HB 1141 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the resolution of disputed property 2
insurance claims; amending s. 627.7015, F.S.; 3
requiring, rather than authorizing, parties to a 4
property insurance claims dispute to participate in 5
mediation; providing that mediation is a condition 6
precedent to commencing litigation; providing that the 7
parties may mutually agree to conduct the mediation by 8
teleconference or by telephone; requiring all insure ds 9
to personally attend the mediation; revising and 10
specifying duties as to bearing certain costs of 11
mediation; requiring, rather than authorizing, the 12
Department of Financial Services to adopt certain 13
rules; authorizing the department to adopt certain 14
emergency rules; requiring the policyholder to provide 15
the insurer with certain documents within a certain 16
timeframe after mediation is invoked; revising 17
conditions under which a policyholder has a certain 18
timeframe to rescind a settlement; revising the 19
definition of the term "claim"; providing 20
construction; amending s. 627.7074, F.S.; conforming a 21
provision to changes made by the act; providing an 22
appropriation; providing an effective date. 23
24
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 25
HB 1141 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
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Section 1. Section 627.7015, Florida Statutes, is amended 27
to read: 28
627.7015 Mandatory mediation Alternative procedure for 29
resolution of disputed property insurance claims. — 30
(1) This section sets forth a nonadversarial alternative 31
dispute resolution proc edure for a mediated claim resolution 32
conference prompted by the need for effective, fair, and timely 33
handling of property insurance claims. There is a particular 34
need for an informal, nonthreatening forum for helping parties 35
who elect this procedure to resolve their claims disputes 36
because most homeowner and commercial residential insurance 37
policies obligate policyholders to participate in a potentially 38
expensive and time-consuming adversarial appraisal process 39
before litigation. The procedure set forth in this section is 40
designed to bring the parties together for a mediated claims 41
settlement conference without any of the trappings or drawbacks 42
of an adversarial process. Before resorting to these procedures, 43
policyholders and insurers are encouraged to reso lve claims as 44
quickly and fairly as possible. This section applies is 45
available with respect to claims under personal lines and 46
commercial residential policies before commencing the appraisal 47
process and is a condition precedent to , or before commencing 48
litigation. Mediation may be requested only by the policyholder, 49
as a first-party claimant, a third -party, as an assignee of the 50
HB 1141 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
policy benefits, or the insurer. However, an insurer is not 51
required to participate in any mediation requested by a third -52
party assignee of the policy benefits. If requested by the 53
policyholder, Participation by legal counsel is permitted. 54
Mediation under this section is also required of available to 55
litigants referred to the department by a county court or 56
circuit court. This secti on does not apply to commercial 57
coverages, to private passenger motor vehicle insurance 58
coverages, or to disputes relating to liability coverages in 59
policies of property insurance. 60
(2) At the time of issuance and renewal of a policy or at 61
the time a first-party claim within the scope of this section is 62
filed by the policyholder, the insurer shall notify the 63
policyholder of its right to participate in the mandatory 64
mediation program under this section. The department shall 65
prepare a consumer information pa mphlet for distribution to 66
persons participating in mediation. 67
(3) If the parties mutually agree, mediation may be 68
conducted by teleconference or by telephone in lieu of appearing 69
in person. All named insureds must personally attend the 70
mediation, regardless of how conducted. The costs of mediation 71
must be reasonable, and the insurer must bear all of the cost of 72
conducting mediation conferences, except as otherwise provided 73
in this section. If a named insured or their representative 74
policyholder fails to appear at the conference, which prevents 75
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
the mediation from proceeding, the conference must be 76
rescheduled upon the policyholder's payment of the costs of a 77
rescheduled conference. If the insurer fails to appear at the 78
conference, the insurer must pay the policyholder's actual cash 79
expenses incurred in attending the conference if the insurer's 80
failure to attend was not due to a good cause acceptable to the 81
department. An insurer will be deemed to have failed to appear 82
if the insurer's representative lacks a uthority to settle the 83
full value of the claim. The insurer shall incur an additional 84
fee for a rescheduled conference necessitated by the insurer's 85
failure to appear at a scheduled conference. The fees assessed 86
by the administrator must include a charge n ecessary to defray 87
the expenses of the department related to its duties under this 88
section and must be deposited in the Insurance Regulatory Trust 89
Fund. If a party elects to request an expert or a representative 90
to attend the mediation, that party must bea r any cost for the 91
attendance of the expert or representative. 92
(4) The department shall adopt by rule a property 93
insurance mediation program to be administered by the department 94
or its designee. The department shall may also adopt special 95
rules that which are applicable in cases of an emergency within 96
