Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed legislation allowing insurers to offer stand-alone residential sinkhole insurance coverage for non-catastrophic events.The new law is set to take effect July 1, 2016. It says an authorized insurer may issue but is not required to make available a limited personal lines residential coverage for sinkhole losses on any structure or its contents. The new coverage must cover losses from sinkhole peril, but does not require coverage of building contents and additional living expenses. The new law states coverage provided can stabilize buildings and repair foundations.
Policy limits of less than $50,000 are prohibited unless the amount exceeds the property's full replacement costs, the law said.
The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America said the new law will benefit Floridians. "The enactment of SB 1274 will give consumers in Florida more options when it comes to sinkhole insurance," said Chris Hackett, PCI senior director, personal lines. "All Floridians, but especially homeowners in Hillsborough, Hernando, and Pasco counties, where sinkholes more frequently occur, will benefit from this important legislation."
Florida Senate Bill 1274 was sponsored by Republican Sen. Jack Latvala and it sailed through the House and Senate with just one vote in opposition. Latvala represents Pinellas County, one of four jurisdictions near the Tampa-St. Petersburg area that are known as Sinkhole Alley.
Florida's top five writers of homeowners' multiperil insurance during 2014 were Citizens Property Insurance Corp., with a 9.12% market share; Universal Insurance Holdings Group, with 7.9%; Tower Hill Group, with 7.79%; State Farm Group, with 7.34%; and USAA Group, with 4.8%, according to BestLink.