FL
Florida House Bill H1551

Florida 2025 Regular Session

Florida House Bill H1551 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.
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1010 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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1414 A bill to be entitled 1
1515 An act relating to attorney fee awards in insurance 2
1616 actions; repealing s. 86.121, F.S., relating to 3
1717 attorney fees in specified actions for declaratory 4
1818 relief to determine insurance coverage after total 5
1919 coverage denial of claims; amending s. 624.1552, F.S.; 6
2020 revising the applicability of the offer of judgment 7
2121 and demand for judgment provisions to civil actions 8
2222 involving an insurance contract; creating s. 626.9375, 9
2323 F.S.; requiring the award of prevailing party attorney 10
2424 fees in certain civil actions brought aga inst surplus 11
2525 lines insurers; providing guidelines to determine 12
2626 prevailing parties; defining the term "judgment"; 13
2727 providing a specified circumstance under which a 14
2828 settlement offer is not a good faith settlement offer; 15
2929 specifying the applicability of the off er of judgment 16
3030 and demand for judgment provisions if prevailing party 17
3131 attorney fees apply; creating s. 627.4275, F.S.; 18
3232 requiring the award of prevailing party attorney fees 19
3333 in certain civil actions brought against insurers; 20
3434 providing guidelines to determin e prevailing parties; 21
3535 defining the term "judgment"; providing a specified 22
3636 circumstance under which a settlement offer is not a 23
3737 good faith settlement offer; specifying the 24
3838 applicability of the offer of judgment and demand for 25
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4747 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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5151 judgment provisions if prevaili ng party attorney fees 26
5252 apply; amending ss. 624.123, 624.488, 627.062, 27
5353 627.401, 627.727, and 627.736, F.S.; providing for the 28
5454 applicability of the prevailing party attorney fee 29
5555 provision to specified insurers, insurance policies or 30
5656 coverage types, and rate standards; amending s. 31
5757 627.756, F.S.; providing for the applicability of the 32
5858 prevailing party attorney fee provision to suits 33
5959 brought by certain entities against surety insurers 34
6060 under certain circumstances; providing that such 35
6161 entities are deemed insureds or beneficiaries for 36
6262 specified purposes; amending ss. 628.6016 and 632.638, 37
6363 F.S.; providing for the applicability of the 38
6464 prevailing party attorney fee provision to assessable 39
6565 mutual insurers and fraternal benefit societies, 40
6666 respectively; creating ss. 631.6 96 and 631.9245, F.S.; 41
6767 providing for the applicability of the prevailing 42
6868 party attorney fee provision to claims presented to 43
6969 specified guaranty associations; providing general 44
7070 applicability and construction; providing a directive 45
7171 to the Division of Law Rev ision; providing an 46
7272 effective date. 47
7373 48
7474 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 49
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8484 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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8888 Section 1. Section 86.121, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 51
8989 Section 2. Section 624.1552, Florida Statutes, is amended 52
9090 to read: 53
9191 624.1552 Civil action s involving an insurance contract; 54
9292 applicability of offer of judgment provisions. —Section 768.79 55
9393 applies The provisions of s. 768.79 apply to any civil action 56
9494 involving an insurance contract , except a civil action to which 57
9595 s. 626.9375 or s. 627.4275 applie s. 58
9696 Section 3. Section 626.9375, Florida Statutes, is created 59
9797 to read: 60
9898 626.9375 Attorney fees. — 61
9999 (1) Except as otherwise provided by law, in any civil 62
100100 action brought against a surplus lines insurer by a named or 63
101101 omnibus insured or the named beneficia ry under an insurance 64
102102 policy or contract executed by the insurer, the court shall 65
103103 award reasonable attorney fees to the prevailing party. For 66
104104 purposes of this subsection: 67
105105 (a) The insured or named beneficiary is the prevailing 68
106106 party when such person obtai ns a judgment greater than the 69
107107 highest written, good faith settlement offer previously tendered 70
108108 by the insurer. 71
109109 (b) The insurer is the prevailing party when the insured 72
110110 or named beneficiary does not obtain a judgment greater than the 73
111111 highest written, good faith settlement offer previously tendered 74
112112 by the insurer. 75
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121121 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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125125 (c) The term "judgment" includes damages and any 76
126126 reasonable attorney fees, taxable costs, and prejudgment 77
127127 interest that the insured had incurred when the highest written, 78
128128 good faith settlemen t offer previously tendered by the insurer 79
129129 was made. 80
130130 (d) A settlement offer tendered by the insurer which is 81
131131 not kept open for at least 5 business days is not a good faith 82
132132 settlement offer. 83
133133 (2) If subsection (1) applies to a civil action involving 84
134134 an insurance policy or contract, s. 768.79 does not apply. 85
135135 Section 4. Section 627.4275, Florida Statutes, is created 86
136136 to read: 87
137137 627.4275 Attorney fees. — 88
138138 (1) Except as otherwise provided by law, in any civil 89
