Florida House Speaker Calls for Hearings Amid Property Insurance Profits Report
Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez has called for hearings to investigate a report, made public last month by the Tampa Bay Times, that suggests property insurance companies misled the legislature about their financial status.
The claims of financial difficulty were made two years ago when the insurance industry was lobbying for legislation that made it more difficult to sue them. The legislation passed. The report revealed that the parent companies that owned those companies were making billions at the time.
Now, Speaker Perez is calling for House hearings to uncover what happened. “We have since learned the reports in existence at the time, but not disclosed to the legislature, that may suggest some insurance companies were using accounting tricks to hide substantial profits while telling us they were in a crisis. I have asked the insurance and banking subcommittee to conduct hearings, and they will have access to the full range of tools, including issuing subpoenas, putting witnesses under oath and hiring outside experts,” he said.
Senate President Ben Albritton also expressed a desire to hold insurance companies accountable. “We’ll hold insurance companies accountable for the rates they charge and the services they provide when disaster strikes. They aren’t going to manipulate the system. And, neither is any other industry. Not on my watch,” he said.
The two leaders also indirectly addressed Governor Ron DeSantis’ calls for a Florida government efficiency task force, named DOGE after the federal program. DeSantis wants the group to investigate what he believes are hidden diversity, equity, and inclusion programs, and government waste in Florida’s government agencies and universities.
Albritton pointed out that Florida already has a government efficiency task force, but he believes the state needs to continue modernizing. He highlighted a proposal separate from DeSantis’ to accomplish that. “Senator Grall is sponsoring legislation by which all state agencies would be required to complete a five-year full and complete rule review process. Each agency will review 20% of all rules each year to identify if any changes, amendments, or repeals are necessary. Improved oversight of administrative rules will go a long way towards keeping government more accountable to Floridians. That’s the way government is supposed to work, in its foundation,” Albritton said.
Perez also expressed a commitment to increased scrutiny, particularly concerning budgetary spending. “I’m challenging our budget subcommittee chairs to dive into the budget and find real savings in recurring revenue. Members, this money doesn’t belong to us. It belongs to the people of Florida,” Perez said.
Neither man directly addressed DeSantis’ DOGE request, and their outlined policy solutions did not include giving the governor’s task force more power to investigate. Instead, the leaders are maintaining their independence—a pattern that began during the immigration special sessions earlier this year. This dynamic is expected to continue throughout the remainder of the legislative session.
