When the loss occurred, the policyholder had the right to sign away his or her rights to recover benefits under her policy and to also recover one-way attorneys fees. After the assignment of benefits statute was amended, the homeowner no longer had the right to assign away attorneys fees. (Photo: ssguy/Shutterstock.com)
Florida's state-backed insurer Citizens Property Insurance Corp. recently secured a win at the Fourth District Court when it upheld a Palm Beach Circuit ruling against a third-party contractor who sought insurance benefits after conducting repairs for a homeowner.
It's a case that involves assignment of benefits, which transfers the insurance claims rights or benefits of an insurance policy to a third party. The issue here was that the lawsuit was filed in 2020, after Florida's assignment of benefits statute was changed in 2019 to make it harder for third parties to secure attorney fees in an effort to curb alleged fraud.
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Melea VanOstrand
Melea VanOstrand oversees the Daily Business Review as ALM's Florida Bureau Chief. Email Melea at [email protected] or follow her on her Twitter or Facebook pages.
