Josie Tomkow, Insurance Reform, and a Trail Worth Following
Florida homeowners have heard the term “insurance reform” so often that it almost feels like it should have its own ZIP code.
While Josie Tomkow served in the Florida House, lawmakers repeatedly changed the rules for property-insurance claims and lawsuits. Tomkow consistently voted yes.
In 2019, she backed HB 7065, which changed how assignment-of-benefits claims work. In these cases, a homeowner signs over insurance benefits to a contractor, roofer, or another company so that company can work directly with the insurer. The new law made it harder for these companies to recover legal fees from insurers when they sued over unpaid claims.
In 2021, Tomkow voted for SB 76. This bill made it harder for homeowners to sue insurance companies and tied legal-fee recovery to how much the homeowner won compared with what the insurer had offered. In simple terms, even if a homeowner had a valid dispute, the insurance company was much less likely to have to pay legal fees.
Next came the insurance special sessions in 2022.
Tomkow supported SB 2-D, another major change to property insurance. This law shortened claim deadlines, added more steps before lawsuits, and made it even harder for policyholders or their lawyers to recover attorney fees.
Later that year, she voted for SB 2-A, which brought one of the biggest changes so far. Before this law, if a homeowner sued an insurance company and won, the insurer usually had to pay the homeowner’s reasonable attorney fees. SB 2-A took away that automatic protection in property-insurance cases.
Consider what this means for a typical homeowner.
If your insurance company denies or underpays your claim, you might need to hire a lawyer to challenge it. Even if you win, you could end up paying your lawyer out of your settlement. For many homeowners, this makes them think twice before filing a lawsuit.
In 2023, Tomkow voted yes again, this time for HB 837. This law took the same approach beyond just homeowners insurance. It removed Florida’s one-way attorney-fee protections in more types of insurance cases and, in some situations, made it harder to hold insurance companies responsible for acting in bad faith.
The term “bad faith” might sound like legal jargon, but it’s simple. If an insurance company unreasonably refuses to settle or mishandles a claim, Florida law used to let policyholders hold the company financially responsible. HB 837 made that harder.
No matter your opinion on these policies, the trend is clear. Over several sessions, Florida has made it harder and riskier for policyholders to sue insurance companies and recover legal costs if they win.
Now follow the campaign money.
A review of Tomkow’s campaign contributions shows repeated support from insurance companies and groups interested in insurance and civil-liability policy.
These supporters included property and casualty insurers like SafePoint, Heritage, Allstate, Capitol Preferred, Southern Fidelity, St. John’s, and Windhaven. The Florida Insurance Council, which represents insurance companies to lawmakers and regulators, also gave to Tomkow.
The records also show $4,000 over several election cycles from Florida justice-reform political committees focused on civil-liability issues, along with contributions from committees linked to The Southern Group, a major lobbying firm in Tallahassee.
David Altmaier is another notable name in the current campaign.
Altmaier was Florida’s Insurance Commissioner when the Legislature passed the major 2022 property-insurance changes. After leaving government, he joined The Southern Group to lead its insurance advisory practice. He later contributed to Tomkow’s campaign.
In this Senate cycle alone, records show at least $2,500 from three insurance or civil-justice groups most closely tied to this story: $1,000 from the Florida Insurance Council, $1,000 from the Committee for Florida Justice Reform, and $500 from Altmaier himself.
This does not prove that anyone bought a vote. Campaign contributions do not come with notes saying, “Thanks for HB 837.”
But voters have the right to consider all sides of the public record.
Josie Tomkow received ongoing financial support from insurance companies, insurance groups, and civil-justice reform organizations. During those years, she consistently voted for laws that made it harder for policyholders to recover legal fees and reduced the legal and financial exposure insurance companies faced in court.
Supporters of these bills argued that excessive litigation, questionable claims, and rising legal costs were helping drive insurance premiums higher, and that these reforms would bring costs down. I don’t know about the rest of you, but my homeowner’s insurance bill keeps ballooning.
Those are the facts.
What those facts mean is something voters must decide for themselves.
Sources
Florida Legislature – HB 7065 (2019), Assignment of Benefits / Property Insurance
Florida Legislature – SB 76 (2021), Property Insurance
Florida Legislature – SB 2-D (2022 Special Session), Property Insurance
Florida Legislature – SB 2-A (2022 Special Session), Property Insurance
Florida Legislature – HB 837 (2023), Civil Remedies / Insurance Litigation
Florida Division of Elections – Josie Tomkow campaign finance records, 2018–2026
Florida Insurance Council – organization and legislative advocacy information
Florida Division of Elections – Committee for Florida Justice Reform campaign finance records
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation – 2022 Legislative Summary, David Altmaier, Insurance Commissioner
The Southern Group – David Altmaier insurance advisory practice announcement
