Lawmakers Confront Rising Insurance charges within the 2021 Florida Legislative Session
The 2021 Florida legislative session gets underway today, March 2. Lawmakers will contend with a wide range of issues, such as the budget throughout the 60-day session. Among the issues is tackling the rising cost of insurance over the state.
“Litigation has gotten unmanageable and insurers are paying for it ” says Ellsworth Buck, V . p . of Florida's top independent home insurance agency.
Below are the important insurance matters they will address.
PIP Repeal-This is a long-debated issue in Florida. Currently, Florida motorist are required to carry injury protection, or PIP coverage. The proposal would require motorist carry bodily injury coverage. Florida would join the other 48 states which have bodily injury insurance systems based on the Orlando Sentinel. It is a proceed to ensure drivers have adequate auto insurance coverage.
PIP, will pay for the policyholder's own hospital bills, while bodily injury coverage will pay for others' medical bills once the policyholder is at-fault. PIP requirements were implemented so car crash victims could receive quick payments for treatments required without needing to wait for a determination on the responsibility of the accident. It had been also intended to release the courts from small claims cases. However, policyholders recover expenses for car accident injuries using their own insurance company regardless who's at fault for the accident.
The session, an additional provision would allow insurance providers to provide a policy that includes up to and including $200 deductible for windshield repair. This move prevents swindlers from offering incentives to customers for replacing their windshield, then filing an exaggerated lawsuit to the customers insurer. Currently, insured motorist do not have to purchase windshield repair.
Property Insurance-“We have experienced alarming increases in the price of homeowners insurance across Florida, “says Ellsworth Buck, V . p . of Florida's top independent homeowners insurance agency.
The rise is a result of 2021's Hurricane Irma and also the surge in litigation according to Insurance Journal. Over the past year, some homeowners have seen their bills climb up to 40 % as insurers pass along the costs of settling ever-increasing lawsuits. To curb the increases, lawmakers are proposing to alter the way in which insurance providers cover older roofs. Underneath the proposal, if your roof has ended Ten years old and is destroyed throughout a hurricane, your insurance provider could pay you what your old roof is worth instead of paying 100 % of the replacement costs. Rather than a replacement cost, it would be actual cash value.
Both of these bills are an effort to reduce on the cost of insurance.
