Question: Aren’t you exaggerating the impact of lawsuits in Florida versus insurance carriers?
Answer: NO!!!
Check this out.
These are the numbers of lawsuits filed against insurance companies:
| Served Year | # Lawsuits |
|---|---|
| 2016 | 192,598 |
| 2017 | 229,188 |
| 2018 | 278,739 |
| 2019 | 322,171 |
| 2020 | 400,943 |
| 2021 | 177,554 |
| Total | 1,601,193 |
| 2021 Projected (even with no law change) | 532,662 |
These are the top companies they have filed against:
| Defendant | # Lawsuits |
|---|---|
| GEICO | 266,899 |
| Progressive | 215,983 |
| State Farm | 163,164 |
| All State | 71,348 |
| Citizens Property Insurance Corporation | 52,372 |
| USAA | 51,252 |
| Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company | 38,018 |
| Infinity Auto Insurance Company | 34,022 |
| Windhaven Insurance Company* | 33,568 |
| Blue Cross And Blue Shield Of Florida, Inc | 30,794 |
| Direct General Insurance Company | 28,290 |
| Ocean Harbor Casualty Insurance Company | 25,024 |
| Liberty Mutual Insurance Company | 20,263 |
| Infinity | 18,261 |
| United Services Automobile Association | 16,378 |
| United Automobile Insurance Company | 16,161 |
| Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Company | 15,679 |
| Security National Insurance Company | 13,891 |
| United Property & Casualty Insurance Company | 13,353 |
| Tower Hill | 12,467 |
* I was a president of the company with an asterisk.
All this data is taken directly from the government’s website.
Without naming names, I can say that the lawyer who filed the most, filed 173,303 lawsuits (that is not a typo) during this time period. (Why don’t I name names? Well, these are the kinds of lawyers who file 20k lawsuits a year! Do I want them to sue me too?)
Now that you see the magnitude of the lawsuit situation, perhaps you understand why I say that the the laws favor the fraudsters. Of course there are legitimate lawsuits against insurance companies, but do you really believe the insurers of Florida are so bad that this magnitude of lawsuits was warranted? Or, do you now understand what I mean when I say that the insurers are so afraid of lawsuits that they allow hundreds of thousands of fake claims to go through their system simply to avoid the threat of lawsuit?
If your question is: Why does Florida have such high auto insurance rates? I think the stats above explain the situation. It is not the fault of the drivers, the insurance companies, or the weather of Florida. It is actually the fault of the laws that encourage this volume of lawsuits which is about to become worse with the upcoming changes.
To reiterate my concerns about this bill:
1st: The bill that is about to go to law makes no changes to the law on the books that encourages the lawsuits. The law states:
627.428(1) Upon the rendition of a judgment or decree by any of the courts of this state against an insurer and in favor of any named or omnibus insured or the named beneficiary under a policy or contract executed by the insurer, the trial court or, in the event of an appeal in which the insured or beneficiary prevails, the appellate court shall adjudge or decree against the insurer and in favor of the insured or beneficiary a reasonable sum as fees or compensation for the insured’s or beneficiary’s attorney prosecuting the suit in which the recovery is had
2nd: The bill that is about to go into law actually affirmatively states:
The claimant owes no duty to the insured or the insurer, and the duties of the claimant’s attorney are owed solely to their client. The claimant and the claimant’s attorneys do not have a duty to comply with this subsection.
3rd: The bill that is about to go into law actually eliminates some fraud prevention techniques that insurers have and also eliminates medical fee guidelines.
Given what I just showed you, what is your guess as to how many lawsuits will be in Florida in 2022?