Public Adjusters Now Have More Negotiating Power!
On August 22nd, 2018 The Third District affirmed the contingency fee multiplier is back!
In a recent property insurance coverage dispute, Citizens Property Ins. Corp. v. Agosta, 43 Fla.L.Weekly, D1934b (Fla. 3d DCA 2018), the trial court awarded the insured’s counsel a contingency fee multiplier of two times the amount of reasonable attorney’s fees. The insurer appealed. The Third District affirmed the contingency fee multiplier.
This is a huge win for the Florida Policyholder’s. Attorney’s can again get a fee multiplier when winning a lawsuit against an Insurance Company. The contingency fee multiplier is a potential incentive for taking a case on contingency, such as an insurance coverage dispute, where the insured sues his/her/its insurer on a contingency fee basis. Insurance companies may think twice about not settling claims in good faith by providing fair settlements to their policyholders who suffered losses.
The contingency fee multiplier helps Florida insured to secure competent counsel again when there is an alleged act of “Bad Faith” by an insurance carrier. Florida Attorney’s now how more incentive to take on cases and incur the cost of litigation.
In our opinion the result of the Third District affirming the contingency fee multiplier is more policyholders will get competent legal counsel and insurance companies will think twice about acting in bad faith and not fairly negotiating and settling claims for the proper amount in a timely fashion as required within Florida Statutes.
This will now allow a Florida Public Insurance Adjuster to reach fair settlements in a timely fashion with insurance companies. Insurance companies will fear having a suit filed against them because they will now potentially pay higher contingency fees when the lose in court.
Experienced Public Adjusters is ready to advocate for all policyholders. Contact Us Today! (407) 227-1963
Written by David Dwyer. If you want to contact him directly you can email him at dwyer@experiencedpublicadjusters.com