TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida lawmakers are kicking off a special session affecting property insurance.
On Monday lawmakers will meet in Tallahassee at 10:30 a.m. for a special legislative session to try and alleviate Florida's home insurance crisis.
The focus will be on major property insurance reform and hurricane and toll relief.
For many homeowners, the cost of insurance coverage has skyrocketed and many of the private insurance companies have left the state.
This week during the special legislative session, Florida insurance companies could soon be able to buy back up to $1 billion in reinsurance coverage, which provides insurance for insurance companies.
That money would come from taxpayers, lawmakers say, and could mean relief from private insurers and a decrease in policies for the state run Citizens Property Insurance.
Since the beginning of the year, Citizens Property Insurance has seen a 48% increase in policies.
Insurance rates have jumped 33%, according to the Insurance Information Institute.
Six companies have failed and another 24 are on a watch list due to frivolous claims.
“The private companies are either not writing policies anymore, they're restricting their policies or they're limiting where they write policies across the state,” said Michael Peltier of Citizens Insurance. “So, most people are coming to Citizens.”
The special session will last all week and is scheduled to end Friday.
Lawmakers have until midnight on Dec. 16 to pass legislation.