MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – In a move to lower rising costs of property insurance and insurer losses, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is expected to sign the property insurance bill which creates a $1 billion reinsurance fund and rewrites rules on coverage denials and attorney fees.
It comes after the Florida House passed the bill in an 84-33 vote on Wednesday, just one day after it passed the Senate in a special session.
While Republicans acknowledged it would take an estimated 12 to 18 months before insurance prices drop, many Democrats were against the bill after claiming that legislation does not do enough to grant immediate financial relief to homeowners whose premiums have increased.
“There’s nothing that I’ve seen that actually will bring rates down for homeowners,” said House Minority Leader Rep. Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa). “And that’s the number one complaint that we get from our constituents is that the rates are just too high.”
DeSantis said at a news conference Thursday that lawmakers are looking for stability in the new bill so that customers will eventually have some relief after insurance costs are lowered.
“There’s a lot of bad policies that have been done over the years that have kind built so now we’re in a situation of trying to land this in a way that’s going to be stable,” said DeSantis.
The intended fix passed by the legislature this week makes changes aimed at making the insurance market more attractive and profitable for insurance companies in the long term.
Local 10 News’ Glenna Milberg asked DeSantis at a news conference if more could be done for the customers.
“Absolutely,” DeSantis replied. “Well look in the spring and see what the market looks like then--it could be something that we address further.”
“I can tell you this in terms of immediate--you will see more people be willing to write policies in Florida because of what we did,” he added.
Just one day after lawmakers made major changes to the state’s property insurance market, Florida’s Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier submitted a letter of resignation to DeSantis on Thursday.
“I am so proud of the work the office has been able to accomplish during my tenure,” Altmaier wrote in a letter to DeSantis “I remain committed throughout the remainder of my tenure — and after — to continue the momentum we have established to make Florida the best place in the union to live, work, and prosper.”
Altmaier also said in the letter that his last day is Dec.28. and did not give a specific reason on his resignation.
Read Altmaier’s resignation letter here: