FPCA Homeowners’ Division–Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund Rule Development Workshop Report: January 11
Jan 11, 2010
The Florida State Board of Administration held a Rule Development Workshop today, January 11, 2009, on amendments to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (“FHCF”) Reimbursement Contract and related data call Rules. To access hyperlinks to the proposed Rules and attendant documents, click here.
FHCF Senior Attorney Tracy Allen stated that many of the amendments to the forms were related to the change in the term of the FHCF contract year mandated by CS/CS/HB 1495, as well as a new address for the FHCF Administrator. Ms. Allen stated that, if future legislation is passed in 2010 that would revise the FHCF contract year, those changes would likely be adopted via Emergency Rule.
A significant new aspect of the FHCF contract is the exclusion of Loss Assessment Coverage from the 2010 Reimbursement Contract (See exclusions #13 and #22 of the Article VI of the Reimbursement Contract).
Implementations of the changes in the Temporary Increase in Coverage Limits option under CS/CS/HB 1495 are also notable, as well as provisions clarifying coverage for golf carts.
The Rule amendments would adopt the proposed 2010 Reimbursement Premium Formula calculation with modifications to account for the FHCF contract year change in dates.
FHCF staff plans to keep the record open for comments to the proposed Rules and forms until 1:00 p.m. on January 12, 2010. At that time, the FHCF staff plans to present the Rules, along with any addenda, to the FHCF Advisory Council for approval. If approved, a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking will be issued.
During its January 12 meeting, the FHCF Advisory Council is expected to discuss wind mitigation credits. While no votes are expected to be taken, the discussion may include whether to maintain a phase-in of mitigation credits or to fully implement them immediately. To view the agenda, click here.
Additionally, FHCF officials have explored whether requiring insurers to enter into a binding agreement with the FHCF by January 1 of each year, while maintaining an effective date of June 1 would solve the accounting issue caused by the recent change in the contract year. At this point, this is considered to be a feasible solution; however, the FHCF is planning additional outreach to accountants and attorneys in order to fully evaluate the plan’s financial and legal ramifications.
Note: Because of the time sensitive nature of tomorrow’s FHCF Advisory Council meeting, should you have any specific comments on these matters, please forward them to Katie Webb (kwebb@cftlaw.com) at Colodny Fass as soon as possible.
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