What did Florida HB 837 change?
Florida's governor signed HB 837 on March 24, 2023, splitting insurance defense into a shrinking volume practice and a complex-casualty market that kept hiring. The law cut the negligence statute of limitations from four years to two. It swapped pure comparative negligence for a modified rule, so a plaintiff found more than half at fault recovers nothing. Bad-faith claims and medical-cost evidence got new rules, and the bill repealed most one-way attorney's fees in suits against insurers. Property insurance suits had already lost one-way fees under SB 2-A in 2022.
The governor said the law would decrease frivolous lawsuits. From where we sit, the reform gutted high-volume insurance work and hit complex cases less, so Florida now has two insurance defense markets that don't move together.
- Negligence deadline
- Before HB 837
- Four years
- After HB 837
- Two years
- Comparative fault
- Before HB 837
- A plaintiff's own fault reduced damages but never barred recovery
- After HB 837
- A plaintiff found more than 50 percent at fault recovers nothing (s. 768.81(6)). Medical negligence cases are excluded
- One-way attorney's fees against insurers
- Before HB 837
- An insured who won against an insurer recovered attorney's fees (s. 627.428). Property policies were already excluded in 2022
- After HB 837
- Sections 626.9373 and 627.428 repealed. New s. 86.121 still awards fees to an insured who wins a declaratory action after a total coverage denial
- Bad faith
- Before HB 837
- New in HB 837
- After HB 837
- For liability insurance claims, no bad faith action lies if the insurer tenders the lesser of policy limits or the demand within 90 days of actual notice of a claim with sufficient evidence (s. 624.155(4)). Mere negligence is not bad faith (s. 624.155(5))
- Medical expense evidence
- Before HB 837
- New in HB 837
- After HB 837
- New s. 768.0427. Paid bills: the amount paid, whatever the source. Unpaid bills: what the claimant's health coverage would pay; with no coverage or with Medicare or Medicaid coverage, 120 percent of the Medicare rate (170 percent of the Medicaid rate if there is no Medicare rate). Evidence of reasonable billed amounts is still admissible. Future care follows a similar structure
- Letters of protection
- Before HB 837
- New in HB 837
- After HB 837
- The claimant must disclose the letter, itemized coded bills, any sale price to a factoring company, coverage status, and the referral source before claiming those expenses (s. 768.0427(3))
| Topic | Before HB 837 | After HB 837 |
|---|---|---|
| Negligence deadline | Four years | Two years |
| Comparative fault | A plaintiff's own fault reduced damages but never barred recovery | A plaintiff found more than 50 percent at fault recovers nothing (s. 768.81(6)). Medical negligence cases are excluded |
| One-way attorney's fees against insurers | An insured who won against an insurer recovered attorney's fees (s. 627.428). Property policies were already excluded in 2022 | Sections 626.9373 and 627.428 repealed. New s. 86.121 still awards fees to an insured who wins a declaratory action after a total coverage denial |
| Bad faith | New in HB 837 | For liability insurance claims, no bad faith action lies if the insurer tenders the lesser of policy limits or the demand within 90 days of actual notice of a claim with sufficient evidence (s. 624.155(4)). Mere negligence is not bad faith (s. 624.155(5)) |
| Medical expense evidence | New in HB 837 | New s. 768.0427. Paid bills: the amount paid, whatever the source. Unpaid bills: what the claimant's health coverage would pay; with no coverage or with Medicare or Medicaid coverage, 120 percent of the Medicare rate (170 percent of the Medicaid rate if there is no Medicare rate). Evidence of reasonable billed amounts is still admissible. Future care follows a similar structure |
| Letters of protection | New in HB 837 | The claimant must disclose the letter, itemized coded bills, any sale price to a factoring company, coverage status, and the referral source before claiming those expenses (s. 768.0427(3)) |
What happened to high-volume insurance defense after HB 837?
High-volume insurance defense took the hardest hit when HB 837 ended one-way attorney's fees in most suits against insurers. That fee exposure was what made small claims worth litigating.
Defense firms built on PIP and glass volume lost the economics that justified their headcount. In our conversations with defense firms, carriers tightened panel rosters and tried more borderline claims they once settled. Through 2024 and into 2025 we saw practice groups shrink and panel rates compress. In a few cases whole teams moved to commercial work or left the state.
Which insurance defense practices are still hiring in Florida?
In our Florida searches, demand for commercial general liability, trucking and transportation defense, construction defect, catastrophe response, large-loss property and product liability work held steady or rose through 2024 and 2025. HB 837's repeal of one-way fees mattered most on small-dollar claims, like a $4,000 glass claim. The comparative fault, medical evidence and bad faith changes apply to a $30 million trucking case too, but the fee repeal is what cut the high-volume work.
Florida hiring in 2026 follows that same split. Firms with established complex-casualty and large-loss groups are hiring at every level. Firms still tied to high-volume work aren't hiring, or they're losing ground to their own attrition.
How should Florida firms price insurance defense searches in 2026?
Florida firms pricing a 2026 search for complex work can't rely on the pre-reform band. A senior commercial casualty defense lawyer in Tampa isn't in the 2022 market anymore, and neither is one in Orlando or Miami. A range that was fair then looks light for the lawyers a firm wants now. The door into Florida for lawyers from regional or Southeast practices opened wider, because firms losing senior partners to retirement or out-of-state moves aren't always replacing them at the same level.
Before a Florida search opens, the firm needs to say which side of the split the role serves. The comp band and candidate pool follow from that answer, and so does the pitch. Most intake calls still describe the practice the firm had in 2022, and a search scoped off that description stalls at week six.
What should insurance defense attorneys ask before a move in Florida?
Attorneys weighing a move inside Florida insurance defense need to ask which side of the split the destination sits on. A firm with a strong commercial casualty group in 2026 looks nothing like its 2022 profile, and some volume-practice firms went the other way. Pay and hours differ across the divide, and so does the trial track. The firm name alone won't tell you which one you're walking into.
Before accepting, ask what share of the group's billings last year came from lines HB 837 touched. The answer tells you whether you're joining the side of the market that's hiring or the side that's shrinking. This is general information, not legal advice. Deadlines depend on the claim, so check with a Florida attorney.
Common Questions
What are the main provisions of Florida HB 837?
What is the statute of limitations for negligence in Florida after HB 837?
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