Florida insurers are unhappy with the way lawyers are using the assignment of benefits (AOB) clause in their policies and they have asked the senate to address the issue with a proposed law that would ban attorneys from collecting fees in thousands of lawsuits.
But freshman Senator Gary Farmer, a lawyer himself, filed a bill that hopes to strike a compromise between the legal and insurance professions in the state.
A Sun Sentinel report states that the bill proposes that policyholders be given the right to rescind their AOB, require a seven day notification of assignments, a 10-day notification of a pending lawsuit by contractors, and a statement of the scope of work included in the AOB.
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Insurers have taken action against contractors and their respective law firms following a series of lawsuits filed against them as residents deal with water damage from successive storms and hurricanes in the area. They fear that the practice would drive the cost of premiums up beyond the reach of the common policyholder.
“I just don’t believe eliminating assignments or changing the attorney fee statute is the right way to do it,” Farmer said in the report.
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