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AudibleOne of the elements credited in the evolving success of Florida’s recent property insurance reforms is data collection and reporting. Property insurance companies are required to provide regulators with specific data on litigated claims. The number of lawsuits decreased significantly in 2024 as a result and with it, upward pressure on homeowners insurance rates.
Now there’s a push to implement a litigation data standard nationwide. Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller sits down with CaseGlide CEO Wesley Todd who is behind the move, citing increasing nuclear verdicts and new challenges in other lines impacting insurance availability and affordability.
Wesley Todd, CEO, CaseGlide. Courtesy, CaseGlide
Show Notes
The podcast delves into the transformative changes in Florida’s homeowners insurance litigation landscape, driven by legislative reforms and the critical role of data transparency. Wesley Todd said he formed Tampa-based CaseGlide in 2013 to bring greater transparency to insurance litigation through data analytics and “level the scales of justice. But what was missing was the ability to see what was happening, the ability to do something about it.” More than ten years later, he is continuing to emphasize the importance of data transparency in understanding litigation trends and improving the insurance industry’s efficiency.
Todd told host Miller that the insurance industry today faces “an inflection point.” Nuclear verdicts, social inflation, and judicial activism have driven unprecedented litigation costs, destabilizing insurance companies’ ability to fulfill their fiduciary obligations. Meanwhile, plaintiff attorneys have transformed their practices with analytics, funding, and transparency, positioning themselves to maximize litigation outcomes “at the expense of insurers,” he said.
“I’m really sort of just giving the industry a heads-up that this is where we’re headed if we’re lucky, right? I mean otherwise it could be too late. It could be that insurance becomes unaffordable and unavailable in major lines like casualty, professional liability, just like we see in commercial auto, just like we saw temporarily in Florida,” Todd said.
Todd discussed his recent policy paper that advocates for a data-driven approach to decision-making and highlights the need for standardized litigation data to support industry reforms and better serve consumers. He is urging insurance companies across the U.S. to implement a “Litigation Data Standard.” He describes it as a governance framework for collecting, auditing, and analyzing litigation data. This “institutional reform” would help realign insurance companies with their duties of compliance, reasonableness, and transparency, enabling them to meet regulatory expectations, counter judicial activism, and deliver legal services of comparable quality to their opponents in the plaintiff bar.
Todd’s concept is based on Florida’s litigation challenges. In 2021, Florida accounted for 7% of the nation’s homeowners insurance claims, yet 76% of the nation’s homeowners insurance lawsuits. The legislature passed a series of successive reforms from 2019 through 2023, including the elimination of one-way attorney fees for plaintiff attorneys to help fix the problem.
“They (legislators and regulators) made different steps along the way to try to be as thoughtful as they can so as to strike that proper balance between reform and consumer protection,” said Todd. “And they continue to be years ahead of other states on this topic. So now they have a standard stage and they’re able to give you pretty good insights, as Commissioner Yaworsky is able to do on a regular basis, which no other state that I’m aware of does.”
Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky addressing legislators, December 3, 2024. Courtesy, The Florida Channel
Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky reported to the legislature in December 2024 that the statewide average litigation rate among all property insurance claims is 9.8% “and when you take out the metro areas, it’s about 5%,” Yaworsky said. The Tri-County area of South Florida (Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade counties) saw 27.5% of its claims were litigated. Miami-Dade by itself had more than one in three claims litigated, “which is an area of the state that had not been impacted by storms in over a decade,” Yaworsky pointed out. That bucks the usual trend of more litigation only after hurricanes. “So there again, he’s bringing the facts to the table, educating not only legislators about what the numbers are (but Florida consumers as well),” said host Miller.
The results, Todd said, “show a dramatically improving market with dramatically reduced litigation for Florida.” He noted that while Florida’s property insurance market is stabilizing, other states’ markets are seeing drastic increases in premium, where Florida is not. He said the improvement in litigation is even greater than current reported numbers reveal. That’s because the data includes pre-reform Hurricane Ian claims still going through the system over the last two years.
“So imagine if Commissioner Yaworsky could describe how many post-reform claims have come through these past two years, and compare those to prior years. What you’d see is the numbers are drastically improving, not just incrementally,” said Todd. He said Yaworsky’s Florida Office of Insurance Regulation and its twice-annual “Property Insurance Stability Reports” will eventually capture and show this data. Having that latest, relevant, “next level data” would help rating agencies and reinsurers further reduce the cost of insurance and reinsurance.
Given that relevant litigation data isn’t available publicly through the court system, it will have to come from private insurance companies that have the ability to capture the frequency and severity of litigated settlements and their costs. Todd argues that the lack of visibility and transparency of litigation costs had led to an imbalance, burdening consumers with excessive litigation expenses. Thus the need for a litigation data standard across the industry to enable insurance companies to better understand their costs and improve their operations.
“I noticed there was a national crisis going on and it looked very similar (to Florida),” Todd told host Miller. “Sure, it wasn’t hurricanes and roofers and public adjusters, and there wasn’t as many cases, but they were much more expensive. I saw commercial auto (insurance) all of a sudden become unaffordable and unavailable and then I started seeing the same thing happen to casualty in the last couple of years. I noticed that those same problems that were happening in Florida were now spreading nationwide and I don’t think that’s to anybody’s surprise that’s been around the country and seen the same billboards that we see in Florida every day, and have seen the nuclear verdicts pop out every day,” said Todd.
His push for building a data-driven culture within insurance companies includes:
- Investing in Technology: Implement software solutions that facilitate data collection and analysis.
- Training Staff: Ensure that adjusters, attorneys, and executives are trained to use data effectively.
- Collaborating with Stakeholders: Work with regulators, policymakers, and other industry players to advocate for standardized data practices.
Host Miller commended Todd for his “forward-thinking ideas in always peeking around the corner” using data. This episode of the Florida Insurance Roundup podcast serves as a critical reminder of the importance of data transparency and proactive measures in the insurance industry. Todd’s insights highlight the need for a collaborative effort among insurance companies, regulators, and policymakers to create a more balanced and efficient system that ultimately benefits consumers. By embracing data-driven practices and advocating for standardized data collection, the insurance industry can navigate the evolving landscape of litigation and drive positive change.
Links and Resources Mentioned in this Episode
Assignment of Benefits & Insurance Litigation (Lisa Miller & Associates)
Florida’s Insurance Commissioner Provides Update on Continued Property Insurance Market Stabilization (Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, October 10, 2024)
Property Insurance Stability Report (Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, July 2024)
Florida Property Insurance Market Stats, Data and Facts (Florida Office of Insurance Regulation)
Subscribe to the LMA Newsletter and The Florida Insurance Roundup podcast (free)
** The Listener Call-In Line for your recorded questions and comments to air in future episodes is 850-388-8002 or you may send email to [email protected] **
The Florida Insurance Roundup from Lisa Miller & Associates, brings you the latest developments in Property & Casualty, Healthcare, Workers’ Compensation, and Surplus Lines insurance from around the Sunshine State. Based in the state capital of Tallahassee, Lisa Miller & Associates provides its clients with focused, intelligent, and cost conscious solutions to their business development, government consulting, and public relations needs. On the web at www.LisaMillerAssociates.com or call 850-222-1041. Your questions, comments, and suggestions are welcome! Date of Recording 1/3/2025. Email via [email protected] Composer: www.TeleDirections.com © Copyright 2017-2025 Lisa Miller & Associates, All Rights Reserved
