Florida Lawmaker Will Propose Summer Camp Insurance Mandate
Proposed legislation seeks to require mandatory insurance or transparency for Florida camps.
Updated on Sept. 30, 2026 in Insurance
State Representative Mike Redondo plans to introduce a bill requiring Florida summer camps to hold insurance or explicitly disclose their coverage status. The move follows a case involving a Miami family whose child was injured at an uninsured martial arts camp.
Why it matters
Currently, Florida has no mandate for summer camps to carry liability insurance, leaving families with limited recourse when accidents occur at facilities. This legislation aims to close a regulatory gap that leaves parents vulnerable to significant financial loss.
The victim, an 8-year-old who was 4 at the time of the incident, suffered permanent deafness and skull fractures after a fall from a 6-foot MMA fence. The facility subsequently entered state liquidation following a 2022 negligence lawsuit.
The players
Mike Redondo
Mike Redondo is a Florida State Representative who is spearheading the effort to mandate insurance coverage for summer camps.
The details
The injured child climbed out of a six-foot-high MMA octagon fence and fell onto a hard wood floor. Because the business operated without insurance, the family has been left with over $100,000 in medical costs following the incident.
Timeline
In 2022, the affected family filed a negligence lawsuit against the martial arts camp.
The proposed legislation is scheduled for introduction during the next legislative session.
Market Dynamics
The move aligns with broader efforts to regulate private recreational businesses that operate under minimal state oversight. It forces a shift toward professionalization in a sector that has historically relied on parental assumption of risk.
Parents should check their own medical and umbrella policies to ensure they have coverage for accidents at recreational facilities. Residents can also advocate for the bill to help establish a standardized safety threshold for local programs.
The takeaway
When choosing a camp, verify if the facility holds general liability insurance before signing any agreements. Families should be prepared for the possibility that some smaller camps may lack coverage until new legislation potentially changes state requirements.
Further reading
For more background on state-level requirements, visit Insurance.
