Insurance, condo and economic incentive bills passed by the 2012 Florida Legislature become laws on Sunday. The following bills were approved with a July 1, 2012, effective date:
• Savings for private property insurers. Following a major storm that overtaxes the funds of Citizens Property Insurance – the Florida-owned property insurer – current law requires private insurers to pay Citizens up to 18 percent of their premiums within 30 days of being assessed. The bill effective Sunday, HB 1127, allows private insurers to focus on homeowners following a disaster and pay money to Citizens later. Florida Realtors backed the bill in hopes it would encourage more private insurance companies to start doing business in the state.
• Challenging Citizens’ replacement costs. Critics said the state-owned insurer over-valued property and, as a result, charged higher premiums. In January, following discussions with Florida Realtors and policyholders concerned about unreasonably high replacement cost estimates, Citizens Property Insurance Corp. agreed to consider valuation sources other than their current vendor, 360Value software. Starting Sunday, homeowners officially have three options for contesting replacement costs issued by Citizens under HB 1101, including valuations prepared by real estate appraisers licensed under Chapter 475, F.S.
• Boosting condo sales. In 2010, the Florida Legislature made it easier for investors to buy blocks of condos by amending laws to protect bulk buyers from some liabilities faced by condo developers. Those protections originally expired on July 1, 2012, but a push by the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) has extended those protections for an additional three years under HB 517.
• Limiting AMC hold harmless agreements. A second bill backed by DBPR, HB 887, prohibits Appraisal Management Companies (AMCs) from requiring appraisers to sign hold harmless agreements as a condition of doing business.
• Developing economic incentives. A large tax bill, HB 7087, offers some relief to real estate businesses by increasing the corporate income tax exemption from $25,000 to $50,000.
Source: Florida Realtors®
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