Articles by William Rabb

Florida House Panel Approves Bill to End AOBs in Windshield Repair

Auto insurance and tort-reform groups are celebrating after a subcommittee of the Florida House Banking and Insurance Committee approved a bill that would ban assignment-of-benefits agreements for windshield repairs, a measure that proponents hope will stem a flood of litigation …

ALJ Order Raises Question: Must Appraisers Be Licensed?

A public adjuster that has been vilified by insurers for disrupting and delaying property inspections could soon be suspended for two years following a recommended order by an administrative law judge. But state regulators’ recommendations in the case have raised …

Fla. Tort Reform Bill Aims to Pick Up Where Lawmakers Left Off

Outside of insurance attorneys, plaintiffs’ lawyers and some doctors, few people in Florida may be familiar with what are known as letters of protection. But critics say the instruments, in which doctors agree to take a share of the judgment …

DeSantis Pitches More Tort Reform, Trial Lawyers Push Back

It’s now clear what the regular session of the Florida Legislature will focus on when lawmakers convene March 7: More litigation measures that would bring property insurance-type reforms to automobile, liability and other lines of insurance. The rough outlines of …

Few Florida Insurers Compel Arbitration, but Attorneys Say that Will Change

After American Integrity Insurance Co. filed for a binding arbitration endorsement on homeowner policies one year ago, many in the industry expected a wave of other insurers to follow suit as claims litigation costs continued to rise in Florida. So …

Insurers Do Not Have to Defend in Opioid Litigation, Federal Appeals Court Finds

Two insurance carriers have no duty to defend or to indemnify Quest Pharmaceuticals in lawsuits brought over the drug distributor’s role in the opioid crisis, a federal appeals court decided last week. The opinion could bolster U.S. insurers’ arguments that …

New Florida Law Makes Joint Settlement Offers ‘Legit’ but May Not Go Far Enough

In the celebration over the Florida Legislature’s sweeping insurance reforms approved last month, one statutory change has slipped under the radar a bit – one that insurance attorneys said will streamline the settlement process and could help reduce litigation. Among …

Fla. Plaintiff’s Attorney Disbarred, Public Adjuster May Lose License

Florida officials have taken strong action against two of the insurance industry’s most-detested adversaries, disbarring a notorious plaintiffs’ attorney who filed thousands of frivolous claims lawsuits, and moving to revoke the license of a public adjuster that obstructed insurers in …

Policyholders, Agents Say United Leaving Ian Claims in Limbo

The Florida Legislature’s insurance rescue bill, approved last week, won’t take effect soon enough to help policyholders and insurance agents who’ve had no response from beleaguered United Property & Casualty Co. on Hurricane Ian claims. The lack of information has …

Ky. Supreme Court Overturns Jury Verdict in Bad-Faith Claim

Cincinnati Insurance Co. dodged a $4.6 million judgment last week when the Kentucky Supreme Court found that a trial judge should have preempted a jury and granted a directed verdict in a bad-faith claim. If the injured third-party plaintiff failed …