HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/CS/HB 1611 Insurance
SPONSOR(S): Commerce Committee, Insurance & Banking Subcommittee, Stevenson and others
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: CS/SB 1622
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Insurance & Banking Subcommittee 19 Y, 0 N, As CS Fortenberry Lloyd
2) Commerce Committee 16 Y, 0 N, As CS Fortenberry Hamon
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Among the variety of changes regarding insurance, the bill:
Data reporting: requires that the information that property insurers were reporting to the Office of Insurance
Regulation (OIR) on a quarterly basis be reported on a monthly basis; and, that the data must be reported
based on zip code rather than county.
Property insurance policy nonrenewals: provides the Financial Services Commission with express
rulemaking authority to adopt rules and forms to regulate how, and in what format, insurers will provide notice
to OIR of nonrenewal of more than 10,000 residential property insurance policies within a 12-month period.
Public housing authority (PHA) self-insurance trust funds: revises the maximum per-loss occurrence
amount that a PHA self-insurance fund may retain from $350,000 to an amount that the fund can withstand,
as long as it maintains a continuing program of excess insurance coverage and reinsurance to protect the
stability of the fund, and meets certain additional criteria.
Prohibition on cancellation of property insurance policies: changes when an authorized insurer may
cancel or nonrenew personal residential or commercial residential property insurance policies on properties
with unrepaired damage; eliminates the separate timeframes for authorized insurers to cancel or nonrenew
personal residential or commercial residential policies following losses due to hurricane and wind and all
other covered perils. also establishes standards for cancellation and nonrenewal of such policies issued by
surplus lines insurers.
Hurricane modeling: specifies that if an insurer uses the average of two or more models in its rate filing, the
same average model must be used throughout the state. However, if the insurer uses a weighted average, it
must provide OIR with a justification for using the weighted average, which shows that it results in a rate that
is reasonable, adequate, and fair.
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation: eliminates the statutory provision that allows Citizens to charge
up to 50 percent above the established Citizens rate for policyholders whose coverage was last provided by
an insurer determined to be unsound or place into receivership.
Roof Inspections: adds roofing contractor to the list of authorized inspectors that an insurer may approve to
conduct the inspection of a roof for determining its remaining useful life.
Reciprocal Insurers: updates the statutory chapter regarding reciprocal insurers to align it with OIR’s
existing authority to license and regulate other types of insurers, including significant changes to the
application and acquisition processes.
The bill has no impact on local or state government revenues. It may have positive impact on local government
expenditures, a negative impact on state government expenditures. It has an indeterminate direct economic
impact on the private sector.
The bill is effective on July 1, 2024, except where otherwise provided.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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DATE: 2/26/2024
FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
DATA REPORTING
Background
Each insurer doing business in Florida must file a report containing certain information with the Office of
Insurance Regulation (OIR) on a quarterly basis. 1 The report must contain premium information for
each of the property lines of business.2 It must also contain the following information for each county on
a monthly basis:
Total number of policies in force at the end of each month.
Total number of policies canceled.
Number of policies canceled due to hurricane risk.
Number of policies nonrenewed due to hurricane risk.
Number of new policies written.
Total dollar value of structure exposure under policies that include wind coverage.
Number of policies that exclude wind coverage.
Number of claims open each month.
Number of claims closed each month.
Number of claims pending each month.
Number of claims in which either the insurer or insured invoked any form of alternative dispute
resolution (ADR), and specifying which form of ADR was invoked. 3
OIR is required to aggregate this data on a statewide basis and make it available to the public on its
website.4 OIR uses this data to track market trends and shares it with the Florida Division of
Emergency Management after natural disasters to help determine where emergency response is most
necessary.5
While the data is reported on a county-by-county basis, insurers already collect data that would allow
them to report on a zip-code basis instead.6
Effect of the Bill
Pursuant to the bill, the information that property insurers were reporting to OIR on a quarterly basis
must be reported on a monthly basis instead. Additionally, the bill requires that the data is reported
based on zip code rather than county. These changes will allow OIR to receive more accurate data on
an expedited basis.7
1 S. 624.424(10)(a), F.S. For the purpose of these reports, the property insurance lines include personal and commercial
residential property insurance.
