TALHASSEE – More than two years after Congress signed a lawsuit against property insurance companies, a House committee on Thursday resumed a major debate on attorneys’ fees over claims, with homeowners and insurance companies reopening a major debate on attorneys’ fees.
The House Civil Justice & Claims Subcommittee voted 16-1 to approve the bill (HB 1551) that revamps the 2022 legislation that protects property insurance companies from paying clients’ attorneys’ fees. The insurance industry claims that the law reduced costly litigation and helped market revive after economic issues.
But supporters of the bill on Thursday said the 2022 legislation was too far against insurers to prevent homeowners from fighting businesses that were mistakenly denied.
“At some point, we need to make sure we are standing up for the people of Florida, Petersburg said.
But opponents of the bill said the law works to help attract airlines to Florida and curb interest rates. They warned that the bill would cancel progress.
“Praise for you. (The law) is working,” Katelyn Ferry, who represented the Florida Institute of Judicial Reform, told the House Panel. “Why do we fix it?”
Lawyer fees have long been a major battlefield in insurance debate. Before the 2022 law, Florida often had what was called the “one-way” lawyers’ fee system for property insurance. Essentially, it means that if the policyholder successfully sues the insurer for a claim that was incorrectly denied, the insurer is liable to pay the policyholder’s attorney’s fees.
Advocates of the fee system said they would allow consumers to go to court to challenge deep, out-of-pocket insurance companies. However, the opponents said the plaintiff’s lawyers flooded the courts with lawsuits and provided incentives to run out of money from the industry.
Airlines removed numerous policies, raised interest rates and in some cases insolvent, and in 2022 lawmakers eliminated a one-way fee system for property insurance. They passed a legal change in 2023 that helped insurers more widely.
The insurance industry and other supporters argue that the change has helped the property insurance market bounce back by eliminating one-way attorney fees, including Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The House bill will move to sponsoring R-Dania Beach’s Hillary Cassel, known as the “loser pays” fee system. If the policyholder sues the insurance company, the judge will award attorneys’ fees to which side who wins the case.
Kassel said the approach provides incentives to resolve conflicts while restoring “balance.”
“This bill won’t set us back,” said Cassel, the attorney representing consumers in lawsuits against insurance companies. “But this bill brings us a balance. We are currently in an unbalanced and unjust system.”
The bill has attracted support from groups such as the Florida Judicial Association, which represents plaintiffs’ lawyers. It faces opposition from groups such as the Florida affiliate industry, the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Florida Insurance Council, and Florida Personal Insurance Federation.
“We believe this bill will return to the direction of fewer options and more volatile markets by not focusing much on the true needs of policyholders.
R-Orlando MP Susan Plasencia voted against it on Thursday. The bill requires two more house panels to be cleared before going to the house. Sen. Jonathan Martin of R-Fort Myers introduced a similar bill (SB 426) in the Senate.
Jim Sanders, Florida news service
