In SB 2-A and SB 4-A signed Dec. 16, 2022, the legislature recently eliminated Florida's one-way fee shifting statute for first-party claims brought against residential and commercial surplus lines and admitted property insurers. Under the former law, a court was obligated to award a reasonable fee in favor of the insured or beneficiary who settled or obtained a judgment in his or her favor against a property insurer. Under the new law neither Fla. Stat. 626.9373 nor 627.428 apply as both sections now state that "in a suit arising under a residential or commercial property insurance policy, there is no right to attorney fees …"

Clearly something needed to be done since homeowner's insurance claims in Florida accounted for just over 8% of all homeowners claims in the United States in 2019, but accounted for more than 76% of all litigation against insurers nationwide. That year was not an anomaly. Not surprisingly, the insurance industry reported losses of over $1.6 billion in Florida in 2020. In part, these losses were caused by this excessive litigation. The legislature felt the need to react since the insurance picture was not likely to improve. In fact, six property insurers were declared insolvent in Florida in 2022. Policyholders also felt the impact of the insurance industry's losses as they saw their premiums increase by 10% or more, and some policyholders had trouble securing insurance, turning to Citizens Property Insurance as their option of last resort. The question is whether the elimination of the one-way fee shifting statute will decrease litigation in Florida.