Lawlor, Winston, White & Murphey want to bring to your attention an important issue pending before the Florida Legislature THIS session: Attempts to do away with Insurance Bad Faith laws which make is possible for anyone with insurance to sue their own Carrier for failing to protect them!
Introducing Taxpayers Against Insurance Bad Faith (www.TAIBF.com):
From the TAIBF website:
“We are opposed to the lobbying efforts by liability insurance companies in Tallahassee, which seek to eliminate one of the only protections that taxpaying businesses have from tort lawsuits.
Every day, insurance companies sell high-premium liability coverage to their business customers with the promise that the coverage will protect the business from tort lawsuits brought by trial lawyers. By the terms of the policy, the insurance company only honors the policy so long as it has exclusive control over any settlement negotiations and the customer does not attempt to negotiate any settlement. Accordingly, when an insurance customer is faced with a business-ending lawsuit, the insurance company holds its customer’s entire future in its hands.
Unfortunately, at the same time the sued business has everything at risk, the insurance company only has the amount of the policy benefit at risk and may often times find it advantageous to gamble in court, instead of paying the liability insurance benefit to settle.
Under the current law, the only real incentive the insurance company has not to make this “heads I win; tales you lose” gamble, is the insurance company’s legal obligation to act in good faith.
This has been the law since 1938 and should continue to be the law. Attempts in Tallahassee to give insurance companies various “safe harbors,” when its taxpaying business customers get no protection at all, should be opposed by everyone. Protecting liability insurers at the expense of their business customers only increases the risk of business-ending lawsuits and discourages investment and job creation.
If you have any questions regarding Insurance Bad Faith, or the TAIBF, please contact Lawlor Winston at [email protected], or visit www.TAIBF.com.