Alongside other members of the Florida House, State Rep. Jim Mooney raised his right hand to be sworn in during an organizational meeting on Nov. 19 at the state Capitol. The former Islamorada councilman, who was first elected in 2020, Mooney enters his third term in office following a convincing victory on Election Night.
“I’m very proud of the fact constituents put their trust in me. It makes you feel good that they believe in you and feel you’re effective,” Mooney told the Keys Weekly in a recent interview.
With a district spanning the Keys and south Miami-Dade, Mooney said he feels he’s been effective in moving legislation to the finish line. When session convenes in 2025, he’s hoping the Legislature will continue to address growing concerns facing the state and the Florida Keys. A 60-day session officially begins March 4, 2025.
“We have to do something about insurance,” Mooney said. “I won’t stop until I’m either termed out, voted out or dead. Hopefully it’s termed out.”
Mooney said he’s hoping the Legislature will at least undo a requirement that Citizens Property Insurance policyholders with windstorm policies must also carry flood insurance. The new requirement approved in December 2022 has gone into effect for homes within a special flood hazard area. The measure was part of a larger Senate Bill 2A, which also eliminated one-way attorney fees and the assignment of benefits, in a bid to address skyrocketing rates.
“If your house is on stilts and all you have below is a slab for parking, you don’t need flood insurance on that,” he said. “It would be instantaneous money kept in the pockets of homeowners.”
Earlier in the year, Citizens submitted several rate filings to the state Office of Insurance Regulation which detailed increases of 14% for personal lines policies for homeowners, condo unit owners, dwelling units and mobile homes. An insurer of roughly 20,000 policies in the Keys, Citizens provides coverage to property owners who are in good faith and can’t obtain a policy through the private market.
Officials with Citizens have said the premium rates remain “well below” those of other private insurance companies. During the hearing, Citizens officials acknowledged its rates would need to increase some 53.9% to avoid competing with the private insurance market. Mel Montagne, president for Fair Insurance Rates of Monroe (FIRM), told state insurance regulators during an Aug. 1 rate hearing in Tallahassee that 2022 and 2023 were less than active storm seasons in the Keys — and yielding even more profits to Citizens. Montagne’s statements came as FIRM pushes back against another rate hike for Citizens policyholders in Monroe County.
No decision has been rendered by OIR on Citizens’ rate filings.
Property insurance was a subject that was briefly addressed by new House Speaker Danny Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton in their speeches to their respective chambers on Nov. 19. Perez, an attorney who represents portions of Miami-Dade, didn’t delve into specifics of the issues facing Floridians like property insurance. But he did say residents need to know that “our state’s insurance laws are not being written by and for the insurance companies.”
“Floridians want equality of opportunity. They want to believe that if they play by the rules that the deck won’t be stacked against them,” Perez said.
Albritton, in his address to senators, said he wants insurance companies to keep up their end of the bargain as Floridians have paid their insurance over the years.
“I want to make sure that impacted Floridians and insurance companies hear me loudly and clearly – we are watching,” said Albritton, a citrus farmer from Wauchula. “We’ve made changes insurance companies said they needed to improve competition and stabilize rates.”
State Sen. Ana Maria Rodriguez enters year three of a four-year term representing the Florida Keys and south Miami-Dade. Rodriguez said she’s encouraged with both Perez and Albritton.
“Both men and their respective leadership teams will serve the Florida Keys well and will provide sound conservative voices of reason,” she told Keys Weekly.
She, too, believes more work is ahead on the issue of property insurance.
“Although the state has tackled insurance reform in past sessions, we must continue to find ways to continue attracting insurers to Florida and providing relief to every Floridian grappling with this expense,” she added.
