Sean Kevelighan, CEO of the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), said that Florida's legal reforms through Senate Bill 2A have reduced lawsuits, stabilized insurance rates, and curtailed Assignment of Benefits (AOB) abuse. This announcement was made via email on January 23.
According to the email, Florida's 2022 and 2023 legal reforms, including Senate Bill 2A and House Bill 837, have contributed to reducing property insurance lawsuits, stabilizing rates, and curbing AOB abuse. A recent court ruling upheld that "direction to pay" agreements are not valid AOBs, limiting third-party lawsuits. Further legislation in 2025 aims to increase transparency in third-party litigation funding (TPLF).
Florida Senate Bill 2-A, approved in December 2022, established the Florida Optional Reinsurance Assistance (FORA) program. It restricted policyholders from assigning post-loss insurance benefits for policies issued after January 2023 and allocated $1.76 million to strengthen market oversight and hurricane-related insurance examinations, according to The Florida Senate.
The Florida Fifth District Court of Appeal affirmed a summary judgment in Holding Insurance Companies Accountable, LLC v. American Integrity Insurance Co., ruling that the assignment of post-loss insurance benefits to HICA was invalid under Florida Statute § 627.7152 as it did not comply with statutory requirements for assignment agreements, leaving HICA without standing to sue.
According to Newswires, the Insurance Information Institute is an organization with over 50 member companies focused on offering fact-based, data-driven resources to educate and empower consumers about insurance without engaging in lobbying activities.