Florida HB 341: Motor Vehicles and Railroad Trains

Bill Text

HB 341 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb341-00
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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to resolution of disputed property 2
insurance claims; amending s. 627.7015, F.S.; 3
requiring, rather than authorizing, parties in a 4
property insurance claim dispute to participate in 5
mediation; providing that mediation is a condition 6
precedent to commencing litigation; deleting 7
provisions relating to the eligibility of claims for 8
mediation; providing that the parties may mutually 9
agree to conduct the mediation by teleconference or 10
other electronic means; requiring all insureds, or 11
their representatives, to attend the mediation; 12
revising and specifying duties relating to bearing 13
certain costs of mediation; requiring, rather than 14
authorizing, the Department of Financial Services to 15
adopt certain rules; authorizing the department to 16
adopt certain emergency rules; requiring the 17
policyholder to provide the insurer with any 18
information and certain documents within a specified 19
timeframe after mediation is invoked; revising 20
conditions under which a policyholder has a certain 21
timeframe to rescind a settlement; revising the 22
definition of the term "claim"; providing 23
construction; amending s. 627.7074, F.S.; conforming a 24
provision to changes made by the act; providing an 25

HB 341 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb341-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

appropriation; providing effective dates. 26
27
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 28
29
Section 1. Section 627.7015, Florida Statutes, is amended 30
to read: 31
627.7015 Mandatory mediation Alternative procedure for 32
resolution of disputed property insurance claims.— 33
(1) This section sets forth a nonadversarial alternative 34
dispute resolution procedure for a mediated claim resolution 35
conference prompted by the need for effective, fair, and timely 36
handling of property insurance claims. There is a particular 37
need for an informal, nonthreatening forum for helping parties 38
who elect this procedure to resolve their claims disputes 39
because most homeowner and commercial residential insurance 40
policies obligate policyholders to participate in a potentially 41
expensive and time-consuming adversarial appraisal process 42
before litigation. The procedure set forth in this section is 43
designed to bring the parties together for a mediated claims 44
settlement conference without any of the trappings or drawbacks 45
of an adversarial process. Before participating in resorting to 46
these procedures, policyholders and insurers are encouraged to 47
resolve claims as quickly and fairly as possible. This section 48
applies is available with respect to claims under personal lines 49
and commercial residential policies before commencing the 50

HB 341 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb341-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

appraisal process, and mediation under this section is a 51
condition precedent to or before commencing litigation. 52
Mediation may be requested only by the policyholder, as a first-53
party claimant, a third-party, as an assignee of the policy 54
benefits, or the insurer. However, An insurer is not required to 55
participate in any mediation requested by a third-party assignee 56
of the policy benefits. If requested by the policyholder, 57
Participation by legal counsel is permitted. Mediation under 58
this section is also required of available to litigants referred 59
to the department by a county court or circuit court. This 60
section does not apply to commercial coverages, to private 61
passenger motor vehicle insurance coverages, or to disputes 62
relating to liability coverages in policies of property 63
insurance. 64
(2) At the time of issuance and renewal of a policy or at 65
the time a first-party claim within the scope of this section is 66
filed by the policyholder, the insurer shall notify the 67
policyholder of its right to participate in the mandatory 68
mediation program under this section. A claim becomes eligible 69
for mediation after the insurer complies with s. 627.70131(7) or 70
elects to reinspect pursuant to s. 627.70152(4)(a)3. If the 71
insurer has not complied with s. 627.70131(7) or elected to 72
reinspect pursuant to s. 627.70152(4)(a)3. within 90 days after 73
notice of the loss, the insurer may not require mediation under 74
this section. This subsection does not impair the right of an 75

HB 341 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb341-00
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

insurance company to request mediation after a determination of 76
coverage pursuant to this section or require appraisal or