Property issues dominate week 2

Property insurance issues were front and center, again, during the 2nd week of the 2011 Florida legislative session:

• Flex rating/choice:  A bill that would allow insurers to raise individual policyholder rates by as much as 30 percent a year, SB 1330, was approved by the Senate Banking & Insurance Committee.  The bill's sponsor is Sen. Alan Hays.  A similar bill was passed by the Legislature last year, only to be vetoed by Gov. Christ.  See more at State lawmakers push ahead with bill that allows 30 percent insurance rate hike.
  
• Big property package/sinkhole reform:  The so-called "big property" bill, SB 408, stalled in the Senate Budget Committee.  The committee was unable to get through all of the amendments proposed by Sen. Mike Fasano.  Most of the controversy relates to sinkhole insurance reform.  See Fasano Wins Battle to Change Property Insurance Bill.  The Committee may take up the bill for a second time this coming week.
• The House version of the big property package, HB 803, was work-shopped in the House Banking & Insurance Subcommittee in week 2, and may come up for a vote by the Subcommittee this coming week.
• Commercial rate deregulation:  Companion bills adding more categories of commercial products to those not requiring prior rate approval were passed out of Senate and House committees.   SB 178 was approved by the Senate Commerce and Tourism Committee, while HB 99 was approved by the House's Economic Affairs Committee.  The bills go beyond property and include fiduciary liability, general liability, nonresidential property, nonresidential multi-peril property, excess property, and all commercial motor vehicle insurance (the 2010 law exempted commercial motor vehicle insurance covering a fleet of 20 or more vehicles).  For more, see Commercial rate de-regulation.

This summary was prepared by Perry Cone and is posted at www.tallyinslaw.com/

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