{"id":292,"date":"2025-05-02T19:17:24","date_gmt":"2025-05-02T19:17:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.drkarlgeorge.com\/?p=292"},"modified":"2025-05-08T15:35:02","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T15:35:02","slug":"florida-senate-rejectslegal-reform-challenge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.drkarlgeorge.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/02\/florida-senate-rejectslegal-reform-challenge\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida Senate RejectsLegal-Reform Challenge"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n

By Lewis Nibbelin, Contributing Writer, Triple-I<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The Florida House\u2019s attempt to curtail recent legal system reforms met firm resistance from the state Senate this week, preserving the 2022 and 2023 legislation that stabilized the state\u2019s property insurance market.<\/p>\n

Aiming to reinstate one-way attorney fees in insurance litigation, the House added an amendment<\/a> \u2013 originally part of a separate bill \u2013 to an unrelated Senate bill focused on creating legal protections for owners of former mining sites.<\/p>\n

Filed by state Rep. Berny Jacques, the amendment would have restored Florida\u2019s previous requirement for insurers to shoulder the insured\u2019s legal costs, even if the insured\u2019s jury award was only slightly higher than the settlement insurers offered. Current law stipulates that each side is responsible for their own fees.<\/p>\n

Senate members refused to concur with the proposal and sent the bill back to the House, which can either remove Jacques\u2019 amendment or let the entire bill die.<\/p>\n

Insurers and policyholders benefit<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jacques\u2019 amendment prompted instant criticism from industry leaders, notably Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky, who sent an email warning the governor\u2019s legislative affairs director that it would dismantle \u201chard-won progress\u201d achieved by the 2022-2023 reforms, according to a report<\/a> by the South Florida Sun Sentinel<\/em>.<\/p>\n

That progress includes the introduction of 12 new insurers into Florida\u2019s property sector after a multi-year exodus and a 23 percent decrease in lawsuit filings year over year, Yaworsky wrote.<\/p>\n

Proponents of Jacques\u2019 amendment argued it would return balance to the legal system, which had overcorrected to favor insurance companies at the expense of consumers.<\/p>\n

Yet, in 2019, Florida accounted for just over 8 percent of U.S. homeowners insurance claims, but more than 76 percent of U.S. property claim lawsuits, pushing premium rates up to three times<\/a> the national average. Post-reform, in 2024, 40 percent of all insurers in the state filed for rate decreases, with average home insurance premiums down 5.6 percent<\/a> at the start of this year.<\/p>\n

Reversing these reforms would reinvigorate fraudulent and unnecessary lawsuits, increasing insurer costs and, consequently, premium rates. Dulce Suarez-Resnick, an insurance agent based in Miami, told the Sun Sentinel<\/em> that supporters predicted reforms wouldn\u2019t be felt for three years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are two years in, and I\u2019ve already seen a lot of impact,\u201d Suarez-Resnick said. \u201cThe Legislature needs to be patient. We have one more year to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reforms expected to remain intact<\/strong><\/p>\n

Though Florida\u2019s 2025 legislative session was extended, the House has little time to push for further changes to the reforms. Even if the Senate somehow acquiesces and passes the amended bill, it is unlikely to survive \u2013 Gov. Ron DeSantis has vowed to veto any bill targeting tort reform and publicly condemned the House\u2019s efforts to roll it back.<\/p>\n

And Florida isn\u2019t alone: Georgia successfully passed<\/a> its own comprehensive tort reform package last month, after plaintiffs\u2019 attorneys began transferring their marketing tactics to the neighboring state. State government moves like these are essential to eradicating legal system abuse and protecting all stakeholders from rising costs.<\/p>\n

Learn More:<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

What Florida\u2019s Misguided Investigation Means for Georgia Tort Reform<\/a><\/p>\n

Florida Bills Would Reverse Progress on Costly Legal System Abuse<\/a><\/p>\n

Florida Reforms Bear Fruit as Premium Rates Stabilize <\/a><\/p>\n

Georgia Targets Legal System Abuse<\/a><\/p>\n

How Georgia Might Learn From Florida Reforms<\/a><\/p>\n

Louisiana Reforms: Progress, But More Is Needed to Stem Legal System Abuse<\/a><\/p>\n

