Resolution of Disputed Property Insurance Claims

HB 341 2026

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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to resolution of disputed property 2
insurance claims; amending s. 627.7015, F.S.; 3
requiring, rather than authorizing, parties in a 4
property insurance claim dispute to participate in 5
mediation; providing that mediation is a condition 6
precedent to commencing litigation; deleting 7
provisions relating to the eligibility of claims for 8
mediation; providing that the parties may mutually 9
agree to conduct the mediation by teleconference or 10
other electronic means; requiring all insureds, or 11
their representatives, to attend the mediation; 12
revising and specifying duties relating to bearing 13
certain costs of mediation; requiring, rather than 14
authorizing, the Department of Financial Services to 15
adopt certain rules; authorizing the department to 16
adopt certain emergency rules; requiring the 17
policyholder to provide the insurer with any 18
information and certain documents within a specified 19
timeframe after mediation is invoked; revising 20
conditions under which a policyholder has a certain 21
timeframe to rescind a settlement; revising the 22
definition of the term "claim"; providing 23
construction; amending s. 627.7074, F.S.; conforming a 24
provision to changes made by the act; providing an 25

HB 341 2026

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appropriation; providing effective dates. 26
27
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 28
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Section 1. Section 627.7015, Florida Statutes, is amended 30
to read: 31
627.7015 Mandatory mediation Alternative procedure for 32
resolution of disputed property insurance claims.— 33
(1) This section sets forth a nonadversarial alternative 34
dispute resolution procedure for a mediated claim resolution 35
conference prompted by the need for effective, fair, and timely 36
handling of property insurance claims. There is a particular 37
need for an informal, nonthreatening forum for helping parties 38
who elect this procedure to resolve their claims disputes 39
because most homeowner and commercial residential insurance 40
policies obligate policyholders to participate in a potentially 41
expensive and time-consuming adversarial appraisal process 42
before litigation. The procedure set forth in this section is 43
designed to bring the parties together for a mediated claims 44
settlement conference without any of the trappings or drawbacks 45
of an adversarial process. Before participating in resorting to 46
these procedures, policyholders and insurers are encouraged to 47
resolve claims as quickly and fairly as possible. This section 48
applies is available with respect to claims under personal lines 49
and commercial residential policies before commencing the 50

HB 341 2026

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appraisal process, and mediation under this section is a 51
condition precedent to or before commencing litigation. 52
Mediation may be requested only by the policyholder, as a first-53
party claimant, a third-party, as an assignee of the policy 54
benefits, or the insurer. However, An insurer is not required to 55
participate in any mediation requested by a third-party assignee 56
of the policy benefits. If requested by the policyholder, 57
Participation by legal counsel is permitted. Mediation under 58
this section is also required of available to litigants referred 59
to the department by a county court or circuit court. This 60
section does not apply to commercial coverages, to private 61
passenger motor vehicle insurance coverages, or to disputes 62
relating to liability coverages in policies of property 63
insurance. 64
(2) At the time of issuance and renewal of a policy or at 65
the time a first-party claim within the scope of this section is 66
filed by the policyholder, the insurer shall notify the 67
policyholder of its right to participate in the mandatory 68
mediation program under this section. A claim becomes eligible 69
for mediation after the insurer complies with s. 627.70131(7) or 70
elects to reinspect pursuant to s. 627.70152(4)(a)3. If the 71
insurer has not complied with s. 627.70131(7) or elected to 72
reinspect pursuant to s. 627.70152(4)(a)3. within 90 days after 73
notice of the loss, the insurer may not require mediation under 74
this section. This subsection does not impair the right of an 75

HB 341 2026

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insurance company to request mediation after a determination of 76
coverage pursuant to this section or require appraisal or 77
another method of alternative dispute resolution pursuant to s. 78
627.70152(4)(b). The department shall prepare a consumer 79
information pamphlet for distribution to persons participating 80
in mediation. 81
(3) If the parties mutually agree, mediation may be 82
conducted by teleconference or other electronic means in lieu of 83
appearing in person. All named insureds, or their 84
representatives, must attend the mediation, regardless of how it 85
is conducted. The costs of mediation must be reasonable, and the 86
insurer must bear all of the cost of conducting mediation 87
conferences, except as otherwise provided in this section. If a 88
named insured or his or her representative policyholder fails to 89
appear at the conference, thus preventing the mediation from 90
proceeding, the conference must be rescheduled upon the 91
policyholder's payment of the costs of a rescheduled conference. 92
If the insurer fails to appear at the conference, the insurer 93
must pay the policyholder's actual cash expenses incurred in 94
attending the conference if the insurer's failure to attend was 95
not due to a good cause acceptable to the department. An insurer 96
is will be deemed to have failed to appear if the insurer's 97
representative lacks authority to settle the full value of the 98
claim. The insurer shall incur an additional fee for a 99
rescheduled conference necessitated by the insurer's failure to 100

