Florida lawmakers on both sides of the aisle prepare for an investigation into home insurer profits, and a proposed grant program could make hurricane preparations cheaper for homeowners.

Florida lawmakers prepare for investigation into home insurer profits

The Florida House is launching an investigation into Florida’s property insurance market.

The investigation comes after a report uncovered by the Tampa Bay Times suggested some insurers may have mislead Florida lawmakers about their profits.

Insurers in Florida say they need higher rates and more reforms in order to stay solvent, but lawmakers are interested in learning more.

“If there’s nothing to hide that we should have nothing to worry about. But we’re going to have some inquiries and some questions will be asked, and they’ll maybe even some change in policies directly because of it. And now’s the time to do it because they’re in session,” Patronis said.

The report raises questions about insurance profits, questions that lawmakers would like the chance to answer during the course of their investigation.

“The committee members should have, and I should have the ability to dive deep into it and ask more detailed questions," Florida House Speaker Danny Perez said. "We’re looking at it right now from a 50,000-foot view. I think it’s better for our members to have the opportunity to ask those questions on a one-on-one basis, and go from there."

Republican Chairman Brad Yeager is leading the investigation. He has the power to subpoena. Yeager heads the House’s Subcommittee on Insurance and Banking.

“We’re gonna get started now. I’ll tell you that right now," Yeager said about the investigation. "So you’ll see the next couple of weeks. We’ll get this thing cranked up, get the ball rolling, and we’ll see again where the truth takes us, where this takes us. I don’t wanna put a timeline on exactly, but we can get started now."

Meanwhile, this is welcome news to Florida Democrats. After all, Florida is home to the nation’s highest home insurance rates.

“I’m optimistic that by starting this process at the start of a regular session, perhaps by the end of this session in about 60 days, we can have some meaningful legislation that will allow reform and put Floridians first,” House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell said.

Property insurance is a very complicated issue, and some lawmakers are very apprehensive about rushing to any judgement,

Storm mitigation grant funding to be discussed in Florida legislative session

Part of Gov. Ron DeSantis’ budget proposal includes $600 million for the My Safe Florida Home and Condo grant programs.

The goal of the programs is to lower property insurance premiums by cost sharing approved projects that harden homes and make them more hurricane ready.

Of that nearly $600 million proposed specially for homes, $480 million would help the 45,000 homeowners statewide who have completed inspections and are waiting on additional funding to be able to proceed. A total of $109 million would be to provide roughly 10,000 new inspections to get homeowners started with the process.

An additional $30 million would be set aside for condo owners. The pilot program launched for the first time late last year, and current funds are already maxed out.

Greg Wickham, president of the Land's End Community Association in Treasure Island, started eyeing the program in early 2024 when it was first announced. Anticipating the application process opening, he and a team of residents compiled all of the documents needed in the first half of 2024 and waited for more information from the state.

Wickham said a fellow resident checked the state’s application website daily, and in September or October of last year the application period opened and they jumped right on it.

“Then we were pretty promptly notified that they were closed, meaning they had run out of money already or run out of money to allocate,” he said. “So our other people didn’t get in but a few did at this location. Then we were told to wait and someone would contact us from the office of the government to come over and see the property and what we were proposing.”

Wickham said Land’s End is still waiting for a visit from the state, but he’s happy to hear more funding is a priority in the legislative session.

“There are others nearby who are even worse off than us," he said. "And if it helps them get what they need, then it’s a good thing."