''We've been having insurance discussions since October. We have a lot of agreement,'' said House Speaker Marco Rubio, a Republican from Coral Gables.

The Senate has a 153-page bill on the table. The House has outlined as many as six bills that will tackle its goals.

Both the House and Senate have proposed bigger changes in how Citizens operates. For instance, the Senate is considering allowing Citizens to write policies to cover all potential home damage, including fire and theft. Such a move would essentially eliminate the state's designated windpool area. Also, by expanding its lines, Citizens could be more profitable and avoid future hefty premium in increases.

But this proposal is strongly opposed by House leaders, who would rather replace Citizens' board of directors and impose new management controls to improve its performance before allowing it to offer other insurance products.

The House includes two proposals made by Gov. Crist on the campaign trail last year that the Senate is now resisting: preventing the formation of Florida-only subsidiaries for national insurers that operate in the state and demanding that insurers sell homeowners insurance in Florida if they do so outside the state.

Another point of contention this week will be whether the House will accept a Senate proposal for a super insurance fund that would cap the amount private companies pay out in a one-in-75-year storm and dip into state revenues for the remainder. House leaders warn that such a plan could shield insurers from the most costly risk and could lead to major cuts in the state budget or tax increases.

Unlike two past legislative sessions where lawmakers easily accepted the rationale proposed by insurance companies for favorable law changes, there is tough talk in Tallahassee.

''Lawmakers won't be as flat-footed this time,'' said Sen. Bill Posey, a Republican from Rockledge who leads the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee this year.

On the agenda are provisions to make insurers more accountable: having the companies' chief executive officers sign off on rate filings; requiring state regulator approval of rate hikes before they are implemented, and providing more power to the state's insurance consumer advocate to represent consumers.

INSURERS UNEASY

Already, insurers are complaining about some measures.

''Making CEOs sign off on rate filings and eliminating the windpool don't produce any benefits for consumers and make it harder to do business in Florida,'' said Delegal, the State Farm lobbyist.

To keep lawmakers focused on the interests of homeowners, not insurers, consumer activist groups plan a huge rally Tuesday on the Capitol steps.

Throughout the state, about a dozen groups have been formed in the past year, questioning rate increases and demanding accountability. One group, FIRM -- Fair Insurance Rates in Monroe -- has already won a rate rollback for one year.

Business owners, too, will be tuned in to Tallahassee.

Said Richard Barkett, who heads the Realtor Association of Greater Fort Lauderdale: 'Taxes and insurance are now the No. 1 concern when a buyer is coming in nowadays, especially a first-time buyer. It used to be location, location, location. Today, it's `What's my bottom line?' ''

As lawmakers approach their work this week, they have realized, often personally, that the act of buying property insurance in Florida changed drastically after the 2004 and 2005 hurricanes.

''I didn't have shutters until two years ago,'' Sen. Posey said. ``I would say that's what I have insurance for. But those days are over.''

Miami Herald staff reporter Mary Ellen Klas contributed to this story. d

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