Tallahassee Democrat – Florida Justice Reform Institute

YOUR-VOICE How much do you pay for property insurance in Florida? Here’s some good news. | Opinion

March 14, 2025/in Tallahassee Democrat

Between 2019 and 2023, average homeowner premiums in Florida surged nearly 60%.

William Large – Florida Justice Reform Institute

Gov. Ron DeSantis earlier this month revealed good news when it comes to Florida’s insurance market. Yes, good news.

During the last three years, the Florida Legislature has passed meaningful reforms to address unrestrained litigation and reign in skyrocketing attorneys’ fees, and their efforts are bringing down the cost of insurance, inviting more competition into the market and giving consumers more choice for coverage on their home and auto.

Between 2019 and 2023, average homeowner premiums in Florida surged nearly 60%. Not only were homeowners paying more for property insurance, but they had access to less coverage and fewer providers to choose from.

This was partly due to a legal environment that was too friendly to lawsuits against insurers. For a long time, Florida law allowed plaintiffs’ attorneys to recover their fees if they prevailed against insurers, even if the amount they secured through litigation was minimal; these fees were “one way” because plaintiffs faced no reciprocal risk that they would have to cover the insurance company’s attorney fees if plaintiffs lost. Assignments of benefits were also misused by third parties in order to access these statutory, “one way” attorney fees.

Florida homeowners were left to foot insurance bill hikes

Unfortunately, the average Florida homeowner was left to foot the bill when insurance providers were forced to raise costs to cover excessive litigation. Many insurers determined that it was too costly to do business in Florida. By the end of 2024, more than 30 insurance providers had exited Florida’s marketplace.

The reforms began in 2021 when Senate Bill 76 required plaintiffs to notify an insurer before a lawsuit is filed. In turn, insurers are given an opportunity to reconsider a coverage denial and attempt to resolve a claim before it is the subject of litigation. The legislation also offered consumers additional protections from unscrupulous contractors.

Then in 2022, Senate Bill 2D, developed and passed during a special session called by the Governor, included additional tort reforms. This legislation prohibited assignment of the right to obtain attorney fees to anyone other than an insured or beneficiary named in the policy, thus eliminating abuse of these arrangements by third parties as a way to obtain attorney fees.

Later in 2022, another special session led to the passage of Senate Bill 2A. Senate Bill 2A eliminated the statutory right to recover attorney fees in a lawsuit arising under a residential or commercial property insurance policy.

Importantly, this legislation also implemented greater protections for consumers. The law requires insurance companies to be more responsive to their customers by limiting the time they have to respond to claims.

Building on these reforms, the Florida Legislature also passed House Bill 837 in 2023 to eliminate exorbitant attorney’s fees, strengthen negligence standards and provide stronger defense to those targeted by excessive litigation.

While our state leaders acted swiftly to develop, pass and implement solutions, we knew it would take time for these policies to stabilize the market. Now, the trends are moving in the right direction, providing much-needed relief to Florida’s homeowners.

Florida has 11 new insurance providers

In 2024, Florida had the lowest average homeowners’ premium increases in the nation, with an average statewide rate hike of just 1%. At the same time, premiums in other states have surged by more than 20%.

In addition, there are 11 new insurance providers in the market. And the providers that remain are expanding their business and filing for rate decreases.

This is only the beginning. As timelines run out for trial attorneys to pursue litigation under the more litigation-friendly law, the environment will continue to stabilize, reducing the burden of excessive litigation and bringing down costs even further.

William W. Large William Large – Photo provided by Florida Justice Reform Institute

Our state is proof that strong conservative leadership on the state level can lead to meaningful reforms. The steps our Governor and Legislature have taken are bringing stability to the market, leading to more choices and lower costs for Florida homeowners.

William Large is the president of the Florida Justice Reform Institute.

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/columns/your-voice/2025/03/14/florida-home-property-insurance-desantis/82241314007/

Coronavirus Florida: Health care and business groups have GOP backing in push for lawsuit limits

May 13, 2020/in Tallahassee Democrat

Coronavirus Florida: Health care and business groups have GOP backing in push for lawsuit limits

John Kennedy, USA TODAY NETWORK – Capital Bureau

Published 1:32 p.m. ET May 13, 2020 | Updated 1:34 p.m. ET May 13, 2020

TALLAHASSEE – As Florida and other states phase in reopening, industry groups are stepping up their push to protect businesses, health care providers and nursing homes from coronavirus-related lawsuits.

The U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing Tuesday on the wide-ranging legal liability that could grow out of the pandemic. And in Tallahassee, proponents are preparing legislation for when lawmakers are called back into a still-to-be scheduled special session.

“There has to be a forum to present the legislation, but we’re ready to go,” said Sen. Jeff Brandes, R-St. Petersburg, chair man of the budget committee on criminal and civil justice.

Hospital associations and the nursing home industry, an epicenter for the coronavirus spread in Florida and nationwide, have urged Gov. Ron DeSantis to expand by executive order the state’s “Good Samaritan” law. They want doctors, hospitals and health care providers shielded from being sued over any problems stemming from care given during the pandemic.

DeSantis has been non-committal. But Brandes said the Good Samaritan law – crafted to protect health care professionals from liability when performing life-saving, on-the-spot care in an emergency – generally requires that someone “voluntarily responds,” without payment.

They also want the Legislature to enact measures that would at least blunt lawsuits stemming from actions taken during the state of emergency DeSantis first signed March 9 and which he has now extended into July.

Brandes said such changes wouldn’t grant blanket immunity to companies, but it would help those that followed government guidelines during both the shutdown and phased-in reopening. Still allowed would be lawsuits involving claims of gross negligence or reckless misconduct by a health care provider, company or employer.

But the Florida Justice Association, the state’s trial lawyer organization, said lawmakers should not fall for the latest round of demands from business groups seeking expanded legal protection.

The pandemic presents fresh challenges, said FJA President Leslie Kroeger, a Palm Beach Gardens lawyer, but it should not force anyone to lose their legal rights.

“I just see a huge gap,” Kroeger said. “The state and most businesses are talking about reopening safely. Then you have another group which is talking about how we’re intent on not going to get sued.

“To me, that suggests that if you’re already talking about not getting sued, maybe you’re not focusing on safety enough,” she added.

She called the move, “a grab.”

“It’s big business and their lobbyists just trying to promote tort reform and taking advantage of an horrific pandemic,” she said.

Nursing homes officials, Kroeger added, regularly push state lawmakers to reduce staffing requirements and inspections, and now are struggling to manage a virus that has proven devastating to their residents.

But Kristen Knapp, spokeswoman for the Florida Health Care Association, the state’s nursing home industry, said that even a proposal that companies meet government guidelines to gain legal protections could fall short of a guarantee.

Recommendations for the kind of face masks that should be worn have varied among agencies, she pointed out.

“In the midst of this unprecedented crisis, long-term caregivers should be able to direct their skills and attention to helping individuals who need them, and not have to worry about being sued for making these types of tough decisions while trying to comply with government directives,” Knapp said.

Florida House Speaker Jose Oliva, R-Miami, has expressed concerns about legal liabilities facing businesses and would probably support some review of the issue by the Legislature, said spokesman Fred Piccolo.

Republicans and business groups lobbying for liability protection argue that such action is needed to protect companies restarting operations after extended shutdowns, along with those which were allowed to remain open to customers with a scaled-back workforce, who also may have risked exposure to the virus.

The COVID-19 Complaint Tracker, a national database maintained by the U.S. law firm Hunton Andrews Kurth, showed almost 1,000 coronavirus-related lawsuits since Jan. 30. Nearly 30% of the lawsuits involved litigation arising from prison conditions. Florida had 82 lawsuits included in the tracker.

Critics say such numbers don’t suggest that there’s a deluge of lawsuits. And they add, existing law still will make it difficult for a plaintiff to win a claim that coronavirus was transmitted by a visit to a store or restaurant.

But supporters of new limits say the lawsuits are likely only beginning to emerge.

“There’s a lot of confusion and businesses need protection from lawsuits and workers compensation claims,” said William Large, president of the Florida Justice Reform Institute, which argues for reducing business exposure to lawsuits.

“There needs to be clarification, and the concerns go beyond health care providers,” he added.

Scott Shalley, president and CEO of the Florida Retail Federation, said help is needed.

“Florida’s retail stores are making sincere efforts to keep their teams and their customers safe, based on all the information available,” Shalley said.

But he added, “We are concerned there are trial lawyers anxious to take advantage of this crisis with frivolous lawsuits aimed at small businesses, and it is important to protect this industry from further, unjustified harm.”

In Washington, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is demanding that protecting businesses from lawsuits linked to COVID-19 be a condition to approving another stimulus package to help states and local governments deal with budgets battered by revenue losses caused by the widespread shutdowns.

The Judiciary Committee began its work on legal liability, hearing testimony from the CEO of the Kwik Chek convenience store chain, a representative of the union for meat packing workers, and a South Carolina tourism official.

While McConnell may be able to get some changes through the Senate, the Democratic-led U.S. House is a different matter, with trial lawyers and labor groups resisting efforts to offer any kind of broad lawsuit protections to companies.

In a Republican-controlled state like Florida, business and health care groups probably have a better chance. But even in Tallahassee, liability changes have proven a tough sell.

Against the backdrop of so many issues that have risen to prominence amid the pandemic – massive budget shortfalls, a dysfunctional unemployment compensation system, an uncertain school calendar and a tourist industry mostly shuttered – Republicans would be challenged if they put up lawsuit limits as a priority in a special session.

Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando, who has been working with hundreds of Floridians struggling to file claims for unemployment benefits in Florida’s problem-plagued online CONNECT system, said that GOP leaders are prioritizing the needs of large corporations while ignoring many other needs.

They’ve condemned the risk of lawsuits filed by patients, customers and workers, even as some congressional Republicans have promoted lawsuits against China over the coronavirus.

“It’s a clear reflection of where the governor’s and where the Republican Party’s priorities are,” Eskamani said. “They’re not coming to help working Floridians.”

Rich Templin, with AFL-CIO-Florida, also said any effort to restrict lawsuit rights should be watched closely.

“I don’t think anybody would argue that it may be worthwhile to examine our current liability laws in this new reality,” Templin said. “But that’s not usually what happens in Tallahassee.

“Instead, there are powerful interests that push to allow companies to operate with impunity just because they don’t want to be held responsible for their actions,” he added.

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2020/05/13/coronavirus-florida-health-care-business-groups-have-gop-backing-lawsuit-limits/5184125002/

Assignment of benefits lawsuits continues to rise for eighth straight year, report says

March 28, 2019/in Tallahassee Democrat

Assignment of benefits lawsuits continues to rise for eighth straight year, report says

Jeffrey Schweers, Tallahassee Democrat Published 3:33 p.m. ET March 27, 2019

For the eighth year in a row, assignment of benefits lawsuits accounted for more than half of all litigation against insurers statewide, a newly updated report by the Florida Justice Reform Institute claims.

Eighteen percent more AOB lawsuits were filed than in 2017. Over the last decade, that growth was 900 percent. Total lawsuits increased just over 400 percent for the same 10-year period.

Gov. Ron DeSantis gives his State of theState speech during
the opening day ofsession for the Florida Legislature
Tuesday, March 5, 2019.
(Photo: Tori Schneider/Tallahassee Democrat)

And while the proportion of personal injury protection cases only rose 5 percent, the share of AOB cases rose 70 percent, according to the report.

“This updated report details how out-of-control AOB lawsuits based on the one-way attorney fee continues to accelerate, driving up overall litigation and costs for policyholders,” William Large, president of the Florida Justice Reform Institute, said in a news release.

The report uses data from the Florida Department of Financial Services’ Service Of Process database, updated through 2018, to show the widespread growth of Assignment of Benefits lawsuits.

The state law was intended to benefit insurance policyholders by putting them on an equal playing field with insurers, but has instead created a growing windfall for trial lawyers and the repair companies that hire them, the institute said.

“I hope the Legislature passes legislation to reform the issue of AOB, which has really degenerated into a racket,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said during his State of the State address.

Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to the press after giving his State
of the State address during the opening day of session for the
Florida Legislature. Tuesday, March 5, 2019.
(Photo: Tori Schneider/Tallahassee Democrat)

Two weeks ago, Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier said he would remain committed to supporting measures “that stem AOB abuse and protects consumers from the abusive tactics exhibited by bad actors who exploit Florida’s unique attorney fee structure.”

The report was released today, the day before the House Judiciary Committee was to take up its version of an insurance assignments bill similar to one that was filed the previous two years.

State law allows a policy homeowner to sign over their rights to a building contractor or auto repair shop so they can immediately pursue direct payment from the insurance company for the cost of the repairs.

Often, the amount of the claim is disputed and the case winds up in court. Under the one-way attorney fee requirement, insurance companies pay legal costs whether they win or lose, giving lawyers an incentive to file AOB suits, critics said.

The consequence of the spike in lawsuits and award amounts is that insurance rates for many of the state’s 6 million property insurance policyholders has gone up by a third, state insurance officials said.

The House committee bill would curb the abuse mainly by going after the one-way attorney fee statute by setting a formula for determining which party, if any, receives the award of attorney fees.

A similar bill sponsored by Sen. Doug Broxson, R-Pensacola, would only award attorney fees to policyholders if they win.

Five firms filed more than 20 percent of all property AOB lawsuits, according to the FJRI report, and nine firms filed nearly 85 percent of all auto glass AOB cases. Most AOB lawsuits appear to be concentrated in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, with the majority of auto glass lawsuits in Hillsborough and Orange counties.

“Unfortunately, rampant AOB lawsuits threaten our confidence in the state’s legal climate,” Large said. “The Legislature can help the people of Florida by standing up to the trial lawyers and passing meaningful AOB lawsuit reform.”

Contact Schweers at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @jeffschweers.

https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2019/03/27/aob-lawsuits-continue-plague-florida-new-study-shows/3289723002/

Between 2019 and 2023, average homeowner premiums in Florida surged nearly 60%.

Florida Justice Reform Institute

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