139139 action brought against an insurer by a named or omnibus insured 90
140140 or the named beneficiary under an insurance policy or contract 91
141141 executed by the insurer, the court shall award reasonable 92
142142 attorney fees to the prevailing party. For purposes of this 93
143143 subsection: 94
144144 (a) The insured or named beneficiary is the prevailing 95
145145 party when such person obtains a judgment greater than the 96
146146 highest written, good faith settlement offer previously tendered 97
147147 by the insurer. 98
148148 (b) The insurer is the prevailing party when the insured 99
149149 or named beneficiary does not obtain a judgme nt greater than the 100
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158158 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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162162 highest written, good faith settlement offer previously tendered 101
163163 by the insurer. 102
164164 (c) The term "judgment" includes damages and any 103
165165 reasonable attorney fees, taxable costs, and prejudgment 104
166166 interest that the insured had incurred when th e highest written, 105
167167 good faith settlement offer previously tendered by the insurer 106
168168 was made. 107
169169 (d) A settlement offer tendered by the insurer which is 108
170170 not kept open for at least 5 business days is not a good faith 109
171171 settlement offer. 110
172172 (2) If subsection (1) applies to a civil action involving 111
173173 an insurance policy or contract, s. 768.79 does not apply. 112
174174 Section 5. Subsection (4) of section 624.123, Florida 113
175175 Statutes, is amended to read: 114
176176 624.123 Certain international health insurance policies; 115
177177 exemption from code.— 116
178178 (4) Any international health insurance policy or 117
179179 application solicited, provided, entered into, issued, or 118
180180 delivered pursuant to this subsection is exempt from all 119
181181 provisions of the insurance code, except that such policy, 120
182182 contract, or agreement is subject to the provisions of ss. 121
183183 624.155, 624.316, 624.3161, 626.951, 626.9511, 626.9521, 122
184184 626.9541, 626.9551, 626.9561, 626.9571, 626.9581, 626.9591, 123
185185 626.9601, 627.413, 627.4145, 627.4275, and 627.6043. 124
186186 Section 6. Subsection (4) of section 624.488, Florida 125
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195195 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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199199 Statutes, is amended to read: 126
200200 624.488 Applicability of related laws. —In addition to 127
201201 other provisions of the code cited in ss. 624.460 -624.488: 128
202202 (4) Sections 627.291, 627.413, 627.4132, 627.416, 627.418, 129
203203 627.420, 627.421, 627.425, 627.426, 627.42 65, 627.427, 627.4275, 130
204204 627.702, and 627.706; part XI of chapter 627; ss. 627.912, 131
205205 627.913, and 627.918; 132
206206 133
207207 apply to self-insurance funds. Only those sections of the code 134
208208 that are expressly and specifically cited in ss. 624.460 -624.489 135
209209 apply to self-insurance funds. 136
210210 Section 7. Paragraph (b) of subsection (3) of section 137
211211 627.062, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 138
212212 627.062 Rate standards. — 139
213213 (3) 140
214214 (b) Individual risk rates and modifications to existing 141
215215 approved forms are not subject to this part or part I I, except 142
216216 for paragraph (a) and ss. 627.402, 627.403, 627.4035, 627.404, 143
217217 627.405, 627.406, 627.407, 627.4085, 627.409, 627.4132, 144
218218 627.4133, 627.415, 627.416, 627.417, 627.419, 627.425, 627.426, 145
219219 627.4265, and 627.427, and 627.4275, but are subject to all 146
220220 other applicable provisions of this code and rules adopted 147
221221 thereunder. 148
222222 Section 8. Subsections (3), (4), and (5) of section 149
223223 627.401, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 150
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232232 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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236236 627.401 Scope of this part. —No provision of this part of 151
237237 this chapter applies to: 152
238238 (3) Wet marine and transportation insurance, except ss. 153
239239 627.409, and 627.420, and 627.4275. 154
240240 (4) Title insurance, except ss. 627.406, 627.415, 627.416, 155
241241 627.419, and 627.427, and 627.4275. 156
242242 (5) Credit life or credit disability insurance, except ss. 157
243243 627.419(5) and 627.4275 s. 627.419(5). 158
244244 Section 9. Subsection (10) is added to section 627.727, 159
245245 Florida Statutes, to read: 160
246246 627.727 Motor vehicle insurance; uninsured and 161
247247 underinsured vehicle coverage; insolvent insurer protection. — 162
248248 (10) Section 627.4275 does not apply to any action brought 163
249249 pursuant to this section against the uninsured motorist insurer 164
250250 unless there is a dispute over whether the policy provides 165
251251 coverage for an uninsured motorist proven to be liable for the 166
252252 accident. 167
253253 Section 10. Subsection (8) of section 627.736, Florida 168
254254 Statutes, is amended to read: 169
255255 627.736 Required personal injury protection benefits; 170
256256 exclusions; priority; claims. — 171
257257 (8) APPLICABILITY OF PROVISION REGULATING ATTORNEY FEES. —172
258258 With respect to any dispute under the provisions of ss. 627.730-173
259259 627.7405 between the insured and the insurer, or between an 174
260260 assignee of an insured's rights and the insurer, ss. 627.4275 175
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269269 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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273273 and 768.79 the provisions of s. 768.79 apply, except as provided 176
