When the Insurer Picks the Judge: The New Reality for Florida Property Owners
When the Rules Change Overnight Most Floridians know insurance is complicated. What many don’t realize is that the rules for fighting your insurance company can change — and sometimes, not in your favor. Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, the state-backed “insurer of last resort,” now has the power to move disputes out of circuit courts and into a special arbitration system before the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH). On the surface, this shift is supposed to make things faster and cheaper. In reality, Citizens is winning more than 90% of these cases — a staggering difference from the just-over-50% success rate it sees in traditional courts. Whether you own a single home or manage multiple commercial properties, this change matters.
