Bill > S1672

This bill modifies Florida's property insurance laws by adding new grounds for insurance professionals to have their licenses refused, suspended, or revoked, specifically prohibiting them from accepting payment for referring property owners to inspectors. It also prevents public adjusters, who help policyholders settle claims, from dictating which repair companies are used for property damage claims, aiming to protect consumers from potential conflicts of interest. Furthermore, the bill mandates that Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, a state-backed insurer of last resort, will stop offering new commercial residential policies that cover multiple types of damage (multiperil) after July 1, 2014, and will instead focus on offering policies that only cover wind damage for these types of properties, though existing multiperil policies can be renewed. The bill also introduces new reporting requirements for Citizens and the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, clarifies rules around hurricane loss mitigation inspections, and makes it a felony for contractors to waive or rebate insurance deductibles for property repairs, which is intended to combat insurance fraud.