Sen. Blaise Ingoglia. (Photo by Christine Sexton/Florida Phoenix)
One of Republican Sen. Blaise Ingoglia’s bills aimed at lowering insurance premiums received unanimous approval at its first committee stop Monday.
Senators on the Banking and Insurance Committee which Ingoglia chairs approved SB 1740, with an amendment requiring insurance companies to have a person sign off on any decision to deny a claim. The change incorporates Sen. Jennifer Bradley’s bill (SB 794) to prevent insurers from using artificial intelligence to deny claims into Ingoglia’s proposal.
Additionally, SB 1740 would require Florida insurers to hold reserves of at least $35 million more than they need to cover obligations to policyholders. Directors, officers, or attorneys of insurance companies that can’t pay their debts would be barred from joining another insurance company in that capacity if they were in their position within five years before the insurer became insolvent.
The bill also includes a change to the state’s hurricane mitigation grants of up to $10,000 — known as the My Safe Florida Home program. The grants would have to go toward improvements that historically have tended to result in a property insurance credit or discount.
After receiving grants for the home improvements, more than 10,000 policyholders indicated they got a discount on their premiums, according to the program’s annual report. The discount amounted to $938 on average, but 5,882 people said they didn’t get any discounts and 3,467 said their premiums increased.
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