Tampa Bay Times: Insurers rose to occasion

July 22nd, 2019|Opinion Pieces|

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 [...]

FPCA Op Ed: AOB and one-way attorney fees

April 9th, 2019|Opinion Pieces|

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 [...]

Wednesday’s letters: Don’t fall prey to “assignment of benefits” abuse

February 27th, 2019|Opinion Pieces|

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. [...]

Barry Gilway: Solid Citizens data supports push for reform

February 5th, 2019|Opinion Pieces|

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: ‘Assignment of Benefit’ numbers don’t lie

January 29th, 2019|Opinion Pieces|

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 [...]

Miami Herald: Florida’s hurricane insurers are on strong financial footing

June 28th, 2018|Opinion Pieces|

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 