Florida passed significant legal reforms in 2023 intended to curb what lawmakers called “frivolous lawsuits” against insurers, but homeowners are reporting increased claim denials and financial strain. The issue is reshaping Florida’s insurance market in ways that favor the insurers over homeowners, as reported by The Washington Post. 

What’s happening?

In March 2023, Florida’s legislature approved House Bill 837, which eliminated or limited features such as one-way attorney’s fees and changed how bad-faith claims could be argued (although these types of claims are the minority), to discourage lawsuits, according to the report.

An analysis found that in 2024, nearly 13% of Floridians whose claims were denied sued their insurer, which is higher than before the reform. Although the intended effect was to reduce the amount of litigation and lower premiums, the court docket is still busy, and policyholders are feeling trapped. Meanwhile, insurers closed 47% of damage claims without paying anything, which is the highest in a decade, per The Washington Post.

Although supporters of the reform, such as Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, argue that legal costs were a part of the “root issue” for insurers, a whitepaper from Milliman, for instance, notes that the reforms were intended to reduce the number of claims and the severity of them by changing courts’ access and shifting attorney-fee structures. Critics now point to worsening outcomes.

“Florida’s 2022 tort reforms only benefited insurance companies, who continue profiting while aggressively denying policyholder claims,” Florida state representative, insurance expert, and attorney Hillary Cassel said in the Washington Post report. 

Why is protecting homeowners important?

Homeowners rely on insurance to protect them from extreme weather consequences such as major storms, flooding, fire, and other disaster risks — risks that are growing more volatile as global temperatures continue to rise and weather gets more severe.

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If insurers deny more claims or make payout thresholds harder to meet, many people will struggle to rebuild their lives. Homeowners often cannot recover attorney fees and have to meet stricter standards to prove they are not in bad faith. This is a clear benefit for insurers over individuals.

Tort reform “puts more money in insurers’ pockets,” said Doug Heller, an insurance expert with the Consumer Federation of America.

What’s being done about the reform?

Some proposals are already circulating in the Florida Legislature and among stakeholder groups. For example, House Bill 1551, introduced in 2025 by Rep. Hillary Cassel, would restore a “prevailing party” rule for attorney fees in insurance disputes, meaning a policyholder could recover legal costs if their court judgment exceeds the insurer’s last offer.

Separately, the Florida House in April attached language to a mining bill intended to bring back “one-way attorney fees” in insurance litigation, per The Florida Justice Reform Institute.

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