News & Updates

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Veteran Lawmaker Says Stay the Course on Reforms

Veteran Lawmaker Says Stay the Course on Reforms

Former state Senator Jeff Brandes wrote last week in the Tampa Bay Times that the state must stay the course on its 2022 insurance reforms. During his time in the Senate, Senator Brandes was an advocate for laws designed to foster a stable, competitive property insurance market. In a recent Tampa Bay Times opinion, he […]

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Former Lawmaker Supports Continuing Reform Path

Former Lawmaker Supports Continuing Reform Path

In an opinion piece in Florida Politics this week, former state Senator Garrett Richter identified Florida’s 2022 statutory reforms as the critical foundation of Florida’s improving property insurance market. He noted that from 2017 to 2022, Florida’s property insurance market devolved into one of the worst in the country. More than a dozen insurers became […]

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House Kicks Off Session with Insurance Inquiries

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 […]

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Federal Nominations Bring Florida Shakeups

Federal Nominations Bring Florida Shakeups

Several early nominees for positions in the next Trump administration have deep Florida connections. Prominent examples include U.S. Senator Marco Rubio being tapped for Secretary of State and former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi being the nominee for U.S. Attorney General. Bondi’s nomination followed a brief cycle in which U.S. Representative Matt Gaetz from the […]

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Court Rejects AOB Workaround

Court Rejects AOB Workaround

The Florida legislature has taken a series of steps in recent years to curtail abuses in Florida’s residential property insurance market. Policymakers and industry representatives typically point out that it can be several years before the full effects of statutory changes are known. This is largely because most legislative changes apply prospectively, meaning their effectiveness […]

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New Year Means Legislative Session in Sight

New Year Means Legislative Session in Sight

The Florida legislative calendar typically ensures there’s no post-holiday haze as we return to work in the new year. This year’s session begins March 4, 2025, and lasts 60 days. This isn’t as early as some years—  the session begins in January in even-numbered years. Still, committee meetings begin before the session starts so the […]

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DFS Issues Hurricane Debby Emergency Order

DFS Issues Hurricane Debby Emergency Order

The Florida Department of Services has issued Emergency Order 2024-01 resulting from Hurricane Debby’s landfall. With respect to public adjuster contracts, the Emergency Order provides that notwithstanding Section 626.854(7), a public adjuster contract based on a Hurricane Debby loss may be cancelled without penalty or obligation within 30 days of after the date of loss […]

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CFO Patronis Highlights Concerns with Directions to Pay

CFO Patronis Highlights Concerns with Directions to Pay

Following Hurricane Debby, Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis warned consumers about contractors using agreements designed to circumvent Florida’s prohibition against assignment of benefits (AOBs). In recent years, contractors’ widespread use of AOBs contributed to elevated losses, loss adjustment expenses and litigation in the Florida property insurance market. The Florida legislature included a prohibition […]

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OIR Adopts Emergency Rule Implementing Premium Tax Discounts

OIR Adopts Emergency Rule Implementing Premium Tax Discounts

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has adopted emergency rule 69OER24-1 implementing a law passed at the end of the 2024 session providing premium discounts for residential policyholders. Under the new law, policyholders will receive discounts in amounts equal to the state premium tax and fire marshal assessments. Insurers will recover the discount amounts […]

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Governor DeSantis Applauds Chevron Overruling

Governor DeSantis Applauds Chevron Overruling

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis applauded the United States Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo, which overturned four decades of precedent known as the Chevron doctrine. As summarized in this firm’s July 1 post, the Chevron doctrine essentially meant that unless a congressional act was clear, courts were required to defer to […]

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