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Florida’s Property Insurance Reform

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Different perspectives

Hurricanes are just one threat to Floridians and the property insurance companies that strive to protect them.  Another is costly claims practices pushed by excessive litigation.  It’s driving the price of insurance up by double-digits for most everyone.  While we wait for the Florida Legislature’s recently passed reform bill SB 76 to be formally presented to the Governor for his expected signature, I had a sit down with state Senator Jeff Brandes and John Henley of UPC Insurance to get their thoughts on the bill and its expected impact on Florida consumers.  Our conversation is the latest Florida Insurance Roundup podcast.

State Senator Jeff Brandes (R-Pinellas County)

Senator Brandes (R-Pinellas County) voted for the bill, despite sincere concern that it was just a 40% solution for what is needed to restore a competitive market and lower costs.  “We have a rash of roof claims across Florida.  The two things that we really needed to deal with were attorney fees and roof issues… most of that is missing (from the bill),” he shared on the podcast.

The bill changes the decades-old one-way attorney fee statute formula.  If the claimant recovers at least 50% of the disputed amount, full attorney fees would be awarded; less than 20%, then there would be no attorney fees.  Judgments between 20% and 50% would merit the same proportional attorney fee to the percentage of the disputed amount obtained. 

John Henley, Vice President and Head of Claims Shared Services, UPC Insurance

“The attorney fee provision is a step in the right direction,” said John Henley, Vice President and Head of Claims Shared Services at UPC Insurance, one of the largest writers of homeowners insurance in Florida.  “It’s so much better than the current paradigm, where if a claimant gets a judgement of a penny more than the insurance company offered, they get all their attorney fees paid, and even more.”  And the bill’s required ten-day notice before being sued, “is better than nothing, which is what we have now, where we settle the claim and think everything is fine and then they sue us and don’t tell us what they’re demanding,” Henley added.

Senator Brandes, a champion for insurance reform in the Florida Legislature, said he hopes the provisions will bring all parties to the table and to act reasonably.  “Prior to this law, people had no incentive to be reasonable.  In fact, they had an incentive not to be reasonable.”

Henley offered some surprising perspective on how the bill’s requirement that insurance companies collect and submit claims and litigation data annually to state regulators, might actually bring an unexpected benefit.  You can listen to the podcast – or simply read our comprehensive show notes and peruse the resources we referenced – by clicking here.  (For a complete summary of the bill, read our 2021 Bill Watch.)

LMA Newsletter of 6-1-21

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Tags: Contractor Fraud, David Altmaier, Florida Homeowners Insurance Market, Florida Legislature 2021, Insurance Litigation, Insurance Reform, Insurance Shopping, Jeff Brandes, John Henley, Property Insurance, SB 76

“Just a quick note to let you know how much I have appreciated your newsletter over the years and the assistance they offer for those in the field of claims. We depend on the information more than you will ever know!”

Laurie Rasberry, Chief Claims Officer
Acorn Claims
Prosper, Texas

“Lisa this is another great newsletter, and we appreciate the time and energy you put into these informative updates – you are on top of these topics!”

Mike Graham, CEO
Smart Vent Products, Floodproofing.com, & Risk Reduction Plus
Juno Beach, FL

“Your newsletter is fabulous!  I greatly appreciate the topics you expose, so that insurance professionals like myself can keep up with the latest events that affect the public we serve and ourselves.”

Cynthia Hoehn, Independent Property & Casualty Personal Lines insurance agent
Clermont, FL

“Great article on Risk Rating 2.0!”

Austin Perez, Senior Policy Representative for Federal Housing, Valuation, Insurance and Commercial Issues
National Association of Realtors
Washington, D.C.

“Thank you Lisa for staying on top of, as well as advocating, for Florida residents and legislative reform. Your newsletters are very informative and enjoy reading the points of view.”  

Shawna Miller, Sr. Claims Quality Assurance & Compliance Manager
Florida Peninsula Insurance Company
Jacksonville, FL

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Zywave
Milwaukee, WI

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Jeffrey Karam, CPCU
Bradenton, FL

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Cynthia Scott, President
University Insurance Group
Davie, FL

“Another great Newsletter on Florida industry this week.  Your service and advocacy in Florida is very important to keeping me updated and apprised of the Florida insurance laws, trends and overall environment.  Something similar is very much needed in Louisiana, too.”

Jennifer Tedesco, Esq., Claims Director
Pharos Claims Services
Orlando, FL

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