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Florida inches closer to potential special session on property insurance

Sen. Jeff Brandes says he has the 20-percent support he needs for the state to poll the Florida Legislature.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Florida is inching one step closer to addressing the property insurance crisis impacting homeowners across the state.

A special session to address the skyrocketing prices could be one of two in Tallahassee this spring. There's already one on the books to address redistricting later this month.

Republican Senator Jeff Brandes (St. Petersburg) sent a letter to lawmakers on Friday asking them to sign off on a special session. The senator tweeted Monday that he has the 20-percent support he needs to poll the legislature and will be submitting the responses to Florida's secretary of state. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says he supports the efforts to get the ball rolling.

“Clearly, we have dysfunctions in that market, we've already seen different insurers go out. We need to have a vibrant market where people are able to get policies at an affordable rate, so I thank him for what he's doing. I think we will get there,” DeSantis said.

Insurance advocates say Floridians pay $651 more than our neighbors in Georgia and Alabama. They expect you'll be paying an additional $200 on top of that this year. Echoing the sentiments of insurance agents who are seeing the industry get hammered with lawsuits, Brandes says it's urgent that lawmakers act now.

“At the end of the day, it's homeowners that get squeezed. The legislative inaction has caused homeowners to see double-digit sometimes as high as 100 percent rate increases. It's almost unconscionable to walk away from the legislative process without fixing that,” Brandes said.

Under Florida law, if three-fifths of the legislature support it, then lawmakers go back for a special session.

Here are some tips experts recommend for homeowners looking to lower their insurance rates: 

  • Shop around to see if you can find coverage that provides adequate coverage for your property at a reasonable rate. 
  • Take advantage of all of the discounts that are offered by your insurance company to help reduce your insurance premium.
  • Bundle your homeowners and auto insurance if you can.
  • Consider strengthening your home by installing hurricane mitigation features such as shutters over your windows and doors, brace your garage, and add additional roof deck attachments to strengthen your roof.

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