(The Center Square) – A bill in the Florida Senate would create a center to research the accessibility and affordability of property insurance.

Senate Bill 114, sponsored by Sen. Jay Trumbull, R-Panama City, would rename the Florida Catastrophic Storm Risk Management Center to the Florida Center for Excellence in Insurance and Risk Management and move it from Florida International University in Miami to Florida State University in Tallahassee. 

Under the Trumbull bill, the center would be required to collaborate with the Office of Insurance Regulation to produce an annual report analyzing the property insurance market. These reports would provide recommendations on improving both the accessibility and affordability of property insurance. 

SB114 would allocate $5 million to start the center and $1.5 million in an annual appropriation to funds its operations. 

The insurance office would be required to contract with the new center to manage the state’s public hurricane loss projection model, which was created by lawmakers in 2000 and put in place at FIU.

This model, unlike the ones used by insurers, would have its assumptions and methodologies open to public review. Lawmakers in the last two fiscal years have appropriated $1.2 million and $2.2 million for improvements to the model.

Florida’s property insurance market has been hit hard after the state was struck by three hurricanes in 66 days last year, tying a record. According to a report by Insurify, Florida has the highest rates nationally at nearly $11,000 in 2023 and the report predicted a 7% increase for 2024. 

“The high cost of homeowners insurance is top of mind for Florida families,” Trumbull said in a news release. “Reforms passed by the Legislature have helped stabilize the property insurance market, and we are finally starting to see some companies lower rates.

“This bill will keep up the positive momentum, creating the premier academic insurance research center in the nation to identify mitigation and resiliency steps Floridians can take to fortify their homes. It also ensures state regulators have the most up-to-date information available to set rates and affirm the financial health of insurance companies.”

In 2007, the Legislature created the Florida Catastrophic Storm Risk Management Center (Storm Risk Center) within the Department of Risk Management of Florida State University’s College of Business.

Lawmakers appropriated $7.9 million to the project starting in 2008 until fiscal 2015-16, when then-Gov. Rick Scott vetoed an outlay of $1.5 million which ended the project.  

A companion bill, House Bill 1097, is in the House.