HOW THE FLORIDA LEGISLATURE PRACTICALLY ENDED ACTIONS AGAINST INSURANCE COMPANIES.

I wrote when I left off this subject here,  that I hoped that I could do justice to changes made by the Florida Legislature in 2022 and again in 2023 to Florida bad faith law.  They also made many changes to all kinds of actions against insurance companies.  Here we go.

           In 2022, the Florida Legislature immunized property insurers from the reach of Florida's Bad Faith Statute, Section 624.155.^[1]  There were no changes to Section 624.155 in 2022.  Rather, during its Regular Session in 2022, the Florida Legislature enacted an entirely new statute^[2] which became Section 624.1551, titled Civil remedy actions against property insurers.^[3]

          This original version of Section 624.1551 was effective May 26, 2022.  It imposed a brand-new requirement that regardless of anything that past Florida Legislatures wrote in the Bad Faith Statute, "a claimant must establish that the property insurer breached the insurance contract to prevail in a claim for extracontractual damages under s. 624.155(1)(b)."^[4]

          In Florida, first-party bad faith is never actionable except under the Bad Faith Statute, Section 624.155.^[5] 

          In December, 2022, the Florida Legislature amended the recently enacted Section 624.1551 in Special Session, and added further limitations on the separate Bad Faith Statute, Section 624.155:

    Notwithstanding any provision of s. 624.155 to the contrary, in any claim for extracontractual damages under s. 624.155(1)(b), no action shall lie until a named or omnibus insured or a named beneficiary has established through an adverse adjudication by a court of law that the property insurer breached the insurance contract and a final judgment or decree has been rendered against the insurer.  Acceptance of an offer of judgment under s. 768.79 or the payment of an appraisal award does not constitute an adverse adjudication under this section.^[6] 

           These changes are too complicated to summarize in a single article.  It is enough to begin for now by putting them all on display.  They will be addressed in detail in future articles to be posted here.

Please read the disclaimer.  ©2023 Dennis J. Wall.  All rights reserved.

 

[1] Fla. Stat. § 624.155, titled Civil remedy (West, Westlaw current with laws and joint resolutions in effect from the 2022 second reg. sess. and spec. A, C and D sess's of the Twenty-Seventh Legis.).

 [2] 2022 Fla. Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 2022-268 § 6 (S.B. 2) (West).

[3] Fla. Stat. § 624.1551 (West, Westlaw current with laws and joint resolutions in effect from the 2022 second reg. sess. and spec. A, C and D sess's of the Twenty-Seventh Legis.). 

[4]  Fla. Stat. § 624.1551, as enacted by 2022 Fla. Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 2022-268, § 6 (S.B. 2) (West).

[5] "There was no such thing as first-party bad faith in Florida until Section 624.155 was enacted."  Dennis J. Wall, Consumers Had No Voice:  Changes to Property Insurers' Laws in Florida, 45 Ins. Litig. Rptr. 73, 77 (March 3, 2023).

[6] Fla. Stat. § 624.1551 (emphasis supplied), as amended by 2022 Fla. Sess. Law Serv. Ch. 2022-271, § 2 (S.B. 2-A) (West), effective December 16, 2022.