Under Florida law, an insured can recover bad faith damages from an insurer when the insurer fails to settle an underlying claim against the insured. In doing so, the insured must show that the insurer’s conduct caused the loss. The causation element for a bad faith claim is that there is an excess judgment, which gives the court jurisdiction to hear the claim.

In McNamara v. Government Employees Insurance, No. 20-13251 (11th Cir. 2021), the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit reversed a district court decision dismissing a bad faith claim because the claim was based on a consent judgment and not a “final judgment” after a verdict.