Governor DeSantis, CFO Patronis, Citizens Insurance and numerous nonprofit consumer and business groups have all sounded the alarm on the boom in water claim lawsuits filed by a small group of law firms. Sadly, after many years without reforms, it is homeowners who are being forced to pay higher and higher insurance rates necessary to cover the cost of rapidly escalating claims and litigation; all to line the pockets of a small number of bad actors.  Some even say that the state’s high homeowners’ rates are equivalent to a hidden state tax.

As the discussion of how to address this critical issue continues, the Florida Property & Casualty Association urges legislators to take a closer look at the impact one-way attorney fees and AOB abuses are having on home affordability and, ultimately, the economy.

One-way attorney fees were originally intended to protect homeowners, not plaintiff lawyers and vendors.  However, a small group of these individuals now account for the majority of home insurance lawsuits filed in Florida.

There is no denying that a serious problem exists in our state. Statistics compiled by the Florida Department of Financial Services support the need for immediate action and a solution to address one-way attorney fees. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation reports, “despite a policy count reduction of more than 56 percent since 2013, the number of lawsuits filed against Citizens grew from 9,146 in 2013 to 13,363 in 2018.” Even more startling, “private insurance companies have seen litigation nearly triple to 69,300 cases during that same period.”

We must stop the door to door hustlers who are stealing consumers’ insurance policy benefits to pad their own pockets. The legislature must pass common sense AOB lawsuit reforms in 2019.

–William Stander, executive director of the Florida Property & Casualty Association (FPCA)