Florida legislative committee will hear an update on property insurance issues

homeowner's insurance — Property insurance. by designer481 via iStock for WMNF News.

After Florida lawmakers in December passed major changes to try to shore up the property insurance industry, a Senate committee next week will receive presentations about the insurance market.

The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee on Oct. 10 is scheduled to receive presentations from Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky and Citizens Property Insurance Corp. President and CEO Tim Cerio, according to a calendar published Monday.

The changes passed during a December special session included trying to help shield property insurers from costly lawsuits by customers and trying to shift policies from Citizens into the private market.

Citizens, which was created as the state’s insurer of last resort, has seen massive growth during the past three years as private carriers have dropped customers and raised rates.

As of Friday, Citizens had slightly more than 1.4 million policies, making it the largest insurer in the state.