CCL told a federal court in Florida that the State's motion to dismiss a challenge to a 2021 law that prohibits contractors to advertise that they provide insurers with everything they need when a homeowner needs a roofing repair or replacement lacks merit. The case, RAF v. Griffin, in the Northern District of Florida, seeks to invalidate a variety of provisions in the new law that the State claims is needed to prevent insurance fraud.

      The State argued that the complaint alleged insufficient information for a facial challenge and, in many respects, had misinterpreted what the law permits and forbids. However, in its response, CCL showed that the State's Consumer Insurance Advocate, who the State proffered as an expert, interpreted the law the same way in defending the statute. The case is deep into the discovery process, even as the State seeks its dismissal. 

       In alleging widespread insurance fraud, the State told the Legislature that approximately ten percent of insurance claims are fraudulent, though it cited no source for that estimate. Even if taken at face value, CCL's brief said that the State's claims provided no justification for restricting advertising that does not seek to induce fraud but to win over customers worried about whether the insurance claims they legitimately have will be paid on a timely basis. It is particularly ironic that Florida seeks to prevent insurance claiming by homeowners who pay some of the highest premiums in the nation at the same time that Florida was hit by Hurricane Ian and suffered widespread devastation. Florida is especially vulnerable to extreme weather due to being surrounded on three sides by water.