Florida strengthens oversight of insurers and increases house-hardening grants.

Florida has passed a new law, the Insurer Accountability Act, which aims to increase transparency and oversight of property insurance companies in the state. The law requires carriers to be more transparent with their claims-handling processes, prohibits them from altering adjusters' reports without detailing why they lowered policyholders' estimates, and gives regulatory bodies more power to investigate allegations of bad behavior. The law also increases fines for violating laws and prevents financially flailing or insolvent companies from soliciting or accepting new policies. However, consumer advocates have criticized the law for not going far enough to crack down on insurance companies and mandating the level of state enforcement they believe is needed.