Senate Democrats tout ‘affordability agenda,’ focus on property insurance bills

• Florida Senate Democrats are proposing new legislation to address rising property insurance rates.

• Proposed bills aim to strengthen insurer regulations and reduce litigation costs.

• Democrats face challenges in passing their bills due to being a super minority in the Legislature.

Florida Senate Democrats are taking aim at the jump in property insurance rates in recent years, highlighting bills they’ve filed to tackle the issue – and criticizing Republicans for not doing enough to keep costs down.

“The out-of-control property insurance market affects all of us, whether you own your own home or you rent it from someone else,” Senate Democratic Leader Lori Berman of Boca Raton told reporters Oct. 8. “We want Floridians to keep more of their hard-earned money, and we want Floridians to get what they pay for.”

Berman noted she and her 10 other Democrats in the Senate filed or plan to file legislation to strengthen regulation of insurers, empower whistleblowers and keep litigation costs down.

Bills already filed include SB 108 from Sen. Tina Polsky of Boca Raton, which would require mediation in a claims dispute before a lawsuit is filed, and SB 84 from Berman, which would set up an advisory council to recommend changes each year to keep rates down.

Moreover, Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith, D-Orlando, said he plans to file legislation to prevent insurers from using affiliated managing general agents (MGAs) to hide profits.

He cited a 2022 report commissioned by the Office of Insurance Regulation showing insurers paid billions to MGAs for a variety of services, including underwriting and data analysis, while premiums skyrocketed after the 2017 storm season, which included Hurricane Irma. The report wasn’t made public until March 2025.

The bill would cap MGA fees at 20% of gross premium, beef up oversight of MGAs at the Office of Insurance Regulation and require “the full public disclosure of all payments to affiliates and cost justifications for all services provided.”

Smith’s bill also would ban the payment of dividends and executive bonuses for insurers “claiming financial challenges and distress.”

“Giant property insurance companies are playing a shell game, and our constituents can no longer afford legislative inaction,” Smith said.

But the bills from Democrats are unlikely to get traction: Democrats are in a super-minority in the Florida Legislature and have little sway to push bills in either chamber. Still, Berman said her caucus will continue to push for their bills to be heard.

“These aren’t radical ideas, and they should be championed by legislators on both sides of the aisle,” Berman said.

The Legislature is set to convene its regular 60-day session on Jan. 12.

Source: Gray Rohrer, USA Today Network - Florida

Gray Rohrer is a reporter with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at grohrer@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @GrayRohrer.