Other legislation set for final House approval seems aimed at softening the potential blow of the insurance changes.
New standards are also added. First-time Citizens’ customers in a flood zone would be required to have flood insurance, beginning in April. Homeowners renewing Citizens’ policies in flood prone areas would need the added coverage by July. Because of its better price, that diminishes its historic role as the state’s “insurer of last resort,” lawmakers said.
“I’m a kindergarten teacher going up against an insurance company, and I’m sure they have an attorney there,” said Senate Democratic Leader Lauren Book of Plantation.Banned under the bill are so-called, one-way attorney fees, which will make homeowners shoulder more of the costs of suing. Critics warn that homeowners will be put in a tough spot, even if they win a lawsuit, since a large share of their settlement would now go to paying their own attorneys’ fees.