New proposal would require a transparency report from Florida insurers requesting rate increases

Insurers requesting a rate increase would have to submit a transparency report under a bill that received unanimous support in its first Senate committee stop Tuesday.

South Florida Republican Sen. Bryan Avila wants companies offering residential insurance policies to explain to policyholders how factors such as litigation and affiliate fees influence premiums.

Avila's proposal, SB 888, would require insurers to file the transparency report with the Office of Insurance Regulation when they request a rate change after Oct. 1. The office would have to create a resource center on its website providing access to the reports. Avila filed an amendment that expanded the details, such as adding requirements for information about insurance companies' affiliates on the OIR website.

"It will essentially provide a comparison tool for consumers in order to analyze the different premiums that insurers provide in the state of Florida," Avila told lawmakers in the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee. "So again, it's meant to provide some sort of basis for the consumer, obviously, before they talk to an insurance agent or an insurance company." He said he had worked with OIR Commissioner Michael Yaworsky on the bill.

Lawmakers are focusing on the relationship between insurance companies and their affiliates following a 2022 state report the Tampa Bay Times unearthed, which concluded that parent companies received millions in fees from Florida insurers while they claimed losses to justify increased premiums.

Still, Avila took a noncritical approach to the industry during the committee.

"OIR will be able to highlight some of the achievements that we've made, certainly in stabilizing the market, and certainly the benefits that we're certainly seeing from some of the reforms that we've taken here over the past four years and even longer."

The House companion, HB 763, has not had a hearing yet.