Florida Supreme Court Approves Board Certification in Insurance Law

Lawyers on both sides of the insurance aisle will soon be able to say they are “board-certified” in insurance coverage law, after the Florida Supreme Court approved the new certification last week.

The court made only minor changes to a certification proposal submitted by the Florida Bar early this year. The plan takes effect Jan. 1, the Bar explained in a posting.

To be certified in insurance coverage law, attorneys must have practiced for at least five years with at least 40% of their practice devoted to insurance work during that time. They also must complete at least 50 hours of continuing legal education hours, pass an examination, and demonstrate knowledge and experience in a number of insurance matters, such as insurance provisions in contracts or representing policyholders or insurers, the Supreme Court explained in its Oct. 8 order.

Exemptions will be allowed for lawyers who have specialized in insurance law for at least 20 years.

A Bar committee will devise the exam. Submissions for appointment to the committee are being accepted until Nov. 15.

The stamp of approval may help tamp down assertions by lawyers who claim to be “insurance specialists” but who may have spent little time in the field, plaintiffs’ attorney Chip Merlin said in 2024. “It takes years – decades, really – to get really good at something,” he noted.

The certification is one of 28 offered by the Florida Bar. Only Ohio and Texas offer similar certificates in insurance law, the Florida Bar’s news site reported. With insurance coverage an ever-present subject of litigation in Florida, some had said the program was long overdue in the Sunshine State.

Debbie Crockett, a Tampa attorney with the Cheffy Passidomo law firm, is credited with spearheading the plan over the past several years. The concept began in 2018, just as Florida’s insurance litigation wars and the property insurance crisis in the state were heating up.

The COVID-19 pandemic put the plan on hold for a couple of years, but in 2024, Crockett and others pulled together wide support and drafted a formal proposal. She said the certificate will be useful not only to claims litigants, but also for corporate risk management attorneys, mediators, law professors, and those who specialize in helping policyholders navigate the insurance claims process.

“My only regret is that I didn’t do it sooner,” Crockett told the Florida Bar News when the proposal was submitted to the Bar in 2024.

Topics Florida