Bill > S1476

This bill mandates that residential property insurers in Florida must offer premium discounts to homeowners for maintaining claim-free periods of at least three years, with an additional 5% discount for each subsequent claim-free year, and for implementing "mitigation improvements," which are upgrades to a home designed to reduce windstorm or hurricane damage risk, such as roof reinforcement or flood barriers. Importantly, "storm-related claims," meaning those directly caused by hurricanes, tropical storms, tornadoes, or other declared weather events, cannot be used to deny eligibility for these discounts, and this protection is extended to claims resulting from an "act of God" in relation to premium discount ineligibility, though insurers may still adjust discounts if policyholders fail to take reasonable steps to prevent recurring damage. The bill also requires insurers to report annually to the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) on the number of policies receiving these discounts, the total savings provided, and the geographic distribution of these reductions, which the OIR will then compile and publish in an annual report on its website, and the OIR is tasked with creating rules for eligible mitigation upgrades and a database of approved contractors and products.