Study Finds That Third-Party Bad-Faith Insurance Claims Are Somewhat Out of Control in Florida
Study Finds That Third-Party Bad-Faith Insurance Claims Are Somewhat Out of Control in Florida Oct 29, 2018 According to a new study, Florida’s third-party bad-faith legal environment increases claim costs for every insured vehicle by an average of $106 per claim, or a total of more than $7 billion in additional claim costs over more than a decade. According to some experts, most of these costs can reportedly be attributed to the rapid growth of bodily injury liability claims, as well as Florida’s legal rules and standards when it comes to resolving bad-faith allegations. What Is A Bad Faith Claim? Under Florida law, anyone can bring a civil action against an insurance company if they have been damaged by the company’s failure to attempt, “in good faith,” to settle claims when, under all circumstances, they could and should have done so, while acting fairly and honestly towards the insured, with due regard for the insured’s interests. Florida’s Trends to Be Compared to Other No-Fault States The report compared key bodily injury liability claims in Florida to similar trends in three other states that are all no-fault (like Florida); specifically, New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. According to the results, these three states experienced relatively stable injury claims over the study period after taking primarily administrative approaches to investigating and resolving bad-faith allegations on behalf of car insurance companies. Conversely, Florida’s trends did not reflect this kind of stability. Why Is Florida Different? This phenomenon could be due to Florida failing to rely on these same approaches to resolving allegations of bad-faith, and, instead, allowing for unrestricted opportunities for claimants to file third-party bad-faith lawsuits against insurance companies. Specifically, some believe that the potential to win large settlements has created a powerful incentive for claimants and their lawyers to file car liability insurance claims that otherwise might not have enough merit to file here in Florida. Over time, this can pose a serious threat to Florida’s auto insurance system. Another contributing factor to this problem is the failure of the system’s tort threshold to limit access to reimbursements under the liability portion of many auto insurance policies. For example, in similar (no-fault) states, bodily injury liability claim frequency is usually fairly low because the system is in place to limit the number of claims filed. One way of limiting this frequency is by providing claimants with ready access to no-fault reimbursement for medical bills and lost wages. However, this does not appear to be the trend in Florida. Contact Our Florida Insurance Bad Faith Defense Attorneys Insurance companies have a duty to thoroughly investigate all claims. However, they also have a duty to pay benefits only where coverage and liability are clear, and the amount involved is accurately documented. At HD Law Partners, our attorneys represent insurance carriers when there is a dispute over coverage, damages, or liability. We also provide defense of claims alleging insurance bad faith. Contact our insurance defense attorneys today—we serve Orlando, Sarasota, Tampa, Bradenton, and surrounding areas of Florida. Resource: insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/study-estimates-florida-third-party-bad-faith-costs-at-7-6-billion-for-12-year-period-2006-2017-2#.W6MgRtQpCt8 Tags: Florida Insurance Bad Faith Lawyer, Tampa Insurance Defense Attorney, Tampa Insurance Defense Attorneys Posted in Insurance Defense | No Comments » Connect with us Archives May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 July 2025 June 2025 January 2025 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 November 13 Categories Alimony Appellate Arbitration Auto Accidents Auto Insurance Business Corporate Business Insurance Law Child Custody Child Support Criminal Law Divorce Family Law FEMA Insurance Payments Florida’s Mandatory 2‑Hour Legal Professionalism CLE: Foreclosure Defense Fort Myers Hurricane Insurance Attorney General Guardianship HD Law Partners Service HOA/Property Management Homeowners Association Homeowners Insurance Hurricane Claims Hurricane Insurance Insurance Bad Faith Insurance Claims Insurance Defense Insurance Litigation Landlord Tenant Law Enforcement Liability Loan Modifications Mold Water Damage Parental Rights Paternity Personal Injury Premises Liability Law Prenuptial Agreements Private Security Property Distribution Property Owner Law Sarasota Insurance Litigation Attorney Slip Fall Tampa Business and Corporate Attorneys tampa family attorney Tampa Insurance Attorneys Timeshare Timesharing Uncategorized HD Law Partners is proud to be your trusted full-service law firm Quick Links Property & Casualty Business & Corporate Litigation Family Law Contact Us Careers Get In Touch 2002 North Lois Avenue Suite 510 Tampa, FL 33607 813-253-5333 Contact Us