Gov. Rick Scott brought out the veto pen Tuesday, rejecting a measure that gained unanimous approval in both chambers of the Florida Legislature. The proposal would’ve placed new restrictions on private insurers trying to take over policies covered by the state-backed insurer of last resort.
State law requires Citizens Property Insurance to move customers to the private market if companies willing to write policies are available. But the process, known as depopulation, has its critics. Some consumers claim private offers, which require the recipient to opt out, come too frequently to keep up with. New legislation would’ve capped these notifications. Rep. Dwight Dudley (D-St. Petersburg) co-sponsored the bill in the House.
“So the big feature was that they would be limited to one solicitation per six months,” Dudley says. “So twice a year they could receive information from a take-out and that information would have to be accurate and true and correct.”
Sen. Gwen Margolis (D-Miami) co-sponsored the bill in the Senate, and says Citizens is major issue for her constituents along the Miami coastline.
“Most have a mortgage on their homes and they have to be insured," Margolis says. "They feel confident that Citizens will treat them fairly—always have felt confident about that. And therefore they don’t like the idea of change.”
The bill’s sponsors argue some of private insurers are misleading or aggressive in their efforts to acquire new policies.
Because the bill passed unanimously, there is a chance lawmakers could attempt to override the veto. But Dudley and others say they have yet to hear of such an effort.
This story was updated 6/3/2015 at 3:45 p.m.
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