Resilience Investments Paid Off in Florida During Hurricane Milton<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Lewis Nibbelin, Contributing Writer, Triple-I The Florida House\u2019s attempt to curtail recent legal system reforms met firm resistance from the state Senate this week, preserving the 2022 and 2023 legislation that stabilized the state\u2019s property insurance market. Aiming to reinstate one-way attorney fees in insurance litigation, the House added an amendment \u2013 originally part of a separate bill \u2013 to an unrelated Senate bill focused on creating legal protections for owners of former mining sites. Filed by state Rep. Berny Jacques, the amendment would have restored Florida\u2019s previous requirement for insurers to shoulder the insured\u2019s legal costs, even if the insured\u2019s jury award was only slightly higher than the settlement insurers offered. Current law stipulates that each side is responsible for their own fees. Senate members refused to concur with the proposal and sent the bill back to the House, which can either remove Jacques\u2019 amendment or let the entire bill die. Insurers and policyholders benefit Jacques\u2019 amendment prompted instant criticism from industry leaders, notably Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky, who sent an email warning the governor\u2019s legislative affairs director that it would dismantle \u201chard-won progress\u201d achieved by the 2022-2023 reforms, according to a report by the South Florida Sun Sentinel. That progress includes the introduction of 12 new insurers into Florida\u2019s property sector after a multi-year exodus and a 23 percent decrease in lawsuit filings year over year, Yaworsky wrote. Proponents of Jacques\u2019 amendment argued it would return balance to the legal system, which had overcorrected to favor insurance companies at the expense of consumers. Yet, in 2019, Florida accounted for just over 8 percent of U.S. homeowners insurance claims, but more than 76 percent of U.S. property claim lawsuits, pushing premium rates up to three times the national average. Post-reform, in 2024, 40 percent of all insurers in the state filed for rate decreases, with average home insurance premiums down 5.6 percent at the start of this year. Reversing these reforms would reinvigorate fraudulent and unnecessary lawsuits, increasing insurer costs and, consequently, premium rates. Dulce Suarez-Resnick, an insurance agent based in Miami, told the Sun Sentinel that supporters predicted reforms wouldn\u2019t be felt for three years. \u201cWe are two years in, and I\u2019ve already seen a lot of impact,\u201d Suarez-Resnick said. \u201cThe Legislature needs to be patient. We have one more year to go.\u201d Reforms expected to remain intact Though Florida\u2019s 2025 legislative session was extended, the House has little time to push for further changes to the reforms. Even if the Senate somehow acquiesces and passes the amended bill, it is unlikely to survive \u2013 Gov. Ron DeSantis has vowed to veto any bill targeting tort reform and publicly condemned the House\u2019s efforts to roll it back. And Florida isn\u2019t alone: Georgia successfully passed its own comprehensive tort reform package last month, after plaintiffs\u2019 attorneys began transferring their marketing tactics to the neighboring state. State government moves like these are essential to eradicating legal system abuse and protecting all stakeholders from rising costs. Learn More: What Florida\u2019s Misguided Investigation Means for Georgia Tort Reform Florida Bills Would Reverse Progress on Costly Legal System Abuse Florida Reforms Bear Fruit as Premium Rates Stabilize  Georgia Targets Legal System Abuse How Georgia Might Learn From Florida Reforms Louisiana Reforms: Progress, But More Is Needed to Stem Legal System Abuse Resilience Investments Paid Off in Florida During Hurricane Milton<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":294,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[12],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.drkarlgeorge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.drkarlgeorge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.drkarlgeorge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.drkarlgeorge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.drkarlgeorge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.drkarlgeorge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":295,"href":"http:\/\/www.drkarlgeorge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions\/295"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.drkarlgeorge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.drkarlgeorge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.drkarlgeorge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.drkarlgeorge.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}