The following letter was published in the Tampa Bay Times on July 21, 2019: The news story and the subsequent editorial regarding insurance companies’ handling of Hurricane Michael and other catastrophic storms contained several one-sided assertions. That’s not surprising when both pieces failed to include comment from even one insurance company, association or advocacy [...]
Governor DeSantis, CFO Patronis, Citizens Insurance and numerous nonprofit consumer and business groups have all sounded the alarm on the boom in water claim lawsuits filed by a small group of law firms. Sadly, after many years without reforms, it is homeowners who are being forced to pay higher and higher insurance rates necessary to [...]
My wife and I fell prey to what we believe was “assignment of benefits” (AOB) abuse. After signing what we thought was a contract to repair our kitchen sink leak, we quickly ended up in a legal battle that took well more than a year to resolve. Since AOB is a binding contract, we lost. [...]
Over the past several years, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation has worked with Florida regulators, legislators and other stakeholders to address rising premiums brought on by increased litigation and claims abuse. A recent opinion piece, “Stephen Rowe: Floridians need all the facts before AOB reform can begin,” fails to acknowledge those efforts and the mountains of [...]
Sun-Sentinel Columnist Randy Schultz’s column on the Assignment of Benefits (AOB) property insurance crisis shined a light on the need for a solution to the rampant fraud and lawsuit abuse occurring in our state. But it showed a lack of understanding on how insurance works. The author also implied that the numbers produced by Florida [...]
We appreciate the Herald’s efforts to educate its readers on the financial health of the state’s home insurers (“Now is the time to evaluate your hurricane insurance. It isn't as simple as you think,” June 18). However, the story is based on a press release by Weiss Ratings, an organization that markets high-priced investment newsletters [...]
Another year with home insurance rate increases and no real action by the Florida Senate regarding assignment of benefits (AOB) reform. Despite overwhelming evidence of rising water claims and lawsuit-for-profit schemes, the Florida Senate continues to ignore the real insurance problem and refuses to properly fix this ongoing, devastating issue. There is no denying these [...]
The following is an opinion piece authored by Harold Kim, executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber Institute for Legal Reform. Florida consumers are used to paying higher insurance premiums in the wake of devastating hurricanes. But an entirely preventable, human-driven phenomenon is now driving rates even higher: Assignment-of-benefits (AOB) claims, in which home-improvement contractors and [...]
Dear Editor: Public adjusters want Florida’s homeowners to believe that any and all managed repair programs to handle restoration and repairs in the event of a covered claim result in claims being unfairly adjusted. They paint insurance companies as strangers to their customers yet expect those same homeowners to trust them — public adjusters - even as they [...]
Florida's badly broken system for filing and settling insurance claims, which is wreaking havoc in the property insurance market, is creeping into auto policies with Tampa Bay at ground zero. Assignment of benefits, which can lead to costly court battles, is driving up rates for thousands of homeowners across Florida, and drivers are starting to [...]