Consumer Advocates Urge Florida to Eliminate Unfair Forced Arbitration System in Insurance

In a letter to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the Consumer Federation of America joined numerous other consumer advocates, urging them to take action to reform Florida's Citizens Property Insurance Company's (Citizens) forced arbitration system that strips away due process and traps policyholders in a legal system that overwhelmingly favors the insurance company.

Florida's 840,000 policyholders participating in Citizens, the state-backed insurance company of last resort, are subject to a process where the insurer wins more than 90% of cases, policyholders unfairly risk paying the insurer's attorney fees, and settlements often amount to less than $500.

The letter urges Florida to recommend legislative changes to remove forced arbitration for Citizens policyholders, and order the Citizens' Inspector General to conduct an independent investigation of the Florida Division of Administration Hearings's arbitration fairness and conflicts of interest among judges, and publicly release a report.