''They're talking about competition,'' said Bill Stander, a lobbyist with Property Casualty Insurers Association. ``This isn't competition for the free market. We're competing against government-run, government subsidized insurance on the cheap.''

• Whether Citizens, which has been rocked by complaints about poor service, unfair coverage and management troubles, is ready to be expanded. House Speaker Marco Rubio, a Coral Gables Republican and Citizens customer who called it ''the worst insurance company in the state,'' is doubtful.

• What effect the greater risk assumed by the state will have on state finances, such as its bond rating. The state's bond guru, Ben Watkins, said the added risk to the state ''will be a negative factor'' for bond-rating agencies.

Under the bill approved Monday, Citizens will be allowed to offer lucrative insurance lines, such as fire and theft. That should help spread risk, increase capital and lower rates by up to 10 percent more -- for a total of 20 percent -- lawmakers said.

Only 350,000 people in the high-risk areas served by Citizens would be able to participate. The remaining 900,000 customers won't be able to get the new state-run insurance products and would see only an estimated 10 percent savings.

Politically, expanding Citizens is a 180-degree turn for the GOP-controlled Legislature, which has talked about disbanding it, and once saw government as the problem rather than the solution.

Former Gov. Jeb Bush had blocked a special session on insurance late last year as fellow Republicans started talking about expanding government at the expense of the private market.

The bill makes Florida a major player in the reinsurance business, offering private companies state-backed reinsurance at below-market rates and requiring them to pass along the savings to their customers. Even if a company doesn't buy the reinsurance, it must still pass on the savings, Stander said.

SAVINGS NOT CERTAIN

But when will those savings come? When the companies refile for their rates, which could be as long as year from now.

''If you're in a private company . . . that has already purchased reinsurance for the year, then your potential savings could be zero'' for this year, said Rep. Susan Bucher, a Lantana Democrat. ``I guess this bill is better than nothing because it does repeal the bad bill that was passed.''

Uncertainty over the numbers confused legislators and led many to doubt the proposed estimates. ''I'm not sure how we're going to tell anybody in the state what's going to go down and where,'' said Sen. Nancy Argenziano, a Crystal River Republican.

For consumers, there was much to cheer, including a requirement that the state consumer advocate issue an annual report card on insurance companies and prohibiting companies from denying coverage based on the age of a home.

But lawmakers rejected a plan to require the parent companies of Florida insurers to report their profits and losses. And while they agreed to stop companies from raising rates before they get approval from state regulators, they imposed that requirement for only two years.

Crist also didn't get some consumer-friendly proposals he sought -- a four-year ban on policy cancellations and a two-year ban on increasing rates -- but said he was satisfied. ''You can't always get what you want, but you get what you need,'' he said, quoting the Rolling Stones.

Miami Herald staff writer Gary Fineout contributed to this report.

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