Every month, a new batch of Americans pack a moving truck and leave any one of a number of expensive states behind for lower taxes, more freedom, and a government that gets out of the way here in Florida.
They come here because Florida has built a reputation as a place where hard work still pays off. Years ago, that reputation was quietly being eaten away, not by taxes, but by a courtroom culture that had made this state one of the most litigious in the country, and every Floridian was paying for it. But that changed back in 2023.
For years, Florida was ground zero for lawsuit abuse.
Ambulance-chasing ads promised big payouts, questionable claims flooded the courts, and a whole industry grew up around suing insurance companies rather than settling honest disputes. None of that showed up as a line item on anyone’s bill, but it drove premiums higher for every policyholder in the state, whether they had ever filed a claim or not. In 2023, the Legislature finally listened to the everyday people footing that bill and passed a reform package targeting the worst abuses in the auto and home insurance markets.
That was real progress, but it is potentially already under threat. There is real talk in Tallahassee of weakening or repealing pieces of the 2023 package. That would be really poor form at a time when inflation is eating into paychecks, the cost of living keeps climbing, and modest savings felt in one place are still rising elsewhere.
If lawmakers are serious about protecting the progress Florida has made, they should be looking at the next round of reform, not defending the last one from repeal.
A reasonable cap on medical malpractice awards would go a long way toward reining in the rising cost of medical and dental insurance for both businesses and everyday consumers. Greater limits on third-party litigation financing, the practice of outside investors bankrolling lawsuits they have no personal stake in, purely for a cut of the settlement, would take direct aim at one of the biggest drivers of inflated and drawn-out litigation in this state.
Nobody serious about this issue is suggesting that Floridians should lose access to the courts, and no one is arguing that legitimate injuries should go uncompensated. What we are saying is that a legal system built to reward litigation over resolution does not serve consumers; it serves the lawyers and financiers who profit from it, at everyone else’s expense. The 2023 reforms proved that when lawmakers are willing to stand up to that pressure, real relief follows. Florida’s families and small businesses are counting on the Legislature to keep that momentum going, not to let it slip away.