Earlier this month, Florida State Senator John Thrasher (R-Jacksonville) filed Senate Bill 1592 containing proposed reforms to Florida insurer bad faith law. In its current form, the bill contains numerous amendments to Section 624.155, Florida Statutes and represents significant reform to existing Florida bad faith jurisprudence. A companion bill, HB 1187, was filed in the Florida House of Representatives by State Representative Dennis Baxley (R-Ocala).
In their current form, the bills propose a number a significant reforms including: eliminating a third party claimant’s right to bring a bad faith claim; limiting uninsured/underinsured motorist claim bad faith damages to two times policy limits; and establishing specific requirements for the contents of time limited settlement demands. The Senate bill is currently under review in the Senate Judiciary Committee; the House bill is under review in the Civil Justice Subcommittee.
The contents of SB 1592 can be found here.
