House marries insurance litigation changes to phosphate mining bill

The House tacked on a proposal Friday that would award attorney’s fees to the winning party in insurance litigation to a Senate bill that would extend new legal protections to phosphate mining companies.

The House’s modified version of SB 832 couples insurance litigation changes the Senate has refused to consider with a proposal the chamber already approved. Gov. Ron DeSantis, the state’s insurance regulator, and insurance companies contend the proposal would incentivize lawsuits.

Twenty House lawmakers, mostly Republicans, voted against the bill.

Yet the maneuver is unlikely to create a favorable result for the House because senators didn’t consider any legislation giving policyholders greater access to courts against insurance companies.

“Just because you have gone a slight inch farther in the right direction, doesn’t mean that you solved the problem,” House Speaker Daniel Perez told reporters on Thursday. “We have not solved the problem for property insurance. We sometimes want to pat ourselves on the back for solving the problem because we’ve done a better job.”

Peter Cuderman, DeSantis’ legislative affairs director, sent an email Thursday evening to House lawmakers warning that enacting a loser-pays policy in insurance lawsuits would lead to higher rates for policyholders, citing an analysis he directed the Office of Insurance Regulation to do.

“This legislation poses serious risks to the progress Florida has made in stabilizing the insurance market and the affordability/availability of insurance products in the state,” Cuderman wrote to lawmakers.

The original Senate proposal would establish a defense for companies from lawsuits related to pollution on sites of former phosphate mines had drawn wide support, with only three senators voting against it on April 15.