Lower Property Insurance Rates and Reduce Condo Reserve Requirements

We must bring down property insurance rates in Florida. It is a priority for me and all of us who live near the coast! Fortunately, in December 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis and the state’s legislature responded to Florida’s troubled property insurance litigation environment by enacting a substantial reform package. The new law is designed to discourage frivolous and expensive insurance litigation that has been driving up the costs of property insurance for everyone in the state. In 2020, Florida accounted for 79% of homeowners’ insurance lawsuits nationwide while accounting for only 9% of the nation’s homeowners’ insurance claims. Some of the important reforms include: elimination of one-way plaintiff attorney fees and changes in what constitutes “bad faith” by an insurance company, making them liable for plaintiffs attorneys’ fees. Also, the new law prohibits the assignment of insurance claims to third parties, like contractors, which was causing fraud and frivolous lawsuits. Democrats opposed these reforms and wanted to impose premium price limits. This sort of market control and manipulation would have caused less competition in our state, leading to the exodus of more private insurance companies and more required coverage by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, which is an untenable long term solution. The new insurance laws will incentivize more national companies to underwrite policies in Florida bringing in the competition we need to bring down our rates.

While I believe the structural integrity of our condominium buildings is of utmost importance, and we never want to repeat the tragedy that occurred with Champlain Towers South in 2021, the recent laws that have been passed do not necessarily address the the cause of the collapse of Champlain Towers South and have huge unintended consequences with the extremely high special assessments that are going out in the mail to condo owners. We don’t have all the answers nor true roots causes of the Champlain collapse and passing laws that include plumbing, electrical, painting and windows as structural integrity reserve requirements add unnecessary expense and red tape. People will be forced out of their perfectly safe homes. We see that condo sales are severely depressed all over the state. At the beach and in Aventura, condo life is what we call home. The laws as they presently stand are affecting the markets and prices without reaching the desired result of simply affording collapse. These law must be revised.