Florida HB 459: Property Insurance Claims

Bill Text

HB 459 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb459-00
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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

A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to property insurance claims; amending 2
s. 627.7015, F.S.; establishing a mandatory procedure 3
for resolution of disputed property insurance claims; 4
deleting obsolete provisions; revising legislative 5
intent and purpose; requiring certain entities to 6
administer a specified law in a certain manner; 7
requiring insurers, at specified times, to notify 8
policyholders of the mandatory procedure; requiring 9
the Department of Financial Services to prepare a 10
consumer information pamphlet to be provided to 11
policyholders at specified times; authorizing a 12
policyholder or an insurer to file a petition with the 13
Division of Administrative Hearings to resolve certain 14
claims; specifying requirements for the filing and 15
service of such petition; requiring the department to 16
inform policyholders of the location of the Division 17
of Administrative Hearings and the division's website 18
address; specifying that the parties to the claim must 19
bear the cost of certain conferences; requiring an 20
administrative law judge to review the petition upon 21
receiving it; requiring the administrative law judge 22
to dismiss petitions that do not contain specified 23
information; requiring that the petition include a 24
certain certification; specifying that dismissal of a 25

HB 459 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb459-00
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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

petition or a portion of a petition is without 26
prejudice and does not require a hearing; specifying 27
that motions to dismiss must be handled in a specified 28
manner; requiring the insurer to pay the requested 29
claim or file a response to the petition within a 30
specified timeframe; specifying filing and content 31
requirements for the insurer's response to the 32
petition; requiring the administrative law judge to 33
conduct proceedings in a specified manner; providing 34
an exception; requiring the administrative law judge 35
to make a final determination of total coverage amount 36
within a specified timeframe; requiring such amount to 37
be paid in a specified manner; revising the definition 38
of the term "claim"; repealing ss. 627.70151, 39
627.70152, 627.70153, and 627.70154, F.S., relating to 40
appraisal clauses in property insurance contracts, 41
suits arising under a property insurance policy, 42
consolidation of residential property insurance 43
actions, and mandatory binding arbitration of property 44
insurance policies, respectively; amending ss. 45
627.351, 627.70131, and 627.7074, F.S.; conforming 46
provisions to changes made by the act; providing an 47
effective date. 48
49
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 50

HB 459 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb459-00
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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

51
Section 1. Section 627.7015, Florida Statutes, is amended 52
to read: 53
627.7015 Mandatory Alternative procedure for resolution of 54
disputed property insurance claims.— 55
(1) This section sets forth a nonadversarial alternative 56
dispute resolution procedure for an a mediated claim resolution 57
conference prompted by the need for effective, fair, and timely 58
resolution handling of disputed property insurance claims. There 59
is a particular need for a mandatory an informal, nonthreatening 60
forum, available at the election of either party, for helping 61
parties who elect this procedure to resolve their claims 62
disputes regarding because most homeowner and commercial 63
residential insurance policies obligate policyholders to 64
participate in a potentially expensive and time-consuming 65
adversarial appraisal process before litigation. The procedure 66
set forth in this section is designed to bring the parties 67
together to ensure the efficient delivery of the coverage 68
offered under the policy, helping to restore an owner's property 69
and livelihood to normalcy after a disaster or loss while 70
maintaining reasonable costs to the insurer for a mediated 71
claims settlement conference without any of the trappings or 72
drawbacks of an adversarial process. Before participating in 73
resorting to these procedures, policyholders and insurers are 74
encouraged to resolve claims as quickly and fairly as possible. 75

HB 459 2026

CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb459-00
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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

The department, the office, and the Division of Administrative 76
Hearings shall administer this section in a manner that 77
facilitates the self-execution of the system and the process of 78
ensuring a prompt and cost-effective delivery of payments to 79
insureds This