New legislation passed by Florida lawmakers seeks to give relief to homeowners dealing with costly insurance bills.
$200 million to fund the My Safe Florida Home Program to harden homes against storms and help cut insurance costs and $7 million to bolster insurance consumer services.
My Safe Florida Home Expansion
This year, the legislature passed $200 million in funding for the My Safe Florida Home Program. The program provides grants to policyholders to protect their homes from wind damage by keeping roofs, doors and windows intact during a hurricane. The program has successfully completed more than 100,000 free home inspections and obligated nearly $400 million in home hardening grants. Homeowners who reported a discount on their insurance premium following completion of the program, reported an average savings of $1,000.
Bolstering Insurance Consumer Services
To better serve Florida’s insurance policyholders, this legislation will bolster the service provided by the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS), Division of Insurance Consumer Services, in the 2024 Legislative Session. Through the DFS budget request, nearly $7 million was secured to strengthen the Division through increased staffing, field offices, mediation services, and training to better serve Florida insurance policyholders and short-circuits claims issues before they escalate, especially following disasters.
Defending Floridians from threats of “DeBanking”
In an effort to strengthen the “DeBanking” legislation passed last year in House Bill 3, Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis fought for new provisions to ensure consumer complaints are investigated swiftly if a financial institution is accused of targeting an individual or business for political purposes.
Bolstering Taxpayer Returns in Financial Institutions
In order to accept Florida public funds for deposit, a bank or savings association must have status as a Qualified Public Depository (“QPD”). Florida’s credit unions will now be allowed to participate in Florida’s QPD Program, giving them access to the public funds market and bolstering the services provided to Floridians. This will provide agencies the opportunity to gain a greater rate of return, serving as a win for taxpayers.
Author
