Florida Senate passes needed reforms to Citizens Property Insurance
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (April 25, 2013) – The R Street Institute today commended the Florida Senate for passing by a 24-15 margin legislation to promote depopulation of the state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
Sponsored by Sen. David Simmons, R-Maitland, S.B. 1770 would create a clearinghouse through which tens of thousands of Citizens’ 1.3 million policies could be moved to competitively priced private insurance carriers. It also reduces the maximum property value that Citizens can insure to $500,000 and restricts Citizens from writing new policies in environmentally sensitive coastal regions.
While the bill does not go as far as R Street would prefer to promote risk-based rates and move toward more competitive private insurance markets in the state, R Street Florida Director Christian R. Cámara nonetheless welcomed the passage as a step toward reducing the risk of crippling post-storm hurricane taxes.
“The Senate made a responsible decision today in passing meaningful, bipartisan reforms to Citizens Property Insurance Corp.,” Cámara said. “S.B. 1770 will protect taxpayers, businesses, and charities by decreasing the likelihood or severity of potentially crushing post-hurricane assessments, and protect the state’s coastal environment against irresponsible beachfront development. The House would do well in quickly sending this good piece of legislation to Gov. Scott’s desk.”
