|
November 22, 2024
Public Policy Update
Hello everyone. First up, we just wanted to wish all of you a pre–Happy Thanksgiving as the update will be taking a break next week. We hope you all get to enjoy some much-needed time off with your family and friends.
As for this week’s news, the main thing we wanted to bring to your attention was the small gathering here in Tallahassee on Tuesday that just happened to include all of Florida’s current and newly elected state legislators. Sarcasm aside, the event was Organizational Session which is where lawmakers adopt the procedural rules for their respective chamber, formally elect officers and swear in newly elected members.
As we shared with you last week, those newly elected officials include three new Realtors – Rep. Jose Alvarez, Rep. Yvette Benarroch and Rep. Danny Nix – bringing our total Realtor Legislative Caucus to 15 between the House and Senate. Clicking on the hyperlink on their name will take you to their official swearing in photo on the House website.
This Organizational Session was also the time that Rep. Daniel Perez took over as the new Speaker of the Florida House and where Sen. Ben Albritton became the new President of the Florida Senate. These two legislative leaders will set the tone for what their chambers will focus on for the next two years and the remarks that they share during Organizational Session and in the press conferences they hold after can be very revealing.
For example, during President Albritton’s remarks he said:
- “Floridians have been faithfully paying insurance premiums for years, sometimes decades, and now they expect their insurance company to keep up its end of the bargain. I want to make sure that impacted Floridians and insurance companies hear me loudly and clearly – we are watching. We’ve made changes insurance companies said they needed to improve competition and stabilize rates. “And, we’ve enacted pro-consumer transparency to protect homeowners. The proof will be in the results. I’m not going to sit idly by if legitimate claims get denied while rates continue to rise. Period.”
And Speaker Perez had this to say:
- “In my experience Floridians are realistic. They understand that there are tradeoffs. They understand that in a state battered by hurricanes, insurance will be a challenge. But they need to know that our state's insurance laws are not being written by and for the insurance companies. They want to own their own homes, not be tenants to private equity firms. They want to open up a business without jumping through endless bureaucratic hoops. They want to pick their own doctors and send their kids to good schools. And they want elected officials who are on their side.”
You can read President Albritton’s remarks in their entirety here or watch them here. Speaker Perez’s complete remarks can be found here or watched here. Their press conferences after their speeches are also very enlightening. You can catch President Albritton’s press conference here and Speaker Perez’s press conference here if you are interested.
Florida Senate Releases Complete Chair/Vice Chair Assignments
On Wednesday, Senate President Ben Albritton sent a memorandum out to all senators that includes the complete list of senators he asked to serve as a chair or vice chair of a standing committee. The memorandum also includes the Senate’s proposed schedule for their first Committee Week which is scheduled to take place the week of December 9th.
You can read the full memorandum by clicking here.
My Safe Florida Condo Pilot Program Hits Capacity
If you recall, we alerted you to the My Safe Florida Condo Program finally launching and accepting applications in our last update. Well, it took just under a week for the $30 million that was available to the program to be fully committed. That means that as of now, the program is no longer accepting applications. Interested condominium associations are encouraged to sign up for updates by going here.
The My Safe Florida Condo program is a new initiative that Florida Realtors supported this past session that helps condominium associations strengthen their properties against hurricanes. The pilot program supports eligible condominium associations by providing free inspections and grant funding for wind mitigation improvements that have the added benefit of potentially lowering wind insurance premiums.
The fact that the money ran out so fast is a good indicator that the program is desperately needed, and we fully plan to advocate for more funding for both the condo program and the popular My Safe Florida Home program during the 2025 legislative session.
Citizens Insurance to End Year Under 1M Policies
Great news on the property insurance front. Ongoing efforts to depopulate Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will leave the company with “well under” 1 million policies by the end of 2024 — the first time in years that the policy count has declined. Fewer policies means less exposure and lower chances that nearly all of the state’s insurance customers will face assessments if a series of major hurricanes strike the state.
Jeremy Pope, Citizen’s chief administrative officer, shared the projection with members of the company’s Market Accountability Advisory Committee on Wednesday.
