| 1 | Representative Long offered the following: |
| 2 |
|
| 3 | Amendment (with title amendment) |
| 4 | Remove lines 2246-2247 and insert: |
| 5 | Section 16. Effective January 1, 2010, subsection (5) is |
| 6 | added to section 627.706, Florida Statutes, to read: |
| 7 | 627.706 Sinkhole insurance; catastrophic ground cover |
| 8 | collapse; definitions.-- |
| 9 | (5) An insurer offering sinkhole coverage to policyholders |
| 10 | before or after the adoption of s. 30, chapter 2007-1, Laws of |
| 11 | Florida, may nonrenew the policies of policyholders maintaining |
| 12 | sinkhole coverage, at the option of the insurer, and provide an |
| 13 | offer of coverage to such policyholders which includes |
| 14 | catastrophic ground cover collapse and excludes sinkhole |
| 15 | coverage. Insurers acting in accordance with this subsection are |
| 16 | subject to the following requirements: |
| 17 | (a) Policyholders must be notified that a nonrenewal is |
| 18 | for purposes of removing sinkhole coverage and that the |
| 19 | policyholder is still being offered a policy that provides |
| 20 | coverage for catastrophic ground cover collapse. |
| 21 | (b) Policyholders must be provided an actuarially |
| 22 | reasonable premium credit or discount, subject to the approval |
| 23 | of the Office of Insurance Regulation, for the removal of |
| 24 | sinkhole coverage and provision of only catastrophic ground |
| 25 | cover collapse. |
| 26 | (c) Subject to the provisions of this subsection and the |
| 27 | insurer's approved underwriting or insurability guidelines, the |
| 28 | insurer shall provide each policyholder with the opportunity to |
| 29 | purchase an endorsement to his or her policy providing sinkhole |
| 30 | coverage and may require an inspection of the property before |
| 31 | issuance of a sinkhole coverage endorsement. |
| 32 | (d) Section 624.4305 does not apply to nonrenewal notices |
| 33 | issued pursuant to this subsection. |
| 34 | Section 17. Effective January 1, 2010, section 627.7063, |
| 35 | Florida Statutes, is created to read: |
| 36 | 627.7063 Building code effectiveness grading schedule.-- |
| 37 | (1) As used in this section, the term "sinkhole loss |
| 38 | prevention ordinance" means a county ordinance that amends the |
| 39 | Florida Building Code and that is intended to reduce the number |
| 40 | of sinkhole claims and the severity of sinkhole losses. |
| 41 | (2) The commission shall adopt a building code |
| 42 | effectiveness grading schedule by rule. The grading schedule |
| 43 | shall evaluate the effectiveness of each sinkhole loss |
| 44 | prevention ordinance in reducing the number of sinkhole claims |
| 45 | and the severity of sinkhole losses. Each ordinance shall be |
| 46 | evaluated 4 years after the ordinance takes effect. The grading |
| 47 | schedule shall be based on the effectiveness of code enforcement |
| 48 | in each county and scientific, modeling, and engineering |
| 49 | methodologies. The rules shall further mandate insurance premium |
| 50 | discounts or surcharges on personal residential property |
| 51 | insurance based on a property's compliance with an ordinance and |
| 52 | the grade assigned to the applicable sinkhole loss prevention |
| 53 | ordinance. |
| 54 | Section 18. Except as otherwise expressly provided herein, |
| 55 | this act shall take effect upon becoming a law. |
| 56 |
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| 57 | ----------------------------------------------------- |
| 58 | T I T L E A M E N D M E N T |
| 59 | Remove line 119 and insert: |
| 60 | amending s. 627.706, F.S.; providing for nonrenewal of |
| 61 | certain sinkhole insurance policies; creating s. 627.7063, |
| 62 | F.S.; providing for a building code effectiveness grading |
| 63 | schedule; providing effective dates. |