"It's been seven years of hard work, but today's passage of assignment of benefits reform legislation in Florida is a major victory for consumers." Liz Reynolds, regional vice president of the Southeast for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, said in a statement. (Photo: Shutterstock)

The Florida Senate approved an overhaul of the insurance practice known as assignment of benefits, or AOB, and Gov. Ron DeSantis issued a statement saying he will sign it. AOB has been a highly controversial issue in recent years, with insurers arguing that litigation and fraud involving the practice are driving up property insurance premiums.

The bill, as written, is expected to keep consumers in control of their insurance policies and, over time, reduce insurers' costs for inflated claims and litigation that must be passed along to consumers. Changes to one-way attorney fees should eliminate incentives for filing costly lawsuits. Other provisions add protections for consumers, including allowing policyholders the right to rescind an AOB without penalties and requiring written estimates for work.

"The exponential growth in AOB abuse has contributed to mounting insurance costs for Floridians for far too long," said Gov. DeSantis in a statement. "In recent years, there have been calls for reform and today, the Legislature took action. I thank them for their efforts in getting this done and I look forward to signing this meaningful legislation into law."