Informa Insurance News 24
FLORIDA LAWMAKERS WEIGH BILL TO REFORM PROPERTY INSURANCE MARKET
The banking and insurance committee of the Florida Senate is taking up a bill this week that would implement long-sought-after
reforms of the state’s property insurance market. The measure, SB 76 sponsored by committee chair Jim Boyd, would reduce litigation
and attorneys’ fees in property insurance disputes by limiting so-called “contingency risk multipliers”, which courts can
use to increase fees above those that are typically calculated through reasonable hourly rates. The measure also seeks to
limit claims costs for roof damage by allowing insurers to use a “roof surface reimbursement schedule” that would determine
claim outlays according to the age and type of roofing material. The measure does not address reforms, long sought by insurers,
to curb abuse of assignment of benefits, where policyholders transfer the rights to a claim to a repair contractor. Insurers
assert that AOB encourages litigation.