Florida Legislature Advances AOB Prohibition for Auto-Glass Claims

In the first weeks of April 2023, Florida's SB 1002 continued moving through the legislative process, drawing both strong support from insurers and fierce opposition from independent glass shops that relied on Assignment of Benefits agreements to manage claims on behalf of policyholders.

Robert

Founder & Publisher

Florida Senate Bill 1002 became a consequential business-policy development for auto-glass shops in April 2023. The bill, sponsored by Senator Linda Stewart (D-Orlando) and Representative Griff Griffitts (R-Panama City Beach), moved toward passage while drawing intense lobbying from multiple sides of the industry.

National Insurance Crime Bureau data released after the bill's passage showed that auto-glass lawsuits in Florida had increased by almost 4,000 percent from 2011 to 2021. Florida was also the leading state for auto-glass claims in 2020, with nearly half a million claims filed. NICB classified Florida and Arizona as the source of 74 percent of all questionable auto-glass claims filed nationally.

Assignment of Benefits agreements — under which a policyholder signs over their right to collect an insurance payment directly to the repair shop — had been used by many Florida glass shops as a tool for managing claims and avoiding payment disputes. Critics, including the NICB and major insurers, argued that AOB agreements enabled fraudulent actors to file inflated or fabricated claims without meaningful policyholder oversight.

Independent shops and the Florida Independent Glass Association countered that AOB was a legitimate business tool that allowed shops to secure payment for legitimate work, particularly when insurers delayed or disputed claims. One shop owner involved in the debate argued that eliminating AOB would leave small operators financially vulnerable to slow-paying insurers and reduce their ability to advocate for full-payment claims.

The bill also contained provisions affecting the zero-deductible status of glass claims — a Florida-specific insurance structure under which policyholders were not required to pay a deductible on glass claims, effectively removing a cost barrier that had contributed to high claim volumes.

The debate drew on underlying tensions between consumer protection — shielding policyholders from predatory steering by unscrupulous shops — and small-business protection — ensuring that legitimate independent operators had tools to secure fair compensation. Both concerns were real, and both shaped the final legislative outcome.

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