Florida Senate - 2025 CS for SB 888 By the Committee on Banking and Insurance; and Senator Avila 597-02811-25 2025888c1 1 A bill to be entitled 2 An act relating to consumer transparency for 3 homeowners insurance; amending s. 627.0621, F.S.; 4 requiring that certain rate filings with the Office of 5 Insurance Regulation from residential property 6 insurers include rate transparency reports; providing 7 for acceptance or rejection by the office of such 8 reports; providing construction; providing 9 requirements for such reports; requiring insurers to 10 provide such reports to consumers; requiring that the 11 report indicate that it is preliminary and subject to 12 modification by the office under certain 13 circumstances; requiring the office to define terms 14 used in such reports; requiring the office to 15 establish and maintain a comprehensive resource center 16 on its website; providing requirements for the 17 resource center; specifying that certain information 18 is not a trade secret and is not subject to certain 19 public records exemptions; providing an effective 20 date. 21 22 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 23 24 Section 1.Present subsection (2) of section 627.0621, 25 Florida Statutes, is redesignated as subsection (3) and amended, 26 and a new subsection (2) is added to that section, to read: 27 627.0621Transparency in rate regulation. 28 (2)RATE TRANSPARENCY REPORT. 29 (a)Beginning October 1, 2025, every rate filing requesting 30 a rate change for residential property coverage from a property 31 insurer must include a rate transparency report for acceptance 32 for use or modification by the office. The office may accept the 33 rate transparency report for filing, or if the office finds that 34 the report fails to provide the required information in concise 35 and plain language that aids consumers in their understanding of 36 insurance, or finds the report to be misleading, the office must 37 return the rate transparency report to the property insurer for 38 modification. The offices acceptance of the report for use or 39 modification may not be deemed approval pursuant to s. 627.062. 40 The report must be compiled in a uniform format prescribed by 41 the commission and must include a graphical representation 42 identifying a percentage breakdown of rating factors anticipated 43 by the company, book, or program affected by the filing. 44 (b)Along with an offer of coverage and upon renewal, an 45 insurer must provide the corresponding copy of the rate 46 transparency report for the consumers offered rate to aid 47 consumers in their understanding of insurance. If the report has 48 not been accepted for use or modified by the office, the report 49 must indicate that it is preliminary and subject to modification 50 by the office. 51 (c)The rate transparency report must include the following 52 categories of the book or program at the cumulative level: 53 1.The percentage of the total rate factor associated with 54 the cost of reinsurance. 55 2.The percentage of the total rate factor associated with 56 the cost of claims. 57 3.The percentage of the total rate factor associated with 58 the defense containment and costs. 59 4.The percentage of the total rate factor associated with 60 fees and commissions. 61 5.The percentage of the rate factor associated with profit 62 and contingency of the insurer. 63 6.Any other categories deemed necessary by the office or 64 commission. 65 66 An estimated percentage of the influence of each listed factor 67 provided must equal 100 percent. 68 (d)The insurer shall provide the rate transparency report 69 to the office upon the filing of a rate change with the office. 70 (e)In addition to the categories required in paragraph 71 (c), the rate transparency report must also include the 72 following information: 73 1.Any major adverse findings by the office for the 74 previous 3 calendar years. 75 2.Whether the insurer uses affiliated entities to perform 76 functions of the insurer. 77 3.Contact information, including a telephone number, hours 78 of service, and e-mail address, for the Division of Consumer 79 Services of the department. 80 4.Contact information for the office. 81 5.Address for the website for public access to rate filing 82 and affiliate information outlined in subsection (3). 83 6.Any changes in the total insured value from the last 84 policy period. 85 (f)The office shall define, in concise and plain language, 86 any terms used in the rate transparency report to aid consumers 87 in their understanding of insurance. 88 (3)(2)WEBSITE FOR PUBLIC ACCESS TO RATE FILING 89 INFORMATION. 90 (a)The office shall establish and maintain a comprehensive 91 resource center on its website which uses concise and plain 92 language to aid consumers in their understanding of insurance. 