Homeowners insured by state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. would not be able to choose their own contractors or neutral contractors to fix sinkhole damage to their homes in a bill that passed through the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee on Tuesday.
Reggie Garcia, a lobbyist for the Florida Justice Association, a group representing trial attorneys and consumers, said the bill isnt needed because legislation passed in 2011 (SB 408) already rolled back many protections for homeowners and allowed Citizens to only cover catastrophic sinkhole damage in their basic policies.
