Florida SB 1024: Increasing Access to Mental Health Care

Bill Text

1024 
Coverage by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation 
2025-12-29T11:37:23Z 
Revising eligibility for coverage of residential structures in certain counties by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation; requiring the corporation to implement certain rate increases annually in such counties for single policies issued by the corporation; providing additional policies issued by the corporation which do not require policyholders to purchase flood insurance as a condition for maintaining the policies, etc. 
Original Filed Version 
2026 
S 
2026-07-01T00:00:00Z 
GB 
General Bill 
__ 

 Florida Senate - 2026 SB 1024 

 By Senator Rodriguez 

 40-00458A-26 20261024__ 
 1 A bill to be entitled 
 2 An act relating to coverage by Citizens Property 
 3 Insurance Corporation; amending s. 627.351, F.S.; 
 4 revising eligibility for coverage of residential 
 5 structures in certain counties by Citizens Property 
 6 Insurance Corporation; requiring the corporation to 
 7 implement certain rate increases annually in such 
 8 counties for single policies issued by the 
 9 corporation; providing additional policies issued by 
 10 the corporation which do not require policyholders to 
 11 purchase flood insurance as a condition for 
 12 maintaining the policies; providing an effective date. 
 13 
 14 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 
 15 
 16 Section 1. Paragraphs (a), (n), and (aa) of subsection (6) 
 17 of section 627.351, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 
 18 627.351 Insurance risk apportionment plans.— 
 19 (6) CITIZENS PROPERTY INSURANCE CORPORATION.— 
 20 (a) The public purpose of this subsection is to ensure that 
 21 there is an orderly market for property insurance for residents 
 22 and businesses of this state. 
 23 1. The Legislature finds that private insurers are 
 24 unwilling or unable to provide affordable property insurance 
 25 coverage in this state to the extent sought and needed. The 
 26 absence of affordable property insurance threatens the public 
 27 health, safety, and welfare and likewise threatens the economic 
 28 health of the state. The state therefore has a compelling public 
 29 interest and a public purpose to assist in assuring that 
 30 property in the state is insured and that it is insured at 
 31 affordable rates so as to facilitate the remediation, 
 32 reconstruction, and replacement of damaged or destroyed property 
 33 in order to reduce or avoid the negative effects otherwise 
 34 resulting to the public health, safety, and welfare, to the 
 35 economy of the state, and to the revenues of the state and local 
 36 governments which are needed to provide for the public welfare. 
 37 It is necessary, therefore, to provide affordable property 
 38 insurance to applicants who are in good faith entitled to 
 39 procure insurance through the voluntary market but are unable to 
 40 do so. The Legislature intends, therefore, that affordable 
 41 property insurance be provided and that it continue to be 
 42 provided, as long as necessary, through Citizens Property 
 43 Insurance Corporation, a government entity that is an integral 
 44 part of the state, and that is not a private insurance company. 
 45 To that end, the corporation shall strive to increase the 
 46 availability of affordable property insurance in this state, 
 47 while achieving efficiencies and economies, and while providing 
 48 service to policyholders, applicants, and agents which is no 
 49 less than the quality generally provided in the voluntary 
 50 market, for the achievement of the foregoing public purposes. 
 51 Because it is essential for this government entity to have the 
 52 maximum financial resources to pay claims following a 
 53 catastrophic hurricane, it is the intent of the Legislature that 
 54 the corporation continue to be an integral part of the state and 
 55 that the income of the corporation be exempt from federal income 
 56 taxation and that interest on the debt obligations issued by the 
 57 corporation be exempt from federal income taxation. 
 58 2. The Residential Property and Casualty Joint Underwriting 
 59 Association originally created by this statute shall be known as 
 60 the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. The corporation 
 61 shall provide insurance for residential and commercial property, 
 62 for applicants who are entitled, but, in good faith, are unable 
 63 to procure insurance through the voluntary market. The 
 64 corporation shall operate pursuant to a plan of operation 
 65 approved by order of the Financial Services Commission. The plan 
 66 is subject to continuous review by the commission. The 
 67 commission may, by order, withdraw approval of all or part of a 
 68 plan if the commission determines that conditions have changed 
 69 since approval was granted and that the purposes of the plan 
 70 require changes in the plan. For the purposes of this 
 71 subsection, residential coverage includes both personal lines 
 72 residentia