On May 17, 2011, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed property insurance reform legislation.  We previously reported on the progress of Senate Bill 408 here.  The new law requires windstorm and hurricane claims to be brought within three, instead of five years, and sinkhole claims to be brought within two years.  It also removes the requirement for insurers to offer sinkhole coverage and it limits claims for damage caused by sinkholes to primary structures.  The law also permits insurers to pass on some reinsurance costs to policyholders and changes claim payment methodology by restoring a holdback on structural claims..  Significantly, the law also limits public adjusters’ compensation, addresses deceptive advertising by public adjusters, and raises the minimum surplus requirements for residential property insurers to $15 million.

Governor Scott said that the law is aimed at “addressing cost drivers associated with burdensome regulations, and confronting the sinkhole crisis.”

The history and text of the law can be found here.

For more information see here.