HB 1431 - Insurance Summary

• Allows recovery of damages under the common-law remedy of bad faith against insurers, in addition to statutory remedies, including extracontractual and consequential damages.

• Mandates that property insurers be subject to additional market conduct examinations after hurricanes if they rank in the top 20% of claims or complaints or meet other criteria.

• Prohibits insurers from canceling, nonrenewing, or terminating homeowner's or commercial property insurance policies during pending claims, except for nonpayment of premium.

• Reduces minimum surplus requirements for new residential property insurers from $30 million to $15 million and implements phased increases for existing insurers through 2023.

• Establishes new unfair claim settlement practices including restrictions on adjuster changes (limiting to 3 within 6 months during disasters), requirements for providing unaltered adjuster reports within 10 business days, and prohibits altering field adjuster estimates without written approval within 5 days.