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.