93 The website must include substantive information on the current 94 and historical dynamics of the market, data concerning the 95 financial condition and market conduct of insurance companies, 96 and insurance options available to consumers. At a minimum, the 97 website must contain the following: 98 1.Reports, using graphical information whenever possible, 99 which outline information about the state of the market and 100 adverse and positive trends affecting it. 101 2.Tools that aid consumers in finding insurers, including, 102 but not limited to, a listing of all companies actively doing 103 business in this state which includes each companys address, 104 website, and all phone numbers and e-mail addresses to be used 105 by insureds and applicants for coverage. 106 3.Tools that aid consumers in selecting the coverages 107 beneficial to them, including, but not limited to: 108 a.Educational materials that explain the types of coverage 109 in residential property insurance policies; the difference 110 between replacement cost reimbursement and actual cash value 111 reimbursement; a glossary of common terms used in policies; and 112 a comparison of the coverage, terms, conditions, and exclusions 113 contained in different homeowners and dwelling fire forms. 114 b.Answers to commonly asked questions about residential 115 property insurance coverage. 116 4.Information about mitigation credits and the My Safe 117 Florida Home Program, as well as other credits and discounts 118 insurers may offer beyond wind mitigation. 119 5.Access to the rate transparency report, annual 120 statements, market conduct information, and other information 121 related to each insurer. 122 6.Information on the Citizens Property Insurance 123 Corporation takeout process, the clearinghouse, and general 124 information as reported by the office. 125 7.Information on the claims process, including, but not 126 limited to: 127 a.Clear, step-by-step guidance on how to file a claim, 128 what to expect during the claim process, and timelines for 129 resolution of a claim. 130 b.The obligations of insurers and insureds related to 131 claim reporting, claim handling, communications regarding 132 claims, claim investigations, claim decisions, and claim 133 payments. 134 c.For each insurer with active policies in this state, the 135 means by which to report a claim, including any phone numbers, 136 e-mail addresses, and website addresses, used for claim 137 reporting. 138 8.Information on consumer protection, including, but not 139 limited to: 140 a.The rights of insureds under Florida law related to 141 obtaining coverage; coverage renewals, nonrenewals, and 142 cancellations; and mandated offers of coverage. 143 b.Information on how to file consumer complaints with the 144 Division of Consumer Services in the Department of Financial 145 Services. 146 9.Information on news and updates relevant to consumers 147 regarding this states residential property insurance market, 148 including regulatory changes, information on insurers that enter 149 or exit the market, and industry trends. 150 10.Disaster preparedness information directly related to 151 insurance, prepared by the office or by the Division of 152 Emergency Management. 153 11.(a)With respect to any residential property rate 154 filing, the office shall provide the following information on a 155 publicly accessible Internet website: 156 a.1.The overall rate change requested by the insurer. 157 b.2.The rate change approved by the office along with all 158 of the actuarys assumptions and recommendations forming the 159 basis of the offices decision. 160 c.3.Certification by the offices actuary that, based on 161 the actuarys knowledge, his or her recommendations are 162 consistent with accepted actuarial principles. 163 d.Whether the insurer uses affiliated entities to perform 164 administrative, claims handling, or other functions of the 165 insurer and, if so, the total percentage of direct written 166 premium paid to the affiliated entities by the insurer in the 167 preceding calendar year. 168 (b)For any rate filing, regardless of whether or not the 169 filing is subject to a public hearing, the office shall provide 170 on its website a means for any policyholder who may be affected 171 by a proposed rate change to send an e-mail regarding the 172 proposed rate change. Such e-mail must be accessible to the 173 actuary assigned to review the rate filing. 174 (c)The statewide average requested rate change and final 175 approved statewide average rate change within a filing is not a 176 trade secret as defined in s. 688.002 or s. 812.081(1) and is 177 not subject to the public records exemption for trade secrets 178 provided in s. 119.0715 or s. 624.4213. 179 (d)County rating examples submitted to the office through 180 the rate collection system for the purposes of displaying rates 181 on the office website are not a trade secret as defined in s. 182 688.002 or s. 812.081(1) and are not subject to the public 183 records exemption for trade secrets provided in s. 119.0715 or 184 s. 624.4213. 185 Section 2.This act shall take effect July 1, 2025.