Property Insurer Financial Strength Ratings:
SB 792 would require the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation to expand its annual insurance reporting to the Legislature and Governor by adding financial strength ratings for property insurers that were later placed into delinquency or similar proceedings. The bill defines “financial strength rating” and “independent rating agency,” and it specifies that the report must include the ratings for each of the eight fiscal quarters before a property insurer entered delinquency, along with a concise description of the circumstances, actions taken to avoid delinquency, and the status or result of the proceeding.
The bill also directs the office to maintain and make available upon request quarterly financial strength rating information for each property insurer, including rating changes, the number of downgrades, the number of downgraded companies later upgraded, and how many downgraded companies ultimately entered delinquency or similar proceedings. It preserves existing protections for trade secret information, while allowing aggregate trade secret information to be included in reports or made available under the statute when it cannot be individually identified. The act would take effect July 1, 2025.
SB 792 would amend section 624.315, Florida Statutes, by adding new definitions and expanding the Office of Insurance Regulation’s reporting and recordkeeping duties related to property insurers. It would not directly regulate insurer rates or solvency standards, but it would increase transparency around insurer financial condition and the relationship between rating downgrades and later delinquency proceedings. The bill primarily affects the Office of Insurance Regulation, the Legislature, the Governor, and property insurers whose ratings and delinquency histories would be captured in the reports.
There is limited recorded debate or vote history available for SB 792, and no committee transcript excerpts were provided. Based on the bill’s content, the measure appears to have been framed as a transparency and oversight proposal rather than a controversial substantive insurance-market intervention. However, the bill ultimately died in the Senate Banking and Insurance committee, suggesting it did not advance despite its narrow focus on reporting and data disclosure.
The main policy tension in SB 792 is between increased public and legislative visibility into insurer financial health and the protection of proprietary or trade secret information. Property insurers may also be sensitive to the publication of downgrade histories and pre-delinquency ratings, which could affect market perception, while supporters would likely view the data as useful for identifying warning signs before insurer failures. Because no committee discussion is available, there is no documented disagreement from specific lawmakers in the record provided, but the bill’s failure to advance indicates it did not secure enough support to move beyond committee.