House Kicks Off Session with Insurance Inquiries
The Florida legislative session began on March 4, 2025, with opening remarks from Speaker of the House Daniel Perez, Senate President Ben Albritton and Governor Ron DeSantis. The comments of Speaker Perez attracted the most attention from observers of Florida’s property insurance market.
Speaker Perez generally said he wants the Florida House to focus on what matters during the current session. “Let’s set aside or minimize the inconsequential in favor of the meaningful…pass actual reforms rather than symbolic gestures…repeal government programs instead of reshuffling them,” said Speaker Perez. “I encourage you to bring the messy, controversial ideas before your committees, and let’s have the big debates.”
The status of Florida’s residential property insurance market is expected to be among these debates. About a week prior to opening day, The Tampa Bay Times reported on a state-commissioned study related to agreements among insurers operating in Florida and their affiliates. Although the report did not contain detailed information, likely due to some of the underlying data consisting of trade secrets, it suggests that in some instances agreements might not have been fair and reasonable (although it is important to note that regulatory review processes apply to most affiliate agreements). This has generated considerable discussion over the last two weeks.
Speaker Perez weighed in on the subject during his opening day remarks. He stated that he has “…asked the Insurance & Banking Subcommittee to conduct hearings, and they will have access to the full range of tools – including issuing subpoenas, putting witnesses under oath, and hiring outside experts.” The Chair of the House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee, Brad Yeager (R), later said, “We want the truth and we’re going to find it.” When asked about the investigation’s timeline, Representative Yeager stated, “We’re going to get started now. You’ll see the next couple of weeks, we’ll get this thing cranked up, get the ball rolling. I don’t want to put a timeline on it exactly, but we’re going to get started now.”
Thus far, the House Insurance & Banking Subcommittee has proceeded with its standard meeting schedule. However, on March 7, the House calendar was updated to include a new committee meeting on Friday, March 14. Although an agenda has not yet been published, additional information about the meeting is expected in the coming days.