2 Id.
3 Id.
4 S. 624.424(10)(b), F.S.
5 Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), Agency Analysis of 2024 House Bill 1611, p. 2 (Jan. 21, 2024).
6 Id.
7 OIR has indicated that the data is constantly changing and that it is outdated by the time they receive it on a quarterly
basis.
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PROPERTY INSURANCE POLICY NONRENEWALS
Background
Any property insurer planning to nonrenew more than 10,000 residential property insurance policies in
Florida within a 12-month period must give written notice to OIR 90 days before the issuance of any
notices of nonrenewal.8 While the notice is for informational purposes only, it must include:
the insurer’s reasons for the action;
the effective dates of nonrenewal; and
any arrangements the insurer has made for other insurers to offer coverage to the affected
policyholders.9
The law regarding this notice does not contain a grant of rulemaking authority to allow the Financial
Services Commission (FSC)10 to adopt rules and forms to administer it.
Effect of the Bill
The bill provides the FSC with express rulemaking authority to adopt rules and forms to regulate how,
and in what format, insurers will provide notice to OIR of nonrenewal of more than 10,000 residential
property insurance policies within a 12-month period.
PUBLIC HOUSING SELF-INSURANCE T RUST FUND
Background
Florida law provides for a public housing authority (PHA) in each city and county in the state where the
local governing body has declared the need for such an authority based upon the lack of safe or
sanitary dwellings within the city or county.11 Two or more PHAs in Florida may form a self-insurance
fund to pool and spread their members’ casualty and real or personal property risks, as long as the self-
insurance fund:12
has annual premiums that exceed $5 million;
uses a qualified actuary:
o to determine rates and submits an annual certification to OIR that the rates are
actuarially sound and not inadequate;
o to establish loss and loss adjustment expense reserves and submits an annual
certification to OIR that such reserves are adequate; and
o maintains a continuing program of excess insurance coverage and reserve evaluation to
protect the self-insurance fund’s financial stability, as determined by the actuary.
At a minimum, the PHA self-insurance program must purchase excess insurance from authorized
insurance carriers or eligible surplus lines carriers, but cannot retain liability of more $350,000, per
occurrence. However, if the excess insurance is not available at such terms or is especially costly, a
PHA self-insurance fund has limited ability to comply with the statute.
Effect of the Bill
The bill revises the maximum per-loss occurrence amount that a PHA self-insurance fund may retain
from $350,000 to an amount that the fund can withstand, as long as it maintains a continuing program
of excess insurance coverage and reinsurance to protect the stability of the fund, and, at a minimum:
8 S. 624.4305, F.S.
9 Id.
10 The Financial Services Commission, composed of the Governor, the Attorney General, the Chief Financial Officer, and
the Commissioner of Agriculture, serves as agency head of OIR for the purposes of rulemaking.
11 Ss. 421.04 and 421.27, F.S.
12 S. 624.46226, F.S.
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includes a net retention selected by the fund administrator, ratified by the fund’s governing
body, and certified by a qualified actuary;
includes reinsurance or excess insurance from authorized insurance carriers or eligible surplus
lines insurers; and
is certified by a qualified, independent actuary as to the program’s adequacy.
PROHIBITION ON CANCELLATION OF SURPLUS LINES PROPERTY INSURANCE POLICIES
Background
An authorized insurer may not cancel or nonrenew any personal residential or commercial residential
property insurance policy covering a dwelling or residential property in Florida, including but not limited
to, any homeowner, mobile home owner, farmowner, condominium association, condominium unit
owner, apartment building, or other policy covering a residential structure or its contents:
For 90 days after the dwelling or residential property has been repaired, if the property has been
damaged as a result of a hurricane or wind loss that is the subject of a declaration of emergency
and the filing of an order by the Insurance Commissioner. 13
Until the earlier of when the dwelling or residential property has been repaired or one year after
the insurer issues the final claim payment, if the property was damaged by a covered peril, but
not a hurricane or wind loss.14
However, an authorized insurer or agent may cancel or nonrenew a policy before the dwelling or
residential property has been repaired:
Upon 10 days’ notice for nonpayment of premium; or
Upon 45 days’ notice for:
o A material misstatement or fraud related to the claim;
o If the insurer determines that the insured has unreasonably caused a delay in the repair;
or
o If the insurer has paid policy limits.15
If an insurer elects to nonrenew a policy covering a property that has been damaged, the insurer must
provide at least 90 days’ notice that the insurer intends to nonrenew the policy 90 days after the
property has been repaired.16 A structure is considered repaired when substantially completed and
restored to the extent that it is insurable by another authorized insurer writing policies in Florida. 17
Section 626.9201, F.S., governs the cancellation or nonrenewal of personal and commercial residential
property insurance policies issued by surplus lines insurers, but it does not include specific language
regarding cancellation or nonrenewal following hurricane or wind damage a declared state of
emergency or damage from another covered peril unrelated to a hurricane or wind loss.
13 S. 627.4133(2)(e)1.a., F.S.
14 S. 627.4133(2)(e)1.b., F.S.
15 S. 627.4133(2)(e)2., F.S.
16 S. 627.4133(2)(e)3., F.S.
17 S. 627.4133(2)(e)5., F.S.
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Effect of the Bill
The bill changes when an authorized insurer may cancel or nonrenew personal residential or
commercial residential property insurance policies on properties with unrepaired damage. It eliminates
the separate timeframes for authorized insurers to cancel or nonrenew personal residential or
commercial residential policies following losses due to hurricane and wind and all other c overed perils.
The bill also establishes standards for cancellation and nonrenewal of such policies issued by surplus
lines insurers.
As a result, the following standards for cancellation apply to personal residential and commercial
residential property insurance policies issued by both authorized insurers and surplus lines
insurers. An insurer may not cancel or nonrenew a personal residential or commercial residential
property policy covering a dwelling or residential property in Florida which has been damaged by a
covered peril until the earlier of:
The completion of repairs; or
The expiration of one subsequent renewal of the policy that was in force at the time of the loss.
The bill states that the term “damage” includes flood damage related to a hurricane if flood is a covered
peril under the personal residential or commercial residential property insurance policy.
An insurer or agent may cancel or nonrenew a personal residential and commercial residential policy
prior to the repair of the dwelling or residential property:
Upon 10 days’ notice:
o For nonpayment of premium; or
o If the named insured no longer has an insurable interest in the property; or
Upon 45 days’ notice:
o For a material misstatement or fraud related to the claim;
o If the insurer or its agent has made a reasonable written inquiry of the insured as to the
status of the repair and the insured fails to respond within 30 calendar days; or
o If the insurer has paid policy limits under a personal residential property insurance policy
for a loss to the insured dwelling that was damaged, or policy limits under a commercial
residential property insurance policy for a loss to each structure that was damaged.
If the insurer elects to nonrenew a policy after the expiration of one subsequent renewal of the policy in
force at the time of the loss, the insurer must comply with normal notice requirements in the statutes for
authorized and surplus lines insurers.18 Additionally, the provisions prohibiting cancellation or
nonrenewal of policies on properties with unrepaired damage do not prevent the insurers from
canceling or nonrenewing the policies after the repair is completed for the same reasons they would
have canceled if the unrepaired damage did not exist.
The bill provides that a structure is deemed to be repaired when substantially completed and restored
to the extent that it is insurable by:
Another authorized insurer writing policies in Florida if the structure is currently insured by an
authorized insurer; or
Another authorized or eligible surplus lines insurer writing policies in Florida if the structure is
currently insured by an eligible surplus lines insurer.
Pursuant to the bill, in the event of wide-spread significant flooding, as determined by the Insurance
Commissioner, caused by a hurricane or other natural event, the Insurance Commissioner may issue
an order preventing insurers from canceling or nonrenewing personal residential or commercial
residential property insurance policies covering dwellings or residential properties within zip codes
directly affected by the flooding. If a claim is made while such an order is in effect, the insurer may not
cancel or nonrenew such policies until the earlier of the completion of repairs or the expiration of one
subsequent renewal of the policy that was in force at the time of the loss. This prohibition on
18 Ss. 627.4133(2) and 626.9201, F.S., respectively.
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cancellation and nonrenewal applies even if the personal residential or commercial residential property
insurance policy in place at the time of the loss does not cover the peril of flood. Such an order issued
by the Insurance Commissioner may remain in effect for an initial period of 90 days, and may be
renewed for subsequent 90-day periods, not to exceed a to