Florida Senate - 2011                        COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for SB 408
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Barcode 264582                          
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
                  Comm: RCS            .                                
                  04/05/2011           .                                
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       The Committee on Rules (Alexander) recommended the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment (with directory and title amendments)
    2  
    3         Delete line 1366
    4  and insert:
    5         (6) TAXPAYER-FUNDED CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE
    6  CORPORATION.—
    7         (a)1. It is the public purpose of this subsection to ensure
    8  the existence of an orderly market for property insurance for
    9  Floridians and Florida businesses. The Legislature finds that
   10  private insurers are unwilling or unable to provide affordable
   11  property insurance coverage in this state to the extent sought
   12  and needed. The absence of affordable property insurance
   13  threatens the public health, safety, and welfare and likewise
   14  threatens the economic health of the state. The state therefore
   15  has a compelling public interest and a public purpose to assist
   16  in assuring that property in the state is insured and that it is
   17  insured at affordable rates so as to facilitate the remediation,
   18  reconstruction, and replacement of damaged or destroyed property
   19  in order to reduce or avoid the negative effects otherwise
   20  resulting to the public health, safety, and welfare, to the
   21  economy of the state, and to the revenues of the state and local
   22  governments which are needed to provide for the public welfare.
   23  It is necessary, therefore, to provide affordable property
   24  insurance to applicants who are in good faith entitled to
   25  procure insurance through the voluntary market but are unable to
   26  do so. The Legislature intends by this subsection that
   27  affordable property insurance be provided and that it continue
   28  to be provided, as long as necessary, through the Taxpayer
   29  Funded Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, a government
   30  entity that is an integral part of the state, and that is not a
   31  private insurance company. To that end, the Citizens Property
   32  Insurance corporation shall strive to increase the availability
   33  of affordable property insurance in this state, while achieving
   34  efficiencies and economies, and while providing service to
   35  policyholders, applicants, and agents which is no less than the
   36  quality generally provided in the voluntary market, for the
   37  achievement of the foregoing public purposes. Because it is
   38  essential for this government entity to have the maximum
   39  financial resources to pay claims following a catastrophic
   40  hurricane, it is the intent of the Legislature that the Citizens
   41  Property Insurance corporation continue to be an integral part
   42  of the state and that the income of the corporation be exempt
   43  from federal income taxation and that interest on the debt
   44  obligations issued by the corporation be exempt from federal
   45  income taxation.
   46         2. The Residential Property and Casualty Joint Underwriting
   47  Association originally created by this statute shall be known,
   48  as of July 1, 2002, as the Taxpayer-Funded Citizens Property
   49  Insurance Corporation. The corporation shall provide insurance
   50  for residential and commercial property, for applicants who are
   51  in good faith entitled, but are unable, to procure insurance
   52  through the voluntary market. The corporation shall operate
   53  pursuant to a plan of operation approved by order of the
   54  Financial Services Commission. The plan is subject to continuous
   55  review by the commission. The commission may, by order, withdraw
   56  approval of all or part of a plan if the commission determines
   57  that conditions have changed since approval was granted and that
   58  the purposes of the plan require changes in the plan. The
   59  corporation shall continue to operate pursuant to the plan of
   60  operation approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation until
   61  October 1, 2006. For the purposes of this subsection,
   62  residential coverage includes both personal lines residential
   63  coverage, which consists of the type of coverage provided by
   64  homeowner’s, mobile home owner’s, dwelling, tenant’s,
   65  condominium unit owner’s, and similar policies, and commercial
   66  lines residential coverage, which consists of the type of
   67  coverage provided by condominium association, apartment
   68  building, and similar policies.
   69         3. Effective January 1, 2009, a personal lines residential
   70  structure that has a dwelling replacement cost of $2 million or
   71  more, or a single condominium unit that has a combined dwelling
   72  and content replacement cost of $2 million or more is not
   73  eligible for coverage by the corporation. Such dwellings insured
   74  by the corporation on December 31, 2008, may continue to be
   75  covered by the corporation until the end of the policy term.
   76  However, such dwellings that are insured by the corporation and
   77  become ineligible for coverage due to the provisions of this
   78  subparagraph may reapply and obtain coverage if the property
   79  owner provides the corporation with a sworn affidavit from one
   80  or more insurance agents, on a form provided by the corporation,
   81  stating that the agents have made their best efforts to obtain
   82  coverage and that the property has been rejected for coverage by
   83  at least one authorized insurer and at least three surplus lines
   84  insurers. If such conditions are met, the dwelling may be
   85  insured by the corporation for up to 3 years, after which time
   86  the dwelling is ineligible for coverage. The office shall
   87  approve the method used by the corporation for valuing the
   88  dwelling replacement cost for the purposes of this subparagraph.
   89  If a policyholder is insured by the corporation prior to being
   90  determined to be ineligible pursuant to this subparagraph and
   91  such policyholder files a lawsuit challenging the determination,
   92  the policyholder may remain insured by the corporation until the
   93  conclusion of the litigation.
   94         4. It is the intent of the Legislature that policyholders,
   95  applicants, and agents of the corporation receive service and
   96  treatment of the highest possible level but never less than that
   97  generally provided in the voluntary market. It also is intended
   98  that the corporation be held to service standards no less than
   99  those applied to insurers in the voluntary market by the office
  100  with respect to responsiveness, timeliness, customer courtesy,
  101  and overall dealings with policyholders, applicants, or agents
  102  of the corporation.
  103         5. Effective January 1, 2009, a personal lines residential
  104  structure that is located in the “wind-borne debris region,” as
  105  defined in s. 1609.2, International Building Code (2006), and
  106  that has an insured value on the structure of $750,000 or more
  107  is not eligible for coverage by the corporation unless the
  108  structure has opening protections as required under the Florida
  109  Building Code for a newly constructed residential structure in
  110  that area. A residential structure shall be deemed to comply
  111  with the requirements of this subparagraph if it has shutters or
  112  opening protections on all openings and if such opening
  113  protections complied with the Florida Building Code at the time
  114  they were installed.
  115  
  116  ====== D I R E C T O R Y  C L A U S E  A M E N D M E N T ======
  117         And the directory clause is amended as follows:
  118         Delete line 1362
  119  and insert:
  120         Section 15. Paragraphs (a), (b), (c), (d), (v), and (y) of
  121  
  122  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
  123         And the title is amended as follows:
  124         Delete line 112
  125  and insert:
  126         by the act; amending s. 627.351, F.S.; renaming the
  127         Citizens Property Insurance Corporation the Taxpayer
  128         Funded Property Insurance Corporation; renaming the