F.A.I.R. for Collier
Insurance Bill of Rights
Sponsored by FAIR For Collier
"Fighting Against Insurance Rates"
Insurance Companies should not be allowed to increase property insurance rates more than 10% within a 12-month period without filing for and receiving approval from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR).
The increase in state tax revenues resulting from purchases made by property owners to repair storm-related damage should be earmarked to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (Cat Fund) to provide new reinsurance options to help lower rates.
Consumers should have a right to know the various factors that determine their property insurance bills. Every insurance bill should include, in plain English, a full description of the property, the factors used by the insurer in rating that property, a listing of all mitigation credits and details of every calculation including the base rate used to derive the total premium billed.
The Florida Public Model should be used to establish windstorm rates unless an insurance company can demonstrate in rate filing that its own alternative forecasting model is more accurate or will result in reduced premiums.
Property owners should have a greater range of insurance options, fairly calculated. Unless otherwise mandated by mortgage lenders, owners in all locales should have the option to secure casualty coverage without windstorm or flood coverage if they desire, as well as the option of choosing higher deductibles to achieve corresponding premium savings.
The stricter statewide building code should apply to all areas of Florida with equivalent risk, and the current exemption ("carve-outs") of certain such areas should cease. Alternatively, insured properties in areas that have been "carved out" and exempted from stricter statewide building codes should be subject to insurance surcharges so that policyholders in other areas of the state do not subsidize the increased risk these exempted areas have created.
Insurance premiums should reflect real building strengths without assigning arbitrary factors such as age or location.
Insurance companies should be required to offer a minimum amount of premium credits upon proof of specified storm mitigation measures being made to properties. The minimum credits, specified mitigation measures and methods of proving mitigation should be standardized by the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), and insurers' mitigation credits should be approved by OIR concomitantly with rate reviews.
Whether through the Consumer Advocate or the Office of Insurance Regulation, policyholders should have an easily accessible, user friendly system to inquire about insurance bills, to appeal claims denials or untimely processing of claims, to challenge rates set by their insurers, or contest cancellation or non-renewal of policies without explanation or proper cause. Insurers should not be allowed to "non-renew" policies where there have been no claims and there exists no proper cause sufficient for cancellation.
Insurance companies should be required to give property owners at least 90 days to pay any insurance bill increasing payments more than 10%. And as with auto or most other lines of insurance, insurers should be required to offer policyholders alternatives to pay wind, flood and homeowner policies by credit card or in installments.
Just as insurance companies demand prompt payment of premiums, property owners deserve prompt adjustment and timely payment of documented claims. Claims payments should accurately reflect the actual cost of repair and/or rebuilding in the policyholder's locale.
Insurance companies should be required to make available to the public their gross claims paid out, county by county, within 180 days after a tropical storm or hurricane and to update this information as required until all claims are resolved.
Insurance companies should be prohibited by law from rating properties based upon previously paid insurance claims in cases where the claims proceeds have paid for repairs to the property.