Florida Senate - 2023                                     SB 418
       
       
        
       By Senator Perry
       
       
       
       
       
       9-00717-23                                             2023418__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to insurance; amending s. 627.062,
    3         F.S.; authorizing residential property insurance rate
    4         filings to use a specified modeling indication;
    5         amending s. 627.0628, F.S.; authorizing a designee of
    6         the Director of the Division of Emergency Management
    7         to be a member of the Florida Commission on Hurricane
    8         Loss Projection Methodology; providing a requirement
    9         for such designee; amending s. 627.0629, F.S.;
   10         authorizing insurers to file with the Office of
   11         Insurance Regulation personal lines residential
   12         property insurance rating plans providing rate
   13         differentials based on certain windstorm mitigation
   14         construction standards; providing requirements for
   15         such plans; amending s. 627.0665, F.S.; revising the
   16         timeframe for notices from insurers to insureds of
   17         automatic bank withdrawal increases; specifying the
   18         increase threshold for such notices; amending s.
   19         627.7276, F.S.; revising the requirements for the
   20         notice of limited coverage under certain automobile
   21         policies; providing an effective date.
   22          
   23  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   24  
   25         Section 1. Paragraph (j) of subsection (2) of section
   26  627.062, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   27         627.062 Rate standards.—
   28         (2) As to all such classes of insurance:
   29         (j) With respect to residential property insurance rate
   30  filings, the rate filing:
   31         1. Must account for mitigation measures undertaken by
   32  policyholders to reduce hurricane losses.
   33         2.May use a modeling indication that is the weighted or
   34  straight average of two or more hurricane loss projection models
   35  found by the Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection
   36  Methodology to be accurate or reliable pursuant to s. 627.0628.
   37  
   38  The provisions of this subsection do not apply to workers’
   39  compensation, employer’s liability insurance, and motor vehicle
   40  insurance.
   41         Section 2. Paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
   42  627.0628, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   43         627.0628 Florida Commission on Hurricane Loss Projection
   44  Methodology; public records exemption; public meetings
   45  exemption.—
   46         (2) COMMISSION CREATED.—
   47         (b) The commission shall consist of the following 12
   48  members:
   49         1. The insurance consumer advocate.
   50         2. The senior employee of the State Board of Administration
   51  responsible for operations of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe
   52  Fund.
   53         3. The Executive Director of the Citizens Property
   54  Insurance Corporation.
   55         4. The Director of the Division of Emergency Management or
   56  the director’s designee. The director’s designee must be a full
   57  time employee of the division.
   58         5. The actuary member of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe
   59  Fund Advisory Council.
   60         6. An employee of the office who is an actuary responsible
   61  for property insurance rate filings and who is appointed by the
   62  director of the office.
   63         7. Five members appointed by the Chief Financial Officer,
   64  as follows:
   65         a. An actuary who is employed full time by a property and
   66  casualty insurer that was responsible for at least 1 percent of
   67  the aggregate statewide direct written premium for homeowner
   68  insurance in the calendar year preceding the member’s
   69  appointment to the commission.
   70         b. An expert in insurance finance who is a full-time member
   71  of the faculty of the State University System and who has a
   72  background in actuarial science.
   73         c. An expert in statistics who is a full-time member of the
   74  faculty of the State University System and who has a background
   75  in insurance.
   76         d. An expert in computer system design who is a full-time
   77  member of the faculty of the State University System.
   78         e. An expert in meteorology who is a full-time member of
   79  the faculty of the State University System and who specializes
   80  in hurricanes.
   81         8. A licensed professional structural engineer who is a
   82  full-time faculty member in the State University System and who
   83  has expertise in wind mitigation techniques. This appointment
   84  shall be made by the Governor.
   85         Section 3. Subsection (9) is added to section 627.0629,
   86  Florida Statutes, to read:
   87         627.0629 Residential property insurance; rate filings.—
   88         (9)An insurer may file with the office a personal lines
   89  residential property insurance rating plan that provides
   90  justified premium discounts, credits, or other rate
   91  differentials based on windstorm mitigation construction
   92  standards developed by an independent, nonprofit scientific
   93  research organization, if such standards meet the requirements
   94  of this section. Such plan must describe the manner in which the
   95  insurer will document the existence of the mitigation features
   96  and premium discounts, credits, or other rate differentials
   97  created under such plan.
   98         Section 4. Section 627.0665, Florida Statutes, is amended
   99  to read:
  100         627.0665 Automatic bank withdrawal agreements; notification
  101  required.—Any insurer licensed to issue insurance in the state
  102  who has an automatic bank withdrawal agreement with an insured
  103  party for the payment of insurance premiums for any type of
  104  insurance shall give the named insured at least 10 15 days
  105  advance written notice of any increase in policy premiums which
  106  results in the next automatic bank withdrawal being increased by
  107  more than $10. Such notice must be provided before prior to any
  108  automatic bank withdrawal containing the of an increased
  109  premium.
  110         Section 5. Section 627.7276, Florida Statutes, is amended
  111  to read:
  112         627.7276 Notice of limited coverage.—
  113         (1) An automobile policy that does not contain coverage for
  114  bodily injury and property damage must include a notice be
  115  clearly stamped or printed to the effect that such coverage is
  116  not included in the policy in the following manner:
  117  
  118         “THIS POLICY DOES NOT PROVIDE BODILY INJURY AND
  119         PROPERTY DAMAGE LIABILITY INSURANCE OR ANY OTHER
  120         COVERAGE FOR WHICH A SPECIFIC PREMIUM CHARGE IS NOT
  121         MADE, AND DOES NOT COMPLY WITH ANY FINANCIAL
  122         RESPONSIBILITY LAW.”
  123  
  124         (2) This notice legend must accompany appear on the policy
  125  declarations declaration page and on the filing back of the
  126  policy and must be printed in a contrasting color from that used
  127  on the policy and in type size at least as large as larger than
  128  the largest type size used on the declarations page in the text
  129  thereof, as an overprint or by a rubber stamp impression.
  130         Section 6. This act shall take effect July 1, 2023.