Florida’s 16 largest property insurers reported a 14% average decrease in litigated claims in May, the first drop in the numbers since February.
CaseGlide, a litigation management software provider that tracks claims litigation, found that the number of lawsuits had dropped from 4,702 in April to 4,047 in May. From February to April, the volume had increased. Overall, litigation levels are well below the high that CaseGlide reported in July 2021 – some 6,633 cases.
Every one of the 16 carriers polled by CaseGlide showed a decrease in May, with four reporting drops as great as 20% to 35%, CaseGlide reported. Miami-Dade County still leads the state, with 22% of suits in the state filed there in May.
Assignment-of-benefit cases continued to make up more than a third of litigated claims, and stood at 1,450 cases in May, down from 1,692 in April.
Notices of intent to litigate, required by Florida Senate Bill 76 that passed in spring 2021, have continued to rise most months since the bill became law. In May, the number of NOIs reached 3,077, up from 2,799 in April.
CaseGlide CEO Wesley Todd said the effect of the special session of the Florida Legislature, which met May 23-25 and passed two laws designed to reduce claims litigation, remains to be seen.
“We believe … that it will likely take several quarters before insurers see any benefits and that many insurers would have welcomed reform that helped the industry today,” Todd said in an email. “It will be interesting to see how the plaintiff attorneys respond in the short- and long-term, and we will continue to monitor the changes to keep our clients and the industry informed.”
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