 316
the program. 317
(9) INTENT.—It is the intent of the L egislature that 318
grants made to residential property owners under this section 319
shall be considered disaster -relief assistance within the 320
meaning of s. 139 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as 321
amended. 322
(10) REPORTS.—The department shall make an annual report 323
on the activities of the program that shall account for the use 324
of state funds and indicate the number of inspections requested, 325
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the number of inspections performed, the number of grant 326
applications received, the number and value of grants approved, 327
and the estimated average annual amount of insurance premium 328
discounts and total estimated annual amount of insurance premium 329
discounts homeowners received from insurers as a result of 330
mitigation funded through the program. The report must be 331
delivered to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the 332
House of Representatives by February 1 of each year. 333
Section 2. Subsection (1) of section 624.407, Florida 334
Statutes, is amended to read: 335
624.407 Surplus required; new insurers. — 336
(1) To receive authority to transact any one kind or 337
combinations of kinds of insurance, as defined in part V of this 338
chapter, an insurer applying for its original certificate of 339
authority in this state shall possess surplus as to 340
policyholders at least the greater of: 341
(a) For a property and casualty insurer, $5 million, or 342
$2.5 million for any other insurer; 343
(b) For life insurers, 4 percent of the insurer's total 344
liabilities; 345
(c) For life and health insurers, 4 percent of the 346
insurer's total liabilities, plus 6 percen t of the insurer's 347
liabilities relative to health insurance; 348
(d) For all insurers other than life insurers and life and 349
health insurers, 10 percent of the insurer's total liabilities; 350
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(e) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) or paragraph (d), for a 351
domestic insurer that transacts residential property insurance 352
and is: 353
1. Not a wholly owned subsidiary of an insurer domiciled 354
in any other state, $35 $15 million. 355
2. A wholly owned subsidiary of an insurer domiciled in 356
any other state, $50 million; 357
(f) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a), (d), and (e), for a 358
domestic insurer that only transacts limited sinkhole coverage 359
insurance for personal lines residential property pursuant to s. 360
627.7151, $12.5 $7.5 million; or 361
(g) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a), (d), and ( e), for an 362
insurer that only transacts residential property insurance in 363
the form of renter's insurance, tenant's coverage, cooperative 364
unit owner insurance, or any combination thereof, $15 $10 365
million. 366
Section 3. Section 624.4073, Florida Statutes, is amended 367
to read: 368
624.4073 Officers and directors or attorneys in fact of 369
insolvent insurers.— 370
(1) Any person who was an officer or director of an 371
insurer doing business in this state and who served in that 372
capacity within the 2 -year period before the date the insurer 373
became insolvent, for any insolvency that occurs on or after 374
July 1, 2002, but before July 1, 2025, may not thereafter serve 375
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as an officer or director of an insurer authorized in this state 376
or have direct or indirect control over the selec tion or 377
appointment of an officer or director through contract, trust, 378
or by operation of law , unless the officer or director 379
demonstrates that his or her personal actions or omissions were 380
not a significant contributing cause to the insolvency . 381
(2) Any person who was an officer or director of an 382
insurer doing business in this state, was the attorney in fact 383
of a reciprocal insurer doing business in this state, or was an 384
officer or director of an attorney in fact of a reciprocal 385
insurer doing business in this state and who served in that 386
capacity within the 5 -year period before the date such insurer 387
or reciprocal insurer became insolvent, for any insolvency that 388
occurs on or after July 1, 2025, may not thereafter do any of 389
the following: 390
(a) Serve as an officer or a director of an insurer 391
authorized in this state. 392
(b) Serve as an officer or a director of a managing 393
general agent of an insurer authorized in this state. 394
(c) Serve as an attorney in fact or as an officer or a 395
director of the attorney in f act of a reciprocal insurer 396
authorized in this state. 397
(d) Serve as an officer or a director of an affiliate of 398
an insurer authorized in this state which provides services to 399
such insurer. 400
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(e) Exercise direct or indirect control through contract, 401
trust, or by operation of law over the selection or appointment 402
of any position specified in paragraphs (a) -(d). 403
(3)(a) The prohibitions in subsections (1) and (2) do not 404
apply if the officer, director, or attorney in fact 405
demonstrates, and the office determin es, that his or her 406
personal actions or omissions were not a significant 407
contributing cause to the insolvency. 408
(b) For any violation of paragraph (2)(b), paragraph 409
(2)(c), or paragraph (2)(d), the office shall prohibit an 410
insurer or reciprocal insurer authorized in this state from 411
paying any compensation to a managing general agent, affiliate, 412
or attorney in fact that has an officer or director or is an 413
attorney in fact that engaged in such violation until the office 414
determines the violation has been re medied. 415
Section 4. Paragraphs (f) through (i) of subsection (1) of 416
section 624.408, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 417
624.408 Surplus required; current insurers. — 418
(1) To maintain a certificate of authority to transact any 419
one kind or combinati ons of kinds of insurance, as defined in 420
part V of this chapter, an insurer in this state must at all 421
times maintain surplus as to policyholders at least the greater 422
of: 423
(f) For residential property insurers not holding a 424
certificate of authority before July 1, 2025 2011, $35 $15 425
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million. 426
(g) For residential property insurers holding a 427
certificate of authority before July 1, 2025 2011, and until 428
June 30, 2030 2016, $15 $5 million; on or after July 1, 2030 429
2016, and until June 30, 2035 2021, $25 $10 million; on or after 430
July 1, 2035 2021, $35 $15 million. 431
(h) Notwithstanding paragraphs (e), (f), and (g), for a 432
domestic insurer that only transacts limited sinkhole coverage 433
insurance for personal lines residential property pursuant to s. 434
627.7151:, $7.5 million. 435
1. For such an insurer that does not hold a certificate of 436
authority before July 1, 2025, $12.5 million. 437
2. For such an insurer holding a certificate of authority 438
before July 1, 2025, and until June 30, 2030, $7.5 million; on 439
or after July 1, 2030, and until June 30, 2035, $10 million; on 440
or after July 1, 2035, $12.5 million. 441
(i) Notwithstanding paragraphs (a), (d), and (e), for an 442
insurer that only transacts residential property insurance in 443
the form of renter's insurance, tenant's cover age, cooperative 444
unit owner insurance, or any combination thereof :, $10 million. 445
1. For such an insurer that does not hold a certificate of 446
authority before July 1, 2025, $15 million. 447
2. For such an insurer holding a certificate of authority 448
before July 1, 2025, and until June 30, 2030, $10 million; on or 449
after July 1, 2030, and until June 30, 2035, $12.5 million; on 450
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or after July 1, 2035, $15 million. 451
452
The office may reduce the surplus requirement in paragraphs (f) 453
and (g) if the insurer is not writing new business, has premiums 454
in force of less than $1 million per year in residential 455
property insurance, or is a mutual insurance company. 456
Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 457