FL H0013

Citizens Property Insurance Corporation must offer windstorm coverage for all personal lines residential structures effective January 1, 2026, and for all commercial lines residential structures effective July 1, 2025, including condominiums and mobile homes meeting tie-down requirements; coverage must include contents and cannot depend on which insurer provides non-windstorm coverage.

Private residential property insurers are now required to provide windstorm coverage as part of their policies, eliminating the prior option for policyholders to exclude windstorm coverage via signed opt-out statements, except for risks eligible for or ineligible from Citizens wind-only coverage within coastal account boundaries.

A dual-administration model is established allowing homeowners to obtain windstorm coverage from Citizens while maintaining non-windstorm coverage through a private insurer; the private insurer administers both windstorm and non-windstorm claims, receives administrative fees, and passes windstorm premiums to Citizens, which pools them as the primary source for claim settlements.

The Florida Windstorm Underwriting Association (FWUA) is abolished by striking the entire windstorm insurance risk apportionment framework, including member insurer assessment formulas, emergency assessments of up to 10% of statewide premiums, limited apportionment company rules, and market equalization surcharges.

Eligibility for Citizens non-windstorm coverage is restructured so that personal lines risks are evaluated based on whether they receive an offer from an authorized insurer for a standard policy excluding wind coverage, with a risk becoming ineligible if offered non-windstorm coverage at a premium not more than 20% greater than comparable Citizens coverage; the $700,000 dwelling replacement cost cap for non-windstorm eligibility is retained.

Hurricane deductible requirements are updated effective July 1, 2025, requiring insurers offering hurricane or windstorm coverage to offer alternative deductibles of $500, 2%, 5%, and 10% of dwelling limits, with tiered exceptions for higher-value properties; deductibles apply on an annual basis across all hurricane losses in a calendar year.

Windstorm mitigation, rate filing, and data reporting obligations are narrowed to apply only to insurers that actually provide hurricane or windstorm coverage, including hurricane loss projection model requirements, mitigation discount notifications, uniform mitigation verification inspections, and county-level hurricane loss data reporting to the Office of Insurance Regulation.

Key definitions are established, including "windstorm" (wind, gusts, hail, rain, or tornadoes caused by a named tropical storm including hurricanes), "windstorm coverage" (covering direct physical loss from windstorm during a named tropical storm, including interior/contents damage from elements entering through windstorm-caused openings), and "approved surplus lines insurer" (requiring A.M. Best "A-" or higher rating and Florida-resident managed program).

Condominium, cooperative, and homeowners associations may obtain windstorm coverage from Citizens or through group coverage programs for three or more communities sufficient to cover the 250-year windstorm probable maximum loss, with OIR review and approval required.

The bill takes effect July 1, 2025, with the personal lines residential windstorm coverage mandate from Citizens taking effect January 1, 2026; extensive cross-reference updates throughout Florida Statutes reflect the removal of the FWUA and renumbering of subsections within s. 627.351.