In an effort to address the continually rising Florida insurance rates, Senate Bill SB 2D was signed into law on May 26, 2022. The new bill introduces some great new protections for Florida homeowners, and will hopefully be successful in addressing some of the issues currently plaguing the insurance market.
New Rules for Insurance Companies
Florida property insurance companies now have a few more rules to follow, mostly centered on requirements for the claim process. Insurers are now no longer allowed to deny coverage based solely on the age of a home’s roof, as long as the roof is less than fifteen years old. If a roof is older than fifteen years, homeowners are permitted to conduct an inspection before being denied coverage. If the inspection finds that the roof has more than five years of use remaining, insurers cannot deny coverage.
The bill also requires insurers to become more transparent in their claim process. If an insurer denies a claim, entirely or partially, they must provide an explanation of why the claim was denied, with reference to any pertinent areas of the policy and laws involved. Insurers must also notify homeowners of reports from insurance adjusters, which detail the estimated amount of losses and how that number was reached, within a week of its completion.
New Programs to Help Homeowners
Two new programs were established to assist Florida policyholders in protecting their homes. The “My Safe Florida Home Program” allocates $150 million to subsidizing hurricane retrofitting, in order to make existing homes more resilient. For homes that were built before 2008, and are located in areas of dangerous wind speeds, homeowners can receive assistance from the state – a $2 match for every $1 spent in retrofitting the home, up to $10,000. The goal of this program is to reduce the number of claims from storm damage in high-risk areas. A $2 billion reinsurance fund, named the “Reinsurance to Assist Policy” program, was also established to provide necessary funds for reinsurance to insurers. For an insurer to access the fund, however, they must lower the rates of their policyholders.
Hopefully, this new bill will bring some much-needed change to the Florida insurance market, as well as provide homeowners with a better chance of a successful claim If you’re a policyholder fighting for your claim, contact our team today at (954) 420-6406 today for the best in Florida insurance litigation.