The Florida Senate is considering passing a bill, SB 76 (2021), that will gut various Florida consumer protection laws designed to protect you from shady insurance company practices. This new bill will drastically reduce your ability to challenge a wrongful claim denial or underpayment. The bill seeks to change Florida Statute 627.428, which was designed to protect consumers like you from insurance companies that wrongfully deny or underpay valid insurance claims.
Florida Statute 627.428 holds insurance companies accountable for properly paying valid claims. It protects policyholders from wrongfully denied and underpaid insurance claims. It states that your insurance company must pay your attorney’s fees and costs if a court finds that your insurance company wrongfully denied or underpaid your property damage insurance claim. Florida enacted this statute to punish insurance companies for wrongfully denying and underpaying valid insurance claims.
Senator Jim Boyd (R) proposed the new bill threatening your ability to challenge a wrongful claim denial or underpayment.
About SB 76 (2021) & Senator Boyd
The proposed legislation aims to reduce the time available for you, as a policyholder, to report a claim to your insurance company to just two years (as opposed to five years, as the law currently provides). Additionally, the proposed bill seeks to impose over-reaching pre-suit demand requirements, potentially allowing an insurance company months and months of extra time before they are required to make coverage determinations. Most importantly, the proposed bill will limit the funds available to policyholder attorneys for successfully recovering benefits on your behalf.
Who is the legislator behind the proposed legislation designed to strip policyholders of these valuable rights? Oh, yeah—it’s Senator Jim Boyd (R), who works for insurance companies when he’s not pushing laws in the Florida Legislature that are designed to make his insurance industry buddies rich. That’s right—Senator Jim Boyd is an insurance agent during his time away from politics. Now, Senator Boyd wants his constituents to think that he has their best interests in mind.
Senator Boyd and his friends in the insurance industry constantly complain that plaintiffs’ attorneys are why insurance premiums are going up. That assertion is simply incorrect. There would be no reason for policyholders to file lawsuits if insurance companies properly paid claims. Plain and simple.
Are you going to trust the lies of Senator Jim Boyd, a man aligned with the best interests of the insurance industry? I’m NOT. Senator Boyd has been pandering to insurance companies for his entire political career.
Take Action NOW
Here’s how you can take action now to stop this bill from passing:
Then, click the hyperlink underneath your representatives’ photographs to contact them directly.
Tell your representatives that “SB 76 (2021) is unacceptable and UNFAIR to Florida policyholders.”
Please contact your representatives before it’s too late—and Senator Boyd has made it impossible to contest your valid insurance claim.
Disclaimer: This column does not create a client-attorney relationship and is not intended as legal advice. Should you need any legal advice, speak to an attorney who is skilled in the area and jurisdiction you require.