the state, including emergency rules as necessary to establish 97
physical addresses for the mediation program in areas affected 98
by natural disasters . The rules shall be modeled after practices 99
and procedures set forth in mediation rules of procedure adopted 100
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by the Supreme Court. The rules shall provide for: 101
(a) Reasonable requirement for processing and scheduling 102
of requests for mediation. 103
(b) Qualifications, denial of application, suspension, 104
revocation of approval, and other penalties for mediators as 105
provided in s. 627.745 and the Florida Rules for Certified and 106
Court-Appointed Mediators. 107
(c) Provisions governing who may attend mediation 108
conferences. 109
(d) Selection of mediators. 110
(e) Criteria for the conduct of mediation conferences. 111
(f) Right to legal counsel. 112
(5)(a) All statements made and documents produced at a 113
mediation conference shall be deemed to be settlement 114
negotiations in anticipation of litigation within the scope of 115
s. 90.408. All parties to the mediation must negotiate in good 116
faith and must have the authority to immediately settle the 117
claim. Mediators are deemed to be agents of the department and 118
shall have the immunity from suit provided in s. 44.107. 119
(b) Once mediation is invoked, the policyholder must 120
within 10 days provide to the insurer any and all supporting 121
documents and information that serve as the basis for the claim. 122
(6)(a) Mediation is nonbinding; however, if a written 123
settlement is reached and the policyholder is not represented by 124
an attorney or a public adjuster , the policyholder has 3 125
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
business days within which the policyholder may rescind the 126
settlement unless the policyholder has cashed or deposited any 127
check or draft disbursed to the policyholder for the d isputed 128
matters as a result of the conference. If a settlement agreement 129
is reached and is not rescinded, it is binding and acts as a 130
release of all specific claims that were presented in that 131
mediation conference. 132
(b) At the conclusion of the mediation, the mediator shall 133
provide a written report of the results of mediation, including 134
any settlement amount, to the insurer, the policyholder, and the 135
policyholder's representative if the policyholder is represented 136
at the mediation. 137
(7) If the insurer fai ls to comply with subsection (2) by 138
failing to notify a policyholder of its right to participate in 139
the mediation program under this section or if the insurer 140
requests the mediation, and the mediation results are rejected 141
by either party, the policyholder is not required to submit to 142
or participate in any contractual loss appraisal process of the 143
property loss damage as a precondition to legal action for 144
breach of contract against the insurer for its failure to pay 145
the policyholder's claims covered by the p olicy. 146
(8) The department may designate an entity or person to 147
serve as administrator to carry out any of the provisions of 148
this section and may take this action by means of a written 149
contract or agreement. 150
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(9) For purposes of this section, the term "c laim" refers 151
to any dispute between an insurer and a policyholder relating to 152
a material issue of fact other than a dispute: 153
(a) With respect to which the insurer has a reasonable 154
basis to suspect fraud; 155
(b) When the insurer has determined , based on agreed-upon 156
facts as to the cause of loss, there is no coverage under the 157
policy; 158
(c) With respect to which the insurer has a reasonable 159
basis to believe that the policyholder has intentionally made a 160
material misrepresentation of fact which is relevant to the 161
claim, and the entire request for payment of a loss has been 162
denied on the basis of the material misrepresentation; 163
(d) With respect to which the amount in controversy is 164
less than $500, unless the parties agree to mediate a dispute 165
involving a lesser amount; or 166
(e) With respect to a loss that does not comply with s. 167
627.70132. 168
(10) Participation in mediation under this section before 169
the policyholder's filing of a notice under s. 627.70152 does 170
not prohibit or waive an insurer's right to invoke and 171
participate in mediation under this section in response to the 172
notice. 173
Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 627.7074, Florida 174
Statutes, is amended to read: 175
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
627.7074 Alternative procedure for resolution of disputed 176
sinkhole insurance claims. — 177
(3) If there is coverage available under the policy and 178
the claim was submitted within the timeframe provided in s. 179
627.706(5), following the receipt of the report provided under 180
s. 627.7073 or the denial of a claim for a sinkhole loss, the 181
insurer shall notify the policyholder of his or her right to 182
participate in the neutral evaluation program under this 183
section. Neutral evaluation supersedes the mediation alternative 184
dispute resolution process under s. 627.7015 but does not 185
invalidate the appraisal clause of the insurance policy. The 186
insurer shall provide to the policyholder the consumer 187
information pamphlet prepared by the department pursuant to 188
subsection (1) electronically or by United States mail. 189
Section 3. For the 2023-2024 fiscal year, the sum of $1 190
million in recurring funds is appropriated from the Insurance 191
Regulatory Trust Fund to the Department of Financial Services 192
for the purpose of administering the amendment made by this act 193
to s. 627.7015, Florida Statutes. 194
Section 4. This act shall take effect January 1, 2024. 195