274274 in subsections (10) and (15), and except tha t any attorney fees 177
275275 recovered must: 178
276276 (a) Comply with prevailing professional standards; 179
277277 (b) Not overstate or inflate the number of hours 180
278278 reasonably necessary for a case of comparable skill or 181
279279 complexity; and 182
280280 (c) Represent legal services that are reasonable and 183
281281 necessary to achieve the result obtained. 184
282282 185
283283 Upon request by either party, a judge must make written 186
284284 findings, substantiated by evidence presented at trial or any 187
285285 hearings associated therewith, that any award of attorney fees 188
286286 complies with this subsection. Attorney fees recovered under ss. 189
287287 627.730-627.7405 must be calculated without regard to a 190
288288 contingency risk multiplier. 191
289289 Section 11. Subsection (1) of section 627.756, Florida 192
290290 Statutes, is amended to read: 193
291291 627.756 Bonds for construction c ontracts; attorney fees in 194
292292 case of suit.— 195
293293 (1) Section 627.4275 applies to In a suit brought by an 196
294294 owner, a contractor, a subcontractor, a laborer, or a 197
295295 materialman against a surety insurer under payment or 198
296296 performance bonds written by the insurer under t he laws of this 199
297297 state to indemnify against pecuniary loss by breach of a 200
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306306 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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310310 building or construction contract , upon the rendition of a 201
311311 judgment or decree by any of the courts of this state against 202
312312 the surety insurer and in favor of the owner, contractor, 203
313313 subcontractor, laborer, or materialman, the trial court or, in 204
314314 the event of an appeal in which the owner, contractor, 205
315315 subcontractor, laborer, or materialman prevails, the appellate 206
316316 court, shall adjudge or decree against the surety insurer and in 207
317317 favor of the owner, contractor, subcontractor, laborer, or 208
318318 materialman a reasonable sum as fees or compensation for the 209
319319 attorney prosecuting the suit in which the recovery is had . 210
320320 Owners, contractors, subcontractors, laborers, and materialmen 211
321321 are deemed to be insureds o r beneficiaries for the purposes of 212
322322 this section. 213
323323 Section 12. Subsection (4) of section 628.6016, Florida 214
324324 Statutes, is amended to read: 215
325325 628.6016 Applicability of related laws. —In addition to 216
326326 other provisions of the code cited in ss. 628.6011 -628.6018: 217
327327 (4) Sections 627.291, 627.413, 627.4132, 627.416, 627.418, 218
328328 627.420, 627.421, 627.425 -627.427, 627.4275, 627.702, and 219
329329 627.706; part XI of chapter 627; ss. 627.912, 627.913, and 220
330330 627.918; and 221
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332332 apply to assessable mutual insurers; however, ss. 628.255, 223
333333 628.411, and 628.421 do not apply. No section of the code not 224
334334 expressly and specifically cited in ss. 628.6011 -628.6018 225
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343343 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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347347 applies to assessable mutual insurers. The term "assessable 226
348348 mutual insurer" shall be substituted for the term "commercial 227
349349 self-insurer" as appropriate. 228
350350 Section 13. Section 631.696, Florida Statutes, is created 229
351351 to read: 230
352352 631.696 Attorney fees. —Section 627.4275 does not apply to 231
353353 any claim presented to the association under this part, unless 232
354354 the association denies, by affirmative action oth er than delay, 233
355355 a covered claim or a portion thereof. 234
356356 Section 14. Section 631.9245, Florida Statutes, is created 235
357357 to read: 236
358358 631.9245 Attorney fees. —Section 627.4275 does not apply to 237
359359 any claim presented to the corporation under this part, unless 238
360360 the corporation denies, by affirmative action other than delay, 239
361361 a covered claim or a portion thereof. 240
362362 Section 15. Subsections (11), (12), and (13) of section 241
363363 632.638, Florida Statutes, are renumbered as subsections (12), 242
364364 (13), and (14), respectively, and a ne w subsection (11) is added 243
365365 to that section, to read: 244
366366 632.638 Applicability of other code provisions. —In 245
367367 addition to other provisions contained or referred to in this 246
368368 chapter, the following chapters and provisions of this code 247
369369 apply to fraternal benefit s ocieties, to the extent applicable 248
370370 and not in conflict with the express provisions of this chapter 249
371371 and the reasonable implications thereof: 250
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380380 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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384384 (11) Section 627.4275; 251
385385 Section 16. This act applies to an insurance policy or 252
386386 contract issued on or after the effective date of this act and 253
387387 may not be construed to impair or limit any right under an 254
388388 insurance policy or contract issued before the effective date of 255
389389 this act. 256
390390 Section 17. The Division of Law Revision is directed to 257
391391 replace the phrase "the effecti ve date of this act" wherever it 258
392392 occurs in this act with the date this act becomes a law. 259
393393 Section 18. This act shall take effect upon becoming a 260
394394 law. 261