Florida lawmakers late last week gave final approval to a long-debated condominium bill, one designed to give condo owners a little relief on the high cost of bringing structures up to code.
But the final version of the bill seems to have divided the condo insurance community. Some in the industry now worry that House Bill 913 went too far and may have inadvertently given owners options that could thwart spending on repairs or allow buildings to be undervalued and underinsured.
“It has to be a mistake. It’s the exact opposite of what was intended, it seems to me,” said Phil Masi, agency president of AssuredPartners, one of the largest writers of condo insurance in Florida.
The bill is the latest development to come out of the 2021 Surfside condo collapse that killed 98 people. In 2022, Florida lawmakers put strict new rules on condo associations, mandating regular inspections and upgrades, adequate reserve funding to