A new legislative season is upon us in Florida. This usually means big changes to Florida condominium law and Florida condominium insurance law. Some of 2010’s big legislative changes to condominium insurance in Florida can be found in my posts from last June, New Changes to Condominium Insurance Legislation and More on New Changes to Condominium Insurance Legislation.
This year, there are many bills on the table that would modify general condominium law and many bills that would modify general insurance law. Interestingly and unlike last year, there are not many bills specifically targeted at condominium insurance this year.
Senate Bill 938 would prohibit insurance companies from using credit scores to determine rates for personal lines of insurance, including condominium unit owner policies.
Senate Bill 1714 and House Bill 1243 would limit which condominium units could be insured by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, limiting coverage to units valued with a replacement cost of under $1 million as of January 1, 2012, under $750,000 as of January 1, 2014, and under $500,000 as of January 1, 2016.
Senate Bill 1516 and House Bill 1195 would require notice to condominium unit owners if a residential condominium association cancelled its policy or failed to renew it, and would allow the unit owners to vote to force the association to obtain substitute insurance.
Last but certainly not least, are Senate Bill 408 and House Bill 803. These bills would make drastic changes to Florida property insurance law, including its application to condominiums. Among other things, these bills would rewrite Florida bad faith law, revise regulations on public adjusters, modify requirements of the consumer advocate, restrict coverage for sinkholes, and restrict benefit payments to actual cash value unless the policyholder has entered into a contract for services to repair.
For a thorough analysis including frequent updates on these bills, head on over to the Property Insurance Coverage Law blog and the new Policyholders of Florida resource site for the most up to date information on these bills. We will also keep you posted here as developments are made that affect condominiums.