SESSION WATCH
Died HOUSE · SESSION 2026

No. HB 1349

Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund
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SPONSOR
Cassel
FILED BY
Hillary Cassel — District 101, Republican [search donations]
EFFECTIVE
upon becoming a law
DIED IN
Insurance & Banking Subcommittee

Filed under Taxes & Budget.

PROVIDED SUMMARY

Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund; Revises provisions for Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund including, retention multiple, adjusted retention multiple, reimbursement contracts, loss adjustment expense, contract obligations, reimbursements, reimbursement premiums, & reinsurance.

Full bill text →

Plain English Summary

AI-GENERATED
Raises insurer retention and caps fund liability at $17 billion.

Insurers face a retention multiple of $8.5 billion, up from $4.5 billion, for the 2026 contract year. This significantly increases the amount of hurricane losses each insurer must absorb before the fund reimburses them.

The fund's total reimbursement obligation is capped at $17 billion per contract year. The previous law allowed this limit to grow if the fund had sufficient claims-paying capacity, but that growth mechanism is deleted.

Insurers can now elect 100-percent coverage, a new option added to the existing 45, 75, and 90-percent levels. This allows insurers to shift more risk to the state fund.

The cash build-up factor in premium calculations is frozen for 12 months starting in the 2026-2027 contract year. Savings from this freeze must be passed directly to consumers.

KEY PROVISIONS
§ 1 Retention Multiple Increase majors. 215.555(2)(e)

AIRaises the insurer's retention multiple from $4.5 billion to $8.5 billion for the 2026 contract year, increasing the amount of losses insurers must absorb before the fund reimburses them.

“the retention multiple must be equal to $8.5 billion”
§ 2 Loss Adjustment Expense Cap majors. 215.555(4)(b)

AIChanges the loss adjustment expense reimbursement from 10 percent of reimbursed losses to the lesser of 25 percent of total subject losses or actual loss adjustment expenses, potentially increasing the fund's payout for LAE.

“the lesser of 25 percent of the total subject losses before reimbursement or the total subject actual loss adjustment expenses”
§ 3 Cash Build-Up Factor Freeze moderates. 215.555(5)(b)

AIFreezes the 25 percent cash build-up factor for the 2026-2027 contract year, requiring any savings from the freeze to be passed directly to consumers.

“the cash build-up factor must be frozen beginning in the 2026-2027 contract year” bill text, line 198 →
§ 4 Reinsurance Cost Restriction moderates. 215.555(7)(a)

AIProhibits adding the cost of reinsurance or capital market transactions to the actuarially determined cost of reimbursement contracts, preventing insurers from passing these costs to policyholders via premiums.

“may not be added to the actuarially determined cost of the reimbursement contracts” bill text, line 226 →
TIMELINE
3/13/2026
Died in Insurance & Banking Subcommittee
1/15/2026
Now in Insurance & Banking Subcommittee
1/15/2026
Referred to Commerce Committee
1/15/2026
Referred to State Administration Budget Subcommittee
1/15/2026
Referred to Insurance & Banking Subcommittee
1/13/2026
1st Reading (Original Filed Version)
1/9/2026
Filed
1 EARLIER →
STATUTES IT CHANGES
s. 215.555
+205 / −449