On Tuesday, April 26, 2022, Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a call for a special session of the legislature and announced the dates for the upcoming special session. Lawmakers will reconvene in Tallahassee May 23-27, to address Florida’s worsening property insurance market, which has been in crisis for the past several years.
Increasing rates of insurance fraud and frivolous litigation have caused homeowners’ insurance rates to skyrocket in the Sunshine State, many doubling in just the last 12 months. According to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, in the last 10 years, $51 billion has been paid by insurers and of that, 71% went to attorneys’ fees and public adjusters while only 8% went to claimants. Florida insurers have reported net underwriting losses of over $1 billion each year for the past two years, and three companies providing homeowners’ coverage have gone insolvent in just the last three months.
Specifically, the governor’s proclamation requires the following issues to be addressed:
- Property insurance
- Reinsurance
- Changes to the Florida building code to improve the affordability of property insurance
- The Office of Insurance Regulation
- Civil remedies
- Appropriations
Read the full proclamation HERE.
