Insurance Commissioner Warns Gov's Office of Tort Reform Bill's 'Raised Rates,' Email Shows

TALLAHASSEE—Florida insurance commissioner Michael Yaworsky warned that a GOP-backed tort reform bill will raise rates on families and underscore the "whims of powerful interests," according to an email obtained by The Floridian.

Head of the state Office of Insurance Regulation, Yaworsky bashed HB 947 in a Thursday night email to Peter Cuderman, the legislative affairs director to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

"HB 947 threatens to dismantle the hard-won progress achieved through Florida's historic tort reform efforts in 2022 and 2023," Yaworsky wrote, lauding Florida's massive tort reform package passed to combat the state's sky-high insurance rates.

He referred to how the sweeping bill, sponsored by Republican Rep. Omar Blanco, would repeal portions of a 2023 law by creating a prevailing party standard—loser pays—for attorney’s fees in insurance lawsuits and allow more evidence in personal injury and wrongful death lawsuits.

"It resurrects the very legal incentives that made Florida an outlier in litigation and a cautionary tale where the whims of powerful interests outweigh the insurability of the public," Yaworsky added, insisting it would raise rates and "clog the courts."

Though he pointed out that reinsurance rates have declined, new insurers have entered the Florida market, and lawsuit filings are down since the 2022-2023 law, rates are still significantly higher than they were pre-pandemic.

A top Republican consultant, granted anonymity by The Floridian to speak freely, called voting for the bill "political suicide."

“If they vote for this, these state reps will be signing their own political death warrant. Insurance is one of the top issues in Florida. It’s gonna be tough for them to go back to their districts with the message, “hey, we voted to raise your insurance rates!" the source said.

Florida Politics reported that the GOP-controlled Legislature's insurance reform package in December 2022—which HB 947 targets—was praised by insurance companies and derided by Democrats, who called it a “bailout” for companies raising rates while denying claims.

The bill has been postponed twice in the House, though it's expected to be debated on the lower chamber's floor on Friday. The Senate, meanwhile, has yet to schedule its version for a committee hearing.