Why the first number is rarely the real number
Insurance adjusters routinely open negotiations with a conservative figure, expecting a counteroffer. Accepting that first offer typically closes the claim permanently — there's generally no going back to ask for more later, even if additional injuries or costs surface afterward.
A 2023 law raised the bar for bad faith
Florida's approach to insurer bad faith changed meaningfully under House Bill 837, which amended Fla. Stat. § 624.155, the state's Civil Remedy statute, to state explicitly that mere negligence by an insurer is insufficient to constitute bad faith — a genuine shift that makes a straightforward claims-handling mistake, on its own, less likely to support a bad faith finding than it may have before.
A new duty runs the other way too
Here's what's less commonly discussed: HB 837 also imposes a duty of good faith on the claimant's side — on insureds, claimants, and their representatives, in how they provide information to an insurer, make demands, set deadlines, and negotiate a settlement. This is a genuinely two-way change, not simply a win for insurers.
One-way attorney fee shifting against insurers is gone
Before 2023, Florida had long-standing statutes that let a policyholder who won an insurance coverage dispute recover their own attorney's fees from the insurer — a real financial incentive for insurers to handle claims fairly, since losing a fight meant paying both sides' legal bills. HB 837 repealed this one-way fee-shifting framework for most insurance cases, removing a lever that previously pushed insurers toward fairer claims handling.
What this means practically
Together, these changes shift Florida's negotiating landscape in a real way: insurers face a somewhat higher bar before bad faith liability attaches, and no longer risk paying the claimant's attorney's fees in most coverage disputes. That makes a documented, well-supported claim — one built on clear evidence of your actual damages — more important than ever in Florida, since the legal pressure that previously nudged insurers toward quick, fair resolutions has genuinely eased.