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Florida Senate
-
2026
SB 1476
By
Senator Bernard
24-01295-26 20261476__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to homeowners’ insurance premium
3 discounts; creating s. 626.0656, F.S.; defining terms;
4 requiring residential property insurers to provide
5 specified premium reductions for claim-free periods
6 and mitigation improvements; specifying the conditions
7 under which such reductions apply; prohibiting the use
8 of storm-related claims to deny eligibility for a
9 premium reduction; requiring the Office of Insurance
10 Regulation to adopt rules relating to mitigation
11 upgrades; requiring residential property insurers to
12 submit, by a specified date, a specified report to the
13 office; requiring the office to compile certain
14 reports and publish an annual report on its website;
15 amending s. 627.4133, F.S.; prohibiting certain claims
16 that are the result of an act of God from being used
17 as a cause for premium discount ineligibility;
18 providing construction; providing an effective date.
19
20 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
21
22 Section 1. Section 626.0656, Florida Statutes, is created
23 to read:
24
626.0656 Homeowners’ insurance premium discounts and rating
25
protections.—
26
(1)
As used in this section, the term:
27
(a)
“Claim-free period” means a continuous period during
28
which a residential property insurance policy remains in force
29
and the policyholder submits no claim other than a storm-related
30
claim.
31
(b)
“Mitigation improvement” means any structural or
32
nonstructural feature, installation, or upgrade made to a
33
residential structure for the purpose of reducing windstorm or
34
hurricane
damage
risk, including, but not limited to, roof
35
reinforcement, opening protection, flood barriers, and tie
36
downs.
37
(c)
“Residential property insurer” means an insurer
38
authorized to issue homeowners
policies
, dwelling fire
policies
,
39
or condominium unit owners policies in this state.
40
(d)
“Storm-related claim” means a claim arising directly
41
from a hurricane, tropical storm, tornado, or other weather
42
event declared by the National Weather Service.
43
(2)(a)
A residential property insurer shall provide a
44
premium reduction to a policyholder who completes a claim-free
45
period of 3 years. The premium reduction
may not be
less than 5
46
percent of the annual premium and must increase by an additional
47
5 percent for each consecutive claim-free year thereafter.
48
(b)
The premium reduction required under this subsection
49
must be applied at the next renewal following completion of the
50
claim-free period.
51
(c)
A storm-related claim may not be used to deny, reduce,
52
or disqualify a premium reduction provided under this
53
subsection.
54
(3)
(a)
A residential property insurer shall provide a
55
premium reduction to a policyholder who completes a mitigation
56
improvement
.
57
(b)
The premium reduction required under this subsection
58
must be applied at the next renewal following
the completion of
59
the mitigation improvement
and must be in addition to any claim
60
free premium reduction.
61
(c)
The
office shall adopt rules to implement this
62
subsection, including rules that:
63
1.
Establish a list of eligible mitigation upgrades; and
64
2.
Maintain a
publicly accessible
database of approved
65
contractors and products related to mitigation
improvements
.
66
(4)(a) By March 1 of each year, each residential property
67
insurer shall submit to the office a report detailing:
68
1.
The number of policies receiving claim-free premium
69
reductions under subsection (2);
70
2.
The number of policies receiving mitigation improvement
71
premium reduction
s
under subsection (3);
72
3
.
The total amount of premium savings provided to
73
policyholders under subsections (2) and (3);
and
74
4.
The geographic distribution of premium reductions
,
by
75
county.
76
(b)
T
he office shall compile the
reports
received under
77
paragraph (a)
and publish an annual report on its website.
78 Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 627.4133, Florida
79 Statutes, is amended to read:
80 627.4133 Notice of cancellation, nonrenewal, or renewal
81 premium.—
82 (3) Claims on property insurance policies that are the
83 result of an act of God may not be used as a cause for
84 cancellation
,
or
nonrenewal
, or premium discount ineligibility
,
85 unless the insurer can demonstrate, by claims frequency or
86 otherwise, that the insured has failed to take action reasonably
87 necessary as requested by the insurer to prevent recurrence of
88 damage to the insured property.
This subsection does not preempt
89
or prohibit a reduction in the amount of a premium discount, as
90
approved by the office, for a claim that is the result of an act
91
of God and that occurred within 24 months before the discount is
92
applied.
93 Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.