Floridians hold new accelerated pace in plans to sue insurers in Q2

Florida homeowners continued to flood the courts with vows of new litigation against insurers in the second quarter of 2023, albeit with a clear sign that the acceleration from the 2022 pace has topped off.

Floridians submitted 23,425 filings of intent to litigate during Q2, a minor 3% gain on the first quarter sum but still a 73% gain on the prior year period. For the first half, total filings are up 78% year on year.

The 2023 run-up in filings, and especially the jump at the New Year, came amid a conflux of drivers, most notably the crafting of litigation reforms by Florida lawmakers and also the rise of claims following Hurricane Ian.

January 2023's 45% monthly increase in submissions, immediately following enactment of the legislation, gave by far the single largest boost to the count. Q1 brought a 74% increase on Q4. Monthly tallies in Q2 held within a mild 13% range.

The state's insurer of last resort, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, fuelled by more than a year of Florida declaring insolvencies and insurers declaring retreats, figured most frequently in pending suits with 3832 or 16.4% of the Q2 intent to litigate filings.

Universal P&C and American Integrity both take spots on the podium with roughly 10% each of the Q2 filings. State Farm and Heritage both figure in just over 5% of the Q2 tally.

Floridians are required by law to pre-announce an intent to submit litigation against an insurer. The state database includes filings dating back to mid-2021.

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