Florida House Passes Various Insurance-Related Bills To Third Reading; Overturns 2010 Crop Insurance Bill Veto

Meeting in Session today, March 24, 2011, the Florida House of Representatives took up various insurance-related bills on second reading.  All were found favorable and rolled over to a third reading.  The bills include:

• HB 4115 relating to Powers of the (Florida Insurance) Consumer Advocate by State Representative Scott Plakon, which would delete certain powers of the Florida Insurance Consumer Advocate relating to preparation of an annual report card for personal residential property insurers.
• HB 4081 relating to the Repeal of Obsolete Insurance Provisions by State Representative Mike Horner, which would repeal outdated insurance statutes.
• HB 4099 relating to the Repeal of Obsolete Insurance Provisions by State Representative Bryan Nelson, which would delete specified obsolete provisions of insurance law relating to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (“Citizens”), Florida’s Automobile Joint Underwriting Association, the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund and the State’s proposed Sinkhole Database. The bill also would delete an obsolete effective date for the exclusion of windstorm and contents coverage.
• HB 4129 relating to (Florida’s) Residential Property Structural Soundness Evaluation Grant Program by State Representative Steve Crisafulli, which would delete laws relating to Citizens’ residential property structural soundness evaluation grant program.
• HB 4181 relating to Prohibited Activities of Citizens by State Representative Daniel Davis, which would repeal a statute relating to an obsolete prohibition against Citizens using certain amendments or transfers of funds for rate or assessment increase purposes.
• HB 4083 relating to Workers’ Compensation by State Representative Ben Albritton, which would repeal a provision abolishing the Florida’s Workers’ Compensation Administrator. It also would delete an obsolete transitional requirement for certain policies of the Florida Workers’ Compensation Joint Underwriting Association.

HB 7103 Veto Overturned

Of note, the House voted unanimously today to override former Florida Governor Charlie Crist’s 2010 veto of HB 7103 relating to Agriculture.  After a motion passed to make the bill effective immediately, the new effective date was approved–also unanimously–and the bill was ordered enrolled. 

Among other agriculture and insurance-related provisions, HB 7103 amends s. 624.4095, F.S. to allow additional fiscally sound multi-peril crop insurers to meet the statutorily required capital and surplus requirements for admission into the State.  It also allows the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation latitude in considering financial accounting matters for crop insurers.  HB 7103 provides that gross written premiums for certain crop insurance should not be included when calculating an insurer’s gross writing ratio and requires that liabilities for ceded reinsurance premiums be netted against the assets for amounts recoverable from reinsurers.  Insurers that write other insurance products will be required to disclose a breakout of the gross written premiums for crop insurance.

Further, with certain crop insurers interested in doing business in Florida, but currently unable to write insurance because of current statutory constructs, the changes effected by HB 7103 are expected to allow individuals who grow agricultural products to have increased insurance options offered by fiscally sound insurers.

Should you have any questions or comments, please contact Colodny Fass.

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