FL Chamber Urges Passage of Insurance Bill SB 408
TALLAHASSEE, FL (January 25, 2011) – With Florida only one major hurricane away from a fiscal crisis, the Florida Chamber of Commerce today urges the Florida Senate Banking and Insurance Committee to pass SB 408 and help right the ship on Florida’s property insurance market.
SB 408 by Sen. Garrett Richter (R-Naples) would:
· Require an increase in minimum capital and surplus from $5 million to $15 million for new insurers,
· Institute a three year claims filing deadline for new and reopened claims from the date of a hurricane or windstorm,
· Allow an insurer to pay actual cash value, and holdback replacement cash value until there is a written contract for repairs, and
· Establish substantial sinkhole reforms.
“This important legislation not only addresses the primary cost-drivers within Florida’s insurance market, it will bring security and market predictability, and go a long way toward establishing much needed financial stability,” said Adam Babington, Vice President of Government Affairs for the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
Currently, cost-drivers force rate increases onto Floridians and prevent insurers from building policyholder reserves during hurricane-free years. The Florida Chamber believes SB 408 will result in strengthening existing insurers while also attracting new insurance capital to the state.
SB 408 closely mirrors SB 2044 which passed the Florida Senate and House of Representatives during the 2010 Legislative Session, but was vetoed by then-Governor Charlie Crist.
Important insurance-related issues like those found within SB 408 will be among the topics of discussion during the Florida Chamber of Commerce Insurance Summit taking place this Thursday and Friday, January 27-28, at the Walt Disney World Contemporary Resort in Orlando. Insurance Summit panelist and guest speakers – including Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater, Congressman Dennis Ross, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, numerous lawmakers, and industry experts – will provide attendees with:
· Updates on Florida’s insurance market
· Discussions on Florida’s economic reliance on property insurance,
· Effects of market failures on consumers and the industry,
· Status reports on the property insurance market,
· Insurance assessments,
· Updates on health residual market and Citizen Property Insurance Corporation,
· Florida’s attempt to attract capital while balancing affordability, and
· Impacts of sinkhole claims on the insurance market.
To learn more about the Florida Chamber of Commerce Insurance Summit, visit www.flchamber.com.
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Established in 1916 as Florida’s first statewide business advocacy organization, the Florida Chamber of Commerce is the state’s largest federation of employers, chambers of commerce and associations, representing more than 139,000 employers. The Chamber works within all branches of government to affect those changes set forth in the annual Florida Business Agenda, and which are seen as critical to the continued improvement of Florida’s business environment. Visit www.FloridaChamber.com for more information.
