Florida legislators have introduced bills that would amend state insurance laws, adjusting attorney fee rules and expanding disclosure requirements for insurers. The proposals aim to enhance consumer protections while increasing regulatory oversight of insurance carriers operating in the state.
Republican Sen. Don Gaetz and Rep. Alex Andrade sponsored the bills, which would mandate that the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) publish annual reports detailing insurers’ related entities and executive compensation, including salaries, benefits, and bonuses. These reports would be available online and submitted to state legislative leaders, with the information exempt from trade secret protections, allowing regulators to use it for financial assessments and rate-setting.
The proposed legislation also seeks to modify the state’s attorney fee rules in insurance litigation. Under the current system, insurers no longer bear one-way attorney fees, a provision eliminated in 2022. The new bills propose a tiered system for attorney fee awards, depending on how closely the final judgment aligns with the initial settlement demand. Full legal fees would be granted if the final judgment exceeds 80% of the original demand, while proportional fees would be awarded for judgments falling between 20% and 80%. No legal fees would be granted for judgments below 20% of the demand.
Additionally, insurers would be required to provide written loss estimates within seven days of completing an assessment. Adjusters would need to use electronic estimating tools that generate itemized, region-specific pricing for materials, labor, and equipment. Any modifications to pricing data would require a detailed explanation and identification of the adjuster responsible for the changes. Insurers would also be required to retain these loss estimates for at least seven years after a claim is closed.
The bills further propose increased transparency in rate-setting by requiring insurers to disclose the value of discounts applied to policies that include mandatory binding arbitration agreements. The criteria used to determine whether an insurance rate is excessive or inadequate would also be expanded.
The proposals follow a recent decision by Florida Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to increase rates by an average of 8.6% for most of its policyholders, a news release noted. The increase comes amid continued growth in Florida’s property insurance costs, though at a slower pace than in previous years.
According to BestLink data, Citizens Property Insurance Corp. led Florida’s multiperil homeowners insurance market in 2023, holding an 18.57% share of direct premiums written. Other leading insurers included Universal Insurance Holdings Group (8.47%), State Farm Group (6.88%), Florida Peninsula Group (4.88%), and Tower Hill Group (4.35%).
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