House Bill 837 Includes Reforms for all Lines of Insurance
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Feb. 15, 2023) – Today, comprehensive legislation was filed in the Florida House to address abusive litigation in Florida. House Bill 837, sponsored by House Judiciary Chair Tommy Gregory, R-Lakewood Ranch, comes a day after Governor DeSantis, Senate President Kathleen Passidomo, and House Speaker Paul Renner announced they will tackle challenges in the litigation environment this legislative session.
“This tort reform package is the most consequential in decades,” said Personal Insurance Federation of Florida (PIFF) President and CEO Michael Carlson. “It addresses long-standing weaknesses in Florida’s judicial system and balances the interests of plaintiffs and defendants. This shows a bold and unified effort between our state’s branches of government to create a fairer system that will protect consumers and drive out abusive litigation filed by attorneys only for profit.”
During a special session on insurance in December, Florida lawmakers passed legislation that aggressively addresses problems that had been deepening Florida’s property insurance market crisis. While Senate Bill 2A was historic, following earlier, more modest attempts at reform, it is not an overnight solution to a crisis that has developed over the last decade.
HB 837 expands on recent reforms, eliminating one-way attorney fees and fee multipliers for all lines of insurance. It addresses longstanding problems in the areas of third-party bad faith claims and the presentation of evidence of medical damages in negligence actions, and it changes Florida’s shared fault standard to make negligent claimants responsible for their damages.
“Digging Florida out of what some have called a ‘judicial hellhole’ takes the right tools and the right amount of time,” added Carlson. “State leaders have had it with the lawsuit abuse and are out to stop it where it still exists. This bill will reset our judicial climate, reduce lawsuit and insurance claims costs, and ultimately benefit consumers and business owners.”
About PIFF
The Personal Insurance Federation of Florida, Inc. (PIFF), is a leading voice for the personal lines property and casualty insurance industry in Florida. PIFF represents national insurance carriers and their subsidiaries, including many of the state’s top writers of private passenger auto and homeowners multiperil insurance. Together, PIFF members write more than $13 billion in premium in the state. PIFF advocates for a healthy and competitive insurance marketplace for the benefit of Florida consumers. Follow us @PIFFNews. Visit PIFF.net to learn more.
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