It would mark a steep reduction from the 1.24 million policies reported in September and the first time since 2021 that the company has finished a year with fewer than 1 million policies. The last time that Citizens ended the year with fewer policies than it started was 2018, when the count was reduced from 440,406 policies to 427,397.
Read the full news article here.
NAR Publishes Steps Between Signing and Closing on a Home Consumer Guide
Realtors can give consumers a clear picture of the steps in the homebuying process between purchase agreement and closing by sharing the latest resource in NAR’s “Consumer Guide” series. The one-page resource answers consumers’ questions about escrow, appraisals and more. Find all the Consumer Guides, along with downloadable Spanish versions, here.
Hurricane Milton, Helene Insured Losses Update
With more than 50% of Hurricanes Milton and Helene insurance claims closed, payouts have exceeded $5 billion between the two storms as property owners work to recover from the widespread damages.
Counties with the largest amount of estimated insured losses from both storms are Pinellas, Hillsborough, Pasco, Manatee, Sarasota, Charlotte, Lee, Orange and Hernando, according to information from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. The total estimated insured losses from both storms is $5,033,738,579.
Hurricane Milton damage
As of Nov. 12, Hillsborough (57,452), Pinellas (41,080), Manatee (29,228), Sarasota (21,635) and Polk (19,338) are the top five out of 20 counties with the greatest number of claims reported with Hurricane Milton damage.
Charlotte, Osceola, St. Lucie, Brevard and Hernando counties, among others, also sustained significant damage from Hurricane Milton.
The total estimated insured losses in Florida for Hurricane Milton were $3,043,195,061 as of Nov. 12.
Of the 285,311claims so far, 226,878 are for residential property damage. The number of claims and estimated losses are expected to increase in the coming weeks. For now:
- Claims under private flood insurance policies: 1,909 (most flood policies are through FEMA’s Flood Insurance Program, not private)
- Claims closed with payments to policyholders: 75,432
- Claims closed without payments to policyholders: 68,616
- Commercial property claims: 10,919
- Percent of claims closed: 50.5%
Hurricane Helene damage
As of Monday, Pinellas (47,095), Hillsborough (16,921), Pasco (9,590), Manatee (8,047) and Sarasota (7,585) are the top five out of 20 counties with the most number of claims reported with Hurricane Helene damage
Charlotte, Duval, Lee, Suwannee, Alachua, Hernando and Taylor counties, among others, also sustained significant damage from Hurricane Helene.
The total estimated insured losses in Florida for Hurricane Helene were $1,990,543,518 as of Monday.
Of the 135,505 claims so far, 60,843 are for residential property damage. The number of claims and estimated losses are expected to increase in the coming weeks. For now:
- Claims under private flood insurance policies: 4,283 (most flood policies are through FEMA’s Flood Insurance Program, not private)
- Claims closed with payments to policyholders: 54,511
- Claims closed without payments to policyholders: 35,375
- Commercial property claims: 4,342
- Percent of claims closed: 66.6%
VISIT FLORIDA Increases Post-Storm Tourism Campaign Funding
Visit Florida has added $1 million to an effort to counter media coverage of three hurricanes that hit the state this year.
Trying to show that not all of Florida was hit by the hurricanes and that affected regions are reopening, the Visit Florida Executive Committee on Friday agreed to bump up a post-storm marketing effort to $6.7 million.
“We really want to get awareness in a way to demonstrate that the state really remains unaffected by recent hurricanes,” Visit Florida Chief Marketing Officer Brett Laiken said. “We are sensitive to those who are impacted. But we've got to make sure that people understand the state, it’s as great as always.”
Visit Florida, which received $80 million in this year’s state budget, anticipates $1.65 million for the campaign will come from local tourism agencies, Laiken said.
The campaign started by focusing on areas of the state not directly affected by the storms. It will expand to feature what is open in storm-impacted areas.
Read the full article here.
Please reach out to us at publicpolicy@floridarealtors.org with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
Andy Gonzalez
Vice President of Public Policy
Florida Realtors®
|