Senate Bill 832 raises red flags for insurers in final week of Florida legislative session

By Mia MacGregor

April 28 - (The Insurer) - As Florida’s 2025 legislative session nears its close, one bill stands out as a major concern for insurers, potentially introducing a new one-way attorney fee-shifting law that critics argue would drive up insurance rates across the state.

On April 25, the 53rd day of the session, the Florida House substituted a House measure aimed at tort reform by amending Senate Bill 832, originally aimed at providing legal protections to phosphate mining companies, to include a provision that would award attorney’s fees to the prevailing party in insurance litigation.

The bill was passed by Florida's House in an 80-20 vote.

Michael Carlson, president of the Personal Insurance Federation of Florida, warned that the proposed legislation would be “absolutely detrimental” to consumers if passed.

“Fundamentally, Senate Bill 832 will create a new one-way attorney fee-shifting law in the state of Florida. It does that by setting up a process where an insurer defendant can make a settlement offer, and that offer becomes the benchmark to determine who wins," he told The Insurer.

He explained that if a plaintiff wins in court by an amount greater than the insurer’s last good-faith settlement offer, the plaintiff would be entitled to recover their attorney’s fees, even though those fees are included in the judgment calculation.

“The issue is the defendant doesn’t know how much the plaintiff’s attorney fees are and must guess,” Carlson said.

“This one-way fee-shifting law embedded in Senate Bill 832 is designed to reward one class of Floridians, trial lawyers. It will be absolutely detrimental to consumers.”

Carlson added that the proposed scheme would apply broadly, including to property insurance claims, auto and personal injury protection claims, surety and several other lines of business.

“It’s a very, very adverse provision. It won’t just undo the good reforms passed in 2022 and 2023, it will upend the markets,” he said.

“Rates will go up. Costs will go up. Lawyers will make a lot of money, and consumers will pay more.”

However, Carlson expressed some optimism about the Senate’s stance.

“I think the Senate has taken a much more temperate view of insurance policy this session,” he said. “They’ve signaled that they want to give the recent reforms time to fully develop, to be implemented consistently, and to let the market respond before making any major changes.”

“To their credit, they’re taking a cautious approach. I wouldn't bet money either way right now, but I do think Senate leadership is not inclined to make a U-turn on the 2023 reforms.”

The 60-day 2025 legislative session, which began on March 4, is scheduled to conclude on Friday, May 2.

Carlson acknowledged, however, that the proposal could still gain traction in the final days of the session: “There’ll be pressure from the House, media pressure, and certainly lobbying pressure from the trial bar.”