Florida Senate - 2016                                     SB 632
       
       
        
       By Senator Richter
       
       
       
       
       
       23-00002-16                                            2016632__
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to civil remedies against insurers;
    3         amending s. 624.155, F.S.; requiring an insured, a
    4         claimant, or a person acting on behalf of an insured
    5         or a claimant to provide an insurer with written
    6         notice of loss as a condition precedent to bringing a
    7         statutory or common-law action for a third-party bad
    8         faith action for failure to settle an insurance claim;
    9         providing that an insurer is not liable for such claim
   10         if certain conditions are met; reenacting s.
   11         766.1185(3), F.S., relating to bad faith actions, to
   12         incorporate the amendment made to s. 624.155, F.S., in
   13         a reference thereto; providing an effective date.
   14          
   15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   16  
   17         Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (3) of section
   18  624.155, Florida Statutes, is amended, and subsection (10) is
   19  added to that section, to read:
   20         624.155 Civil remedy.—
   21         (3)(a) Except as provided in subsection (10), as a
   22  condition precedent to bringing an action under this section,
   23  the department and the authorized insurer must have been given
   24  60 days’ written notice of the violation. If the department
   25  returns a notice for lack of specificity, the 60-day time period
   26  does shall not begin until a proper notice is filed.
   27         (10) As a condition precedent to bringing a third-party
   28  statutory or common-law bad faith action for failure to settle a
   29  liability insurance claim, the insured, the claimant, or any
   30  person acting on behalf of the insured or the claimant must have
   31  provided the insurer with a written notice of loss. An insurer
   32  does not violate the duty to attempt in good faith to settle the
   33  claim and is not liable for a bad faith failure to settle under
   34  this section or common law if the insurer:
   35         (a) Complies with a request for a disclosure statement as
   36  described in s. 627.4137.
   37         (b) Offers, within 45 days after receipt of the written
   38  notice of loss, to pay the claimant the lesser of the amount
   39  that the claimant is willing to accept or the limits of
   40  liability coverage applicable to the claimant’s insurance claim
   41  in exchange for a full release of the insured from any liability
   42  arising from the incident reported in the written notice of
   43  loss.
   44         Section 2. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
   45  made by this act to section 624.155, Florida Statutes, in a
   46  reference thereto, subsection (3) of section 766.1185, Florida
   47  Statutes, is reenacted to read:
   48         766.1185 Bad faith actions.—In all actions for bad faith
   49  against a medical malpractice insurer relating to professional
   50  liability insurance coverage for medical negligence, and in
   51  determining whether the insurer could and should have settled
   52  the claim within the policy limits had it acted fairly and
   53  honestly towards its insured with due regard for her or his
   54  interest, whether under statute or common law:
   55         (3) The provisions of s. 624.155 shall be applicable in all
   56  cases brought pursuant to that section unless specifically
   57  controlled by this section.
   58         Section 3. This act shall take effect July 1, 2016.