SB 487 - This act enacts provisions relating to property insurance.WATER ACCOUNTABILITY AND INSURANCE TRANSPARENCY ACT (WAIT ACT) (Section 379.1590)
The act requires insurance policies covering real or personal property, other than automobile insurance, to include on any summary of benefits or declarations page the types of water coverage, as defined in the act, the policy includes, as well as any coverage limits or deductibles applicable to that coverage. Exclusions related to the water coverage shall be listed clearly and in separate paragraphs in the policy documents provided to the insured.
Insurers writing insurance covering losses to real or personal property shall provide to prospective insureds information related to flood insurance, regardless of whether the insured location is in a flood zone. Insurers shall also provide information related to flooding events known to have occurred in the zip code of the insured location within the last 10 years, except as otherwise prohibited by law.
If an insurance policy includes coverage of water damage and a claim is made that may include multiple sources and types of water damage, the insurer that wrote the policy shall within 5 business days notify the insured of the potential for claims against other insurers or programs, and the potential limits of any recovery under those insurers or programs. The insured may assign its claims to additional recovery and receive the full amount due under the insured's policy, and the full amount estimated to be available from the insurance or program potentially subject to subrogation. If the insured does not assign his or her claims to the insurer, the insured may pursue any remedy available to reconcile and dispose of all claims related to the water damage event.
Under the act, if an area serviced by a single water or sewer utility experiences multiple flooding or sewer backup events within a period of 10 calendar days, there shall be a rebuttable presumption that failure of utility-controlled infrastructure is responsible if certain conditions specified in the act are met. A utility in control of infrastructure responsible for water damage shall compensate landowners and utility customers for the actual cost of repair or replacement of any structure or structural element damaged in the water damage event.
LANDLORD'S AND RENTER'S INSURANCE (Section 379.1595)
The act also prohibits insurers and insurance producers from describing any insurance policy as renter's insurance unless it meets the definition specified in the act. Landlord's insurance, as defined in the act, shall not be described as renter's insurance.
Landlord's and renter's insurance may be sold through a rental management company responsible for the location, as provided in the act. Certain disclosures shall be made by the rental management company or landlord to the tenants, and any renter's insurance policy shall meet the definition specified in the act and be offered at a rate that is reasonable when compared to other similar policies available to the tenant.
ERIC VANDER WEERD