Insurance Week: Insurance Reform Bill, Wildfire Losses, Zero-Dollar Claims, Rideshare Reduces Motor Vehicle Injuries

Just-Signed Insurance Reform Bill Already Working in FL:

A bill (SB 76) reforming property insurance and roofing contractor practices in Florida was just signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) on June 11 and won’t officially take effect until July 1. But by some accounts it’s already having a positive impact on the state’s beleaguered insurance market.

Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier said he’s starting to see an increase in the number of homeowners policies private carriers are picking up across the state. And Rep. Bob Rommel (R), who authored the House version of the bill (HB 305), said insurers have also been showing greater willingness to enter the state’s market since SB 76 was passed. (INSURANCE JOURNAL, STATE NET)

CA Policies Contribute to Wildfire Losses:

California has been encouraging the rebuilding of homes in areas destroyed by wildfires, according to a study by the University of California, Berkeley’s Center for Community Innovation. The researchers found that state and local policies in California emphasize the retrofitting of existing homes, the securing of defensible space around homes and community evacuation plans rather than incentivizing residents to move to lower-risk areas. Insurers paid out $100 million a year in fire insurance claims in the state, on average, from 1964 to 1990 and about $26 billion after the 2017 and 2018 fire seasons. (INSURANCE JOURNAL)

MI Schools Insurers on ‘Zero-Dollar Claims’:

Michigan’s Department of Insurance and Financial Services has issued a bulletin (2021-27-INS) reminding property/casualty insurers that they aren’t permitted to rely on “zero-dollar claims” in their insureds’ loss histories. The DIFS said some P/C insurers have been taking such claims, which include claims that were filed but withdrawn before the insurer paid them, into account when making rate, underwriting and renewal decisions. (INSURANCE JOURNAL)

Rideshare Use Reduces Motor Vehicle Injuries, Impaired Driving:

The incidence of motor vehicle-related trauma in Houston decreased by a third for every 1,000 rideshare rides, according to a study by The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth). The study also found a reduction in the average number of daily impaired driving convictions, from 22.5 to 19, since 2014, when rideshare companies began operating in the city. (INSURANCE JOURNAL)

-- Compiled by KOREY CLARK