Property insurance market crisis looms over Florida

Fees lawyers are allowed to collect when filing insurance claims are helping push an already precarious property insurance system in Florida to the brink, causing rates to skyrocket and leaving the state one big storm away from total catastrophe.

That’s the opinion of insurance agents, some state officials, homeowner associations and lobbyists who want the state legislature to act — now. They say if the state can cap fees or implement a fee schedule, it will begin to bring back carriers who have left, taking pressure off of the state’s insurance company, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., helping bring down rates and, most importantly, strengthening the entire system.