Office of Insurance Regulation Ongoing Efforts to Serve Floridians
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) is recognizing its ongoing efforts
to serve the citizens of Florida.
“Thanks
to support and leadership from Governor DeSantis, the Office of Insurance
Regulation has delivered on important consumer protections and strengthened
Florida’s insurance marketplace,” said Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier.
“In the coming year, we will work hand-in-hand with our partners to continue to
promote a stable and competitive insurance market for consumers.”
The
following highlights OIR’s 2019 and ongoing efforts.
- Earlier
this year, the legislature concluded what was a successful session for
many insurance issues. With support from Governor DeSantis, CFO Jimmy
Patronis and many others, Florida passed meaningful Assignment of Benefits (AOB) reform. This legislation provides
for a variety of important consumer protection provisions that will
positively impact consumers.
- The
new Guaranty Fund legislation
expands the assessment base for long-term care insolvencies, a development
supported by OIR, which broadens the assessment base to help mitigate the
impact of future potential long-term care insolvencies.
- The Continuing Care Contracts legislation
passed, providing greater protections for residents in Continuing Care
Retirement Communities (CCRCs). The legislation provides a new financial
regulatory framework and additional requirements for CCRCs to communicate
and protect residents. OIR has worked with the Continuing Care Advisory
Council and other stakeholders to successfully implement these legislative
changes.
- OIR
continues to promote the private
flood market as an additional option for consumers. Florida’s private
flood market participation has increased more than 30% from March to
September 2019, with almost 83,000 private primary flood policies in force
and 32 insurance writers, as of September 30, 2019. From June 2017 to
March 2019, there was a 169% increase in policies in force. The increasing
number of policies and writers are signs of a growing insurance
marketplace.
- OIR
recently issued a Final Order to the National Council on Compensation
Insurance, reducing workers’
compensation insurance rates by 7.5%, effective January 1, 2020. This
reduction provides another year of rate relief for Florida businesses and
applies to new and renewal workers’ compensation insurance policies.
- OIR
is committed to helping consumers with Hurricane Michael insurance claims and holding insurers
accountable for failing to provide for their policyholders. Since
Hurricane Michael made landfall, OIR has issued 45 data calls related to
catastrophe claims, attended numerous Insurance Villages, participated in
the Insurance Consumer Townhall, and met with various stakeholders to
answer questions about claims and assist consumers. OIR has been
consistently monitoring data for any indications that insurers are
violating Florida law and currently has 12 open market conduct
examinations on insurers regarding Hurricane Michael claims processing.
OIR is actively participating in discussions about additional legislation
to better protect consumers.
- OIR
has been successful in entering two new
health insurers to the Florida marketplace and others are expanding
their footprint, providing for meaningful competition in a large part of
the state.
- OIR
received its reaccreditation from the National
Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) and Commissioner
Altmaier continues to play a leadership role within the organization,
positioning Florida as a nationwide leader in insurance regulation.