On Thursday, the Florida House Committee unanimously passed a bill backed by Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink requiring insurer’s that buy into the state’s catastrophe fund to purchase reinsurance from the private market.  It was estimated that the bill, which was backed by Republican’s such as Ron Reagan, could inject as much as $3 billion of limits back to the private reinsurance market.

The legislation is part of a bi-partisan effort by state senators and Ms. Sink to shift more risk back to the private market, reducing the burden placed on the state’s catastrophe fund to respond in the event of a hurricane.