PROPERTY INSURANCE

Nearly 80,000 Florida homeowners will have to find new insurance, after Southern Fidelity declared bankruptcy.

Less than a week after Florida lawmakers rushed to make property-insurance changes, a contractors group Tuesday filed a constitutional challenge that targets a new restriction on attorney fees in lawsuits against insurance companies.

With more than 850,000 policies, the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has become an 800-pound gorilla in Florida’s troubled insurance market.

The Florida Senate has approved a sweeping legislative package meant to combat rising property insurance rates and other problems in the state’s turbulent insurance market, creating a $2 billion reinsurance fund and writing new rules around coverage denials and attorney fees.

The News4JAX I-TEAM is hearing from property insurance agents, lawyers and property owners about what they want to see come out of a special session called to deal with Florida’s property insurance crisis.

Governor Ron DeSantis called lawmakers into a special session next month to address the state’s troubled property insurance market. The session is set for May 23 through May 27.

In a stop in Jacksonville Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he'll address the property insurance crisis in a special legislative session in May.