At Chapman Insurance Group, it’s our duty to keep clients informed about shifting laws, bills, and regulations. That’s why we’ve put together this post about Senate Bill 2A in Florida that addresses changes to property insurance, along with a few other topics.
Here, we’ll familiarize you with the structure of how the law used to be and what changes to expect from Senate Bill 2A.
THEN: According to the current attorney fee arrangement, the carrier will lose money even if they settle and they are obligated to pay claimant attorney fees. In many instances, attorney fees outweigh the claim payment.
NOW: With Senate Bill 2A, neither party will be awarded attorney fees, each party is responsible for their own fees, and the one-way attorney fee statutes for litigated properties are repealed.
THEN: In the previous statute, it was possible to hand off benefits from a client to a contractor with an attorney overseeing the process.
NOW: Senate Bill 2A prohibits the assignment of benefits for both residential and commercial properties. Under this bill, you are unable to sign over your insurance benefits to a third party.
NOW: Under Senate Bill 2A, arbitration is binding. The insured party must consent to arbitration, a 20-25% discount is required in this instance, and the insured waives their right to file a lawsuit if it should occur.
THEN & NOW:
The introduction of Senate Bill 2A in Florida has changed how much time a person has to file a claim. What began as a 3-year period has been shortened to one year, and 18 months are given for supplementals.
This senate bill has amended prompt-pay statutes to ensure that claims are handled promptly. This is done by cutting down on the time that insurers:
PROMPT PAY LAWS TIMING | THEN | NOW |
Acknowledgement of a claim | 14 days | 7 days |
Begin Investigation of a claim | 14 days | 7 days |
Physical inspection must be done within | 45 days | 30 days |
Time to pay or deny a claim | 90 days | 60 days |
It also requires insurers to send any adjuster’s report to the policyholder that estimates the loss within 7 days of its creation, and the insurer must keep records of all of this information.
Senate Bill 2A includes several provisions addressing the growth and exposure of Citizens.
Additionally, SB 2A provides a phased-in flood requirement for Citizens’ policyholders. These provisions include:
At CIG, we understand that ‘legalese’ can be overwhelming and hard to understand. That’s why we’re here to help! To learn more about Senate Bill 2A in Florida and how it affects you, get in touch with one of our agents today.