Storm bills would benefit insurers
Legislators have proposed hurricane insurance bills that would give insurers the right to refuse to pay for damage caused by floods after a hurricane.
BY BEATRICE E. GARCIA AND MARY ELLEN KLAS

TALLAHASSEE - Massive insurance regulation bills moved quickly through their last committee stops in the Florida House and Senate on Thursday, with provisions that could severely curtail homeowners' ability to collect the full value of their policies in case of a catastrophe.

A key measure in these bills -- one the insurance industry emphasizes as the most important issue before lawmakers -- would require insurers to be responsible only for damage they specifically cover in their policies.

Many victims of the 2004 hurricanes fear this legislation could cripple lawsuits they have filed against their insurers, creating the rare situation where a decision by the Legislature affects pending court cases. Legislative leaders deny that will happen.

When there's a total loss from wind and water damage, and the insurer covers only the damage from wind, the House and Senate bills as written could leave homeowners without enough money to rebuild their homes.

''If an insurance company is writing property insurance, we shouldn't make that insurer also pay flood insurance,'' House Speaker Allan Bense said.

At stake is a law that has been on Florida's books for more than 100 years. A circuit court decision last year found the state's so-called valued-policy law required insurers to pay the full value of a homeowner's policy if a home was a total loss.

Since last summer's hurricane season, the debate about this law and the court decision has become more heated because numerous homeowners, including hundreds in the Panhandle, are demanding full payment from both their wind insurer and the flood insurer. Many have sued their insurance companies to collect on both policies.