Florida Pre-Settlement Funding After HB 837 (2026)

What This Guide Covers

Florida signed HB 837 into law on March 24, 2023, enacting the most significant tort-reform package in the state's modern history. The reform reshaped statute of limitations, comparative fault, bad-faith standards, medical-damages evidence, and premises-liability defenses. For personal-injury plaintiffs and the funders who underwrite their cases, the reform materially changed the case-value landscape in the country's third-largest litigation market. This guide walks through what HB 837 actually did, what has and has not been litigated in the two years since, and how the current framework affects pre-settlement funding decisions.

This is a plain-English explainer, not legal advice. HB 837 continues to generate appellate litigation; verify the current state of specific provisions with your Florida attorney.

Is Pre-Settlement Funding Legal in Florida?

Yes. Florida has no dedicated funding statute. Non-recourse pre-settlement advances are enforceable under general contract and consumer-protection law (including Florida Statute § 501.201 et seq., the Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act). Champerty is largely dormant in Florida modern practice. No Florida appellate court has invalidated a properly-drafted non-recourse consumer funding agreement in the plaintiff context. See our companion piece on the 50-state funding legality matrix for cross-state comparison.

What HB 837 Actually Did

Statute of limitations: 4 years → 2 years

Under HB 837 and codified at Fla. Stat. § 95.11(4)(a) (as amended), the statute of limitations for negligence-based personal-injury actions was reduced from 4 years to 2 years for causes of action accruing on or after March 24, 2023. This is one of the largest reforms in the package — Florida had been one of the most plaintiff-friendly statute-of-limitations states, and it is now aligned with the majority.

Practical implication for funding: cases must be filed sooner, and cases accruing before the reform (still within the 4-year window under the prior statute) are aging into their filing deadlines faster than plaintiffs expect. Funders now assume a two-year filing horizon on new cases and will not underwrite pre-suit cases past month 22 without a specific plan for filing.

Comparative fault: pure → modified 51% bar

HB 837 amended Fla. Stat. § 768.81 to change Florida from pure comparative negligence to a modified 51% bar: a plaintiff more than 50% at fault recovers nothing. This is the majority U.S. rule but was a significant change for Florida, which had allowed recovery under pure comparative for decades.

The change affects funding underwriting on contested-liability cases. Cases where the plaintiff's share of fault approaches 50% now carry a much higher risk of zero recovery than under the old rule. Underwriters look closely at police reports, witness statements, and contributory factors for cases with any liability ambiguity.

Bad-faith standards tightened

HB 837 amended Fla. Stat. § 624.155 to raise the bar for insurance bad-faith claims: negligent handling of a claim is no longer sufficient; plaintiffs must show intentional or reckless conduct. Certain cure provisions were extended, and mandatory pre-suit procedures were added.

Bad-faith settlements historically added substantial pressure on defendant insurers to settle for policy limits in serious injury cases. The reform reduces that leverage. Case values in serious-injury auto cases against under-covered defendants have adjusted downward accordingly.

Medical damages: only paid/negotiated amounts

HB 837 amended Fla. Stat. § 768.0427 to limit the medical-expenses evidence a plaintiff can present. Where medical bills have been paid or contracted through health insurance, only the amount actually paid or contracted (not the "rack rate" billed charges) is admissible. This is a significant change from prior Florida law, which allowed rack-rate evidence in many contexts.

Practical implication: soft-tissue and moderate injury cases with health insurance now recover much less in "medicals" than under the prior law. Funders underwriting Florida auto cases now build offer sizing around the paid/contracted amounts rather than billed charges.

Premises liability tightened

HB 837 amended Fla. Stat. § 768.0755 (transient foreign substance premises liability) and § 768.0710 (multifamily residential property crimes) to raise the standard for premises-liability plaintiff recovery. The reforms are technical but meaningful — they make certain premises cases more difficult to bring.

Attorney-fee provisions

HB 837 repealed prior one-way attorney-fee statutes in insurance cases that had allowed plaintiff attorneys to recover fees from insurers in first-party disputes. This is a major change for insurance litigation — the fee-shifting incentive that generated substantial first-party litigation is now gone in most contexts.

What Did Not Change

• Florida remains a no-fault state for auto injuries; PIP coverage of $10,000 is still required (Fla. Stat. § 627.736).
• The threshold to bring a tort claim against the at-fault driver remains the "permanent injury" standard.
• Medical malpractice statute of limitations remains 2 years from discovery (with an outer repose period).
• Wrongful-death actions remain governed by Fla. Stat. § 768.19 et seq.

What Has Been Litigated So Far

The two years since HB 837 have generated substantial appellate activity, including:

• Retroactivity of the statute-of-limitations reduction to causes of action accruing before the effective date (the Florida Supreme Court has weighed in);
• Application of the paid-medicals rule to specific fact patterns involving self-pay, uninsured, or partially-insured plaintiffs;
• Interaction of the modified comparative rule with the no-fault threshold analysis in auto cases;
• Practical application of the tightened bad-faith standard to specific first-party and third-party contexts.

The overall direction is consistent with the reform's intent — courts have generally upheld the reform's provisions and applied them as written. That means the case-value adjustments visible in the market are likely durable rather than temporary.

Rate Norms in Florida

Florida has no rate cap on non-recourse pre-settlement funding. Market pricing tracks the national range: 2.0%–3.5% monthly with a 2–3x hard cap on total repayment. Offer sizing has adjusted since HB 837:

• Soft-tissue auto with paid medicals: smaller advances than pre-reform, reflecting the paid-medicals rule.
• Auto with clear serious-injury threshold: comparable to pre-reform.
• Premises liability: more conservative underwriting reflecting tightened standards.
• Insurance bad-faith cases: more conservative reflecting the higher standard.
• Medical malpractice: comparable to pre-reform.

For underwriting principles across the funding landscape, see our companion piece on how funding works. For state-by-state coverage effects on case value, see the 50-state insurance matrix. For a state-guide comparison see Pennsylvania and California. Attorney process at our attorney resources.

Medical Liens in Florida

Florida operates a county-based hospital-lien framework under Fla. Stat. § 713.60 with county-specific ordinances. Health-insurance subrogation is governed by contract and general law. Medicare's MSP applies uniformly under federal law. See our companion pieces on the funding and medical liens framework for the full lien-side landscape.

The Bottom Line

Florida's HB 837 was the most significant tort-reform package in the state in a generation, and its effects are now visible across the personal-injury market: shorter statute, tighter comparative rule, lower medical damages in insured cases, and reduced bad-faith leverage. Pre-settlement funding remains legal and functional; offer sizing has adjusted to reflect the current case-value landscape. Plaintiffs whose cases sit within the standard Florida framework and who need working capital during the wait have a functional market to draw on — with underwriting that reflects the state's current rules rather than pre-reform expectations.

If your case is in Florida and you would like an offer that reflects the actual applicable rules, apply for a pre-settlement advance. Decisions typically come back within 24 hours of your attorney providing the file.