Florida SB 1104: Policy Cancellations and Nonrenewals by Property Insurers

Bill Text

Florida Senate - 2024 CS for CS for SB 1104

By the Committees on Rules; and Judiciary; and Senator Bradley

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to policy cancellations and 2
nonrenewals by property insurers; amending s. 3
626.9201, F.S.; prohibiting insurers from canceling 4
and nonrenewing, within certain timeframes, policies 5
covering personal residential or commercial 6
residential properties damaged by hurricanes or wind 7
losses; providing exceptions; providing construction; 8
authorizing the Financial Services Commission to adopt 9
rules and the Commissioner of Insurance Regulation to 10
issue certain orders; authorizing the Commissioner of 11
Insurance Regulation to waive certain provisions; 12
providing construction; requiring that certain 13
policies contain similar terms under certain 14
circumstances; amending s. 627.4133, F.S.; prohibiting 15
insurers from canceling and nonrenewing, within 16
certain timeframes, policies covering personal 17
residential or commercial residential properties 18
damaged by hurricanes or wind losses; providing that 19
such prohibition applies to flood damages caused by 20
hurricanes under certain circumstances; providing that 21
an insurer may not cancel personal residential or 22
commercial residential property insurance policies 23
until certain repairs are made or a specified policy 24
renewal expires; providing that certain claims for 25
loss or damage will not be covered under an extended 26
or renewed policy; providing applicability; revising 27
exceptions; authorizing the Commissioner of Insurance 28
to waive certain provisions; providing construction; 29

Florida Senate - 2024 CS for CS for SB 1104

595-03793-24 20241104c2
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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
deleting applicability; revising construction; 30
requiring that certain policies contain similar terms 31
under certain circumstances; providing an effective 32
date. 33
34
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 35
36
Section 1. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (2) of 37
section 626.9201, Florida Statutes, to read: 38
626.9201 Notice of cancellation or nonrenewal.— 39
(2) An insurer issuing a policy providing coverage for 40
property, casualty, surety, or marine insurance must give the 41
named insured written notice of cancellation or termination 42
other than nonrenewal at least 45 days before the effective date 43
of the cancellation or termination, including in the written 44
notice the reasons for the cancellation or termination, except 45
that: 46
(c) An insurer may not cancel or nonrenew a personal 47
residential or commercial residential property insurance policy 48
covering a dwelling or residential property located in this 49
state: 50
1. For a period of 90 days after the dwelling or 51
residential property has been repaired, if such property has 52
been damaged as a result of a hurricane or wind loss that is the 53
subject of the declaration of emergency pursuant to s. 252.36 54
and the filing of an order by the Commissioner of Insurance 55
Regulation. Damage under this subsection includes flood damage 56
caused by a hurricane if flood is a covered peril under the 57
personal residential or commercial residential property 58

Florida Senate - 2024 CS for CS for SB 1104

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
insurance policy. If flood is not a covered peril under the 59
personal residential or commercial residential property 60
insurance policy, and the property has been damaged as a result 61
of flood caused by a hurricane, an insurer may not cancel or 62
nonrenew the personal residential or commercial residential 63
property insurance policy until the earlier of when the property 64
has been repaired or the expiration of one subsequent renewal of 65
the policy that was in force at the time of the loss. If an 66
insurer is required to extend or renew a policy pursuant to this 67
subparagraph, any claim for loss or damage arising from 68
unrepaired damage as a result of flood caused by a hurricane 69
will not be covered under the extended or renewed policy. Such 70
loss or damage will be excluded from the extended or renewed 71
policy regardless of any other cause or event that contributes 72
concurrently or in any sequence to the loss. When flood is not a 73
covered peril under the personal residential or commercial 74
residential property insurance policy, the requirements under 75
this subparagraph to extend or renew the policy do not apply if 76
the insurer has no actual knowledge of the flood damage or if 77
the flood damage, along with the physical evidence of the 78
damage, is not communicated to the insurer before the expiration 79
of the policy. 80
2. However, an insurer or agent may cancel or nonrenew such 81
a policy before the repair