Senate President Ken Pruitt, R-Port St. Lucie, today appointed the Senate Select Committee on Property Insurance Accountability.
The Committee will be co-chaired by Sen. Jeff Atwater, R- North Palm Beach, and Senate Democratic Leader Steve Geller, D- Hallandale Beach. The vice-chairs will be Sen. Bill Posey, R- Rockledge, and Sen. Alex Villalobos, R- Miami. The committee will be comprised of members of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee and the Senate Judiciary Committee.
The purpose of the Senate Select Committee is to take testimony, under oath, from property and casualty insurance company executives about their pricing practices and their increased profits associated with escalating rates.
“Insurance industry representatives gave hours of testimony telling us that the price and scarcity of reinsurance was the reason they needed to keep rates high,” said Sen. Atwater. “Last January, we expanded the coverage provided by the State’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund from $16 billion to $28 billion to provide insurers with enough lower-cost reinsurance to reduce homeowners’ rates, yet many property owners’ rates have not come down as promised. Floridians deserve straight answers and we intend to use the full force of the law to get the truth.”
“We worked with the insurance industry and regulators who specifically told us that if we took certain actions to reduce the cost of reinsurance, rates would go down substantially,” said Sen.Geller. “We took those actions. Some insurance companies kept their promise, but many did not. We need to find out why.”
Geller added, “As we learned during the medical malpractice hearings, when we put people under oath, their stories sometimes change and we achieve better results. Let’s see what happens this time.”
Posey said, “I look forward to hearing again from those who have testified before the Banking and Insurance Committee. Perhaps the risk of perjury will help shed some light on why the promises they made last January are not being kept.”
“It was only when we put people under oath during the Medical Malpractice reform Sessions that we finally got straight answers,” said Sen. Villalobos. “I have long advocated for taking testimony under oath from those who appear before the legislature, and I believe today’s action is another important step toward the best public policy for our state.”
The Select Committee on Property Insurance Accountability will meet on February 4th and February 5th. Over the next week, invitations, and, if necessary subpoenas, will be issued to selected insurance company executives who do business in the State of Florida.
Members of the committee include:
Co-Chair Senator Jeff Atwater
Co-Chair Senator Steve Geller
Vice-Chair Senator Bill Posey
Vice-Chair Senator Alex Villalobos
Members Senator J.D Alexander
Senator Mike Bennett
Senator Carey Baker
Senator Mandy Dawson
Senator Ted Deutch
Senator Alex Diaz de la Portilla
Senator Mike Fasano
Senator Don Gaetz
Senator Arthenia Joyner
Senator Al Lawson
Senator Durell Peaden
Senator Jeremy Ring
Senator Burt Saunders
Senator Ronda Storms
Senator Daniel Webster
Senator Frederica Wilson
Source: Florida Senate
Topics Property
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