It could get a lot easier to keep home insurance that includes wind damage from hurricanes in South Florida if the state Legislature has its way.

Both houses of the Florida Legislature approved a measure that would combine the two last-resort insurers in the state, the Florida Windstorm Underwriting Association (FWUA) and the Florida Residential Property and Casualty Joint Underwriting Association (RPCJUA), into a single tax-exempt safety net for home insurance — the Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (CPIC).

If approved by the governor, the CPIC will offer wind-inclusive or wind-only home insurance policies comparable to those available in the private market. The CPIC will use the savings generated by its tax-exempt status to head off premium hikes of as much as 40 percent that were to be implemented by the FWUA in July 2002.

"With CPIC, homeowners would have access to one policy with full coverage, one agent to deal with, and one adjuster to handle claims," says Tom Gallagher, insurance commissioner and state treasurer in Florida. "It will provide relief to homeowners who were facing an exorbitant 40 percent rate hike this July and it will help build reserves to protect against future hurricane losses."

The CPIC will match its premiums to the highest average price charged by the top 20 insurers in each area. The FWUA currently insures 410,000 coastal residents and another 110,000 policyholders are covered by the RPCJUA.

The legislative action follows a decision by USAA, the third-largest home insurer in the state, to exclude wind damages in home insurance policies in Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties as they come up for renewal over the next year.

Three of the other top five Florida home insurers — State Farm Florida Insurance Co., Allstate Floridian Insurance Co., and First Floridian Auto & Home Insurance Co. — also refuse to offer windstorm insurance in South Florida.