HB 1463

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to civil actions against insurers;
3amending s. 624.155, F.S.; authorizing an insured to bring
4a civil action against an insurer when the insured is
5damaged by the commission of certain acts by the insurer;
6requiring the insured and any person demanding settlement
7to cooperate with the insurer with regard to facilitating
8the settlement; revising notice requirements related to
9such civil actions; requiring that notice of such actions
10contain certain information; deleting an exemption for a
11third-party claimant; requiring the Department of
12Financial Services to return such notice within a
13specified period after receipt under certain
14circumstances; providing that no action shall lie if
15damages are paid or the circumstances giving rise to the
16insurer's violation are corrected within a specified
17period; extending the period for which the applicable
18statute of limitations may be tolled under certain
19circumstances; providing for the preemption of other civil
20remedies; requiring that an insured prove, by clear and
21convincing evidence, that the insurer's refusal to settle
22was unreasonable in an action arising from an allegation
23that the insurer failed to settle a claim for liability
24insurance coverage; providing that the insurer of an
25insured or insureds is not liable for extracontractual
26damages for failing to pay the insurer's policy limits
27under certain circumstances; providing that an insurer
28that tenders its policy limits is entitled to a release
29from its insured if the claimant accepts the tender;
30providing circumstances under which a civil cause of
31action does not exist; providing that an insured is not
32prohibited from assigning the cause of action to an
33injured third-party claimant for the insurer's failure to
34act fairly and honestly toward its insured and with due
35regard for the insured's interest; providing for
36applicability; providing an effective date.
37
38Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
39
40     Section 1.  Subsections (1), (3), and (8) of section
41624.155, Florida Statutes, are amended, and subsections (10)
42through (15) are added to that section, to read:
43     624.155  Civil remedy.--
44     (1)  An insured Any person may bring a civil action against
45an insurer when such insured person is damaged:
46     (a)  By a violation of any of the following provisions by
47the insurer:
48     1.  Section 626.9541(1)(i), (o), or (x);
49     2.  Section 626.9551;
50     3.  Section 626.9705;
51     4.  Section 626.9706;
52     5.  Section 626.9707; or
53     6.  Section 627.7283.
54     (b)  By the commission of any of the following acts by the
55insurer:
56     1.  Not attempting in good faith to settle claims when,
57under all the circumstances, it could and should have done so,
58had it acted fairly and honestly toward its insured and with due
59regard for her or his interests. However, both the insured and
60any person asserting a demand for such settlement owe a similar
61duty to the insurer to cooperate fully with the insurer, and it
62is a defense to any action brought under this section if the
63court finds that the insured or other person demanding
64settlement failed to cooperate fully with regard to facilitating
65the settlement;
66     2.  Making claims payments to insureds or beneficiaries not
67accompanied by a statement setting forth the coverage under
68which payments are being made; or
69     3.  Except as to liability coverages, failing to promptly
70settle claims, when the obligation to settle a claim has become
71reasonably clear, under one portion of the insurance policy
72coverage in order to influence settlements under other portions
73of the insurance policy coverage.
74
75Notwithstanding the provisions of the above to the contrary, a
76person pursuing a remedy under this section need not prove that
77such act was committed or performed with such frequency as to
78indicate a general business practice.
79     (3)(a)  As a condition precedent to bringing an action
80under this section, the department and the authorized insurer
81must have been given 90 60 days' written notice of the
82violation. If the department returns a notice for lack of
83specificity, the 90-day 60-day time period shall not begin until
84a proper notice is filed.
85     (b)  The notice shall be on a form provided by the
86department and shall state with specificity the following
87information, and such other information as the department may
88require:
89     1.  The statutory provision, including the specific
90language of the statute, which the authorized insurer allegedly
91violated.
92     2.  The facts and circumstances giving rise to the
93violation and any amount in dispute.
94     3.  The name of any individual involved in the violation.
95     4.  Reference to specific policy language that is relevant
96to the violation, if any. If the person bringing the civil
97action is a third party claimant, she or he shall not be
98required to reference the specific policy language if the
99authorized insurer has not provided a copy of the policy to the
100third party claimant pursuant to written request.
101     5.  A statement that the notice is given in order to
102perfect the right to pursue the civil remedy authorized by this
103section.
104     (c)  Within 30 20 days after the date on which the
105department receives of receipt of the notice, the department
106shall may return any notice that does not provide the specific
107information required by this section, and the department shall
108indicate the specific deficiencies contained in the notice. A
109determination by the department to return a notice for lack of
110specificity is shall be exempt from the requirements of chapter
111120.
112     (d)  No action shall lie if, within 90 60 days after filing
113notice, the damages are paid or the circumstances giving rise to
114the violation are corrected.
115     (e)  The authorized insurer that is the recipient of a
116notice filed pursuant to this section shall report to the
117department on the disposition of the alleged violation.
118     (f)  The applicable statute of limitations for an action
119under this section shall be tolled for a period of 95 65 days by
120the mailing of the notice required by this subsection or the
121mailing of a subsequent notice required by this subsection.
122     (8)  The civil remedy specified in this section preempts
123all does not preempt any other remedies or causes remedy or
124cause of action for extracontractual damages for failing to
125settle under an insurance contract that are provided for
126pursuant to any other statute or pursuant to the common law of
127this state. Any person may obtain a judgment under either the
128common-law remedy of bad faith or this statutory remedy, but
129shall not be entitled to a judgment under both remedies. This
130section does shall not be construed to create a common-law cause
131of action. The damages recoverable pursuant to this section
132shall include those damages which are a reasonably foreseeable
133result of a specified violation of this section by the
134authorized insurer and may include an award or judgment in an
135amount that exceeds the policy limits.
136     (10)  In any action against an insurer arising from an
137allegation that the insurer failed to settle a claim for
138liability insurance coverage, the insured has the burden to
139prove, by clear and convincing evidence, that the insurer's
140refusal to settle was unreasonable.
141     (11)  If multiple claimants seek compensation from the same
142insured or multiple insureds or if a single claimant seeks
143compensation from multiple insureds for damages arising from the
144same occurrence, and such compensation in the aggregate exceeds
145the policy limits of the insurer, the insurer of the insured or
146insureds is not liable for extracontractual damages for failing
147to pay the insurer's policy limits if the insurer makes a
148written offer of its policy limits within the timeframe set
149forth in this section to all known potential claimants in
150exchange for releases of all claims against all insureds or
151tenders such limits to the court for apportionment to the
152claimants.
153     (12)  An insurer that tenders its policy limits is entitled
154to a release from its insured if the claimant accepts the
155tender.
156     (13)  A cause of action does not exist under this section
157if an insurer remedies the alleged violation contained in the
158notice issued under subsection (3) within 90 days after the date
159on which such notice was issued if such notice meets all
160requirements of that subsection.
161     (14)  This section does not prohibit an insured from
162assigning the cause of action to an injured third-party claimant
163for the insurer's failure to act fairly and honestly toward its
164insured or with due regard for the insured's interest.
165     (15)  This section applies to all actions involving medical
166malpractice claims unless such claims arise under or are
167controlled by s. 766.1185.
168     Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2009.


CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.