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appear at a scheduled conference. The fees assessed by the 101
department must include a charge necessary to defray the 102
expenses of the department related to its duties under this 103
section and must be deposited in the Insurance Regulatory Trust 104
Fund. The department may suspend the insurer's authority to 105
appoint licensees if the insurer does not timely pay the 106
required fees. If a party elects to request an expert or a 107
representative to attend the mediation, that party must bear any 108
costs for the attendance of the expert or representative. 109
(4) The department shall adopt by rule a property 110
insurance mediation program to be administered by the department 111
or its designee. The department shall may also adopt special 112
rules that which are applicable in cases of an emergency within 113
this the state, including emergency rules as necessary to 114
establish physical addresses for the mediation program in areas 115
affected by natural disasters. The rules shall be modeled after 116
practices and procedures set forth in mediation rules of 117
procedure adopted by the Supreme Court. The rules shall provide 118
for: 119
(a) Reasonable requirements requirement for processing and 120
scheduling of requests for mediation. 121
(b) Qualifications for and, denial of application, and 122
suspension and, revocation of its approval, and other penalties 123
for mediators as provided in s. 627.745 and the Florida Rules 124
for Certified and Court-Appointed Mediators. 125

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(c) Provisions governing who may attend mediation 126
conferences. 127
(d) Selection of mediators. 128
(e) Criteria for the conduct of mediation conferences. 129
(f) Right to legal counsel. 130
(5)(a) All statements made and documents produced at a 131
mediation conference shall be deemed to be settlement 132
negotiations in anticipation of litigation within the scope of 133
s. 90.408. All parties to the mediation must negotiate in good 134
faith and must have the authority to immediately settle the 135
claim. Mediators are deemed to be agents of the department and 136
shall have the immunity from suit provided in s. 44.107. 137
(b) Within 10 days after mediation is invoked, the 138
policyholder must provide to the insurer any information and 139
supporting documents that serve as the basis for the claim. 140
(6)(a) Mediation is nonbinding; however, if a written 141
settlement is reached and the policyholder is not represented by 142
an attorney or a public adjuster, the policyholder has 3 143
business days within which the policyholder may rescind the 144
settlement unless the policyholder has cashed or deposited any 145
check or draft disbursed to the policyholder for the disputed 146
matters as a result of the conference. If a settlement agreement 147
is reached and is not rescinded, it is binding and acts as a 148
release of all specific claims that were presented in that 149
mediation conference. 150

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(b) At the conclusion of the mediation, the mediator shall 151
provide a written report of the results of mediation, including 152
any settlement amount, to the insurer, the policyholder, and the 153
policyholder's representative if the policyholder is represented 154
at the mediation. 155
(7) If the insurer fails to comply with subsection (2) by 156
failing to notify a policyholder of its right to participate in 157
the mandatory mediation program under this section or if the 158
insurer requests the mediation, and the mediation results are 159
rejected by either party, the policyholder is not required to 160
submit to or participate in any contractual loss appraisal 161
process of the property loss damage as a precondition to legal 162
action for breach of contract against the insurer for its 163
failure to pay the policyholder's claims covered by the policy. 164
(8) The department may designate an entity or person to 165
serve as administrator to carry out any of the provisions of 166
this section and may take this action by means of a written 167
contract or agreement. 168
(9) For purposes of this section, the term "claim" refers 169
to any dispute between an insurer and a policyholder relating to 170
a material issue of fact other than a dispute: 171
(a) With respect to which the insurer has a reasonable 172
basis to suspect fraud; 173
(b) When the insurer has determined, based on agreed-upon 174
facts as to the cause of loss, there is no coverage under the 175

HB 341 2026

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policy; 176
(c) With respect to which the insurer has a reasonable 177
basis to believe that the policyholder has intentionally made a 178
material misrepresentation of fact which is relevant to the 179
claim, and the entire request for payment of a loss has been 180
denied on the basis of the material misrepresentation; 181
(d) With respect to which the amount in controversy is 182
less than $500, unless the parties agree to mediate a dispute 183
involving a lesser amount; or 184
(e) With respect to a loss that does not comply with s. 185
627.70132. 186
(10) Participation in mediation under this section before 187
the policyholder's filing of a notice under s. 627.70152 does 188
not prohibit or waive an insurer's right to invoke and 189
participate in mediation under this section in response to the 190
notice. 191
Section 2. Subsection (3) of section 627.7074, Florida 192
Statutes, is amended to read: 193
627.7074 Alternative procedure for resolution of disputed 194
sinkhole insurance claims.— 195
(3) If there is coverage available under the policy and 196
the claim was submitted within the timeframe provided in s. 197
627.706(5), following the receipt of the report provided under 198
s. 627.7073 or the denial of a claim for a sinkhole loss, the 199
insurer shall notify the policyholder of his or her right to 200

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participate in the neutral evaluation program under this 201
section. Neutral evaluation supersedes the mediation alternative 202
dispute resolution process under s. 627.7015 but does not 203
invalidate the appraisal clause of the insurance policy. The 204
insurer shall provide to the policyholder the consumer 205
information pamphlet prepared by the department pursuant to 206
subsection (1) electronically or by United States mail. 207
Section 3. Effective July 1, 2026, for the 2026-2027 208
fiscal year, the sum of $1 million in recurring funds is 209
appropriated from the Insurance Regulatory Trust Fund to the 210
Department of Financial Services for the purpose of 211
administering the amendment made by this act to s. 627.7015, 212
Florida Statutes. 213
Section 4. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 214
act and except for this section, which shall take effect July 1, 215
2026, this act shall take effect January 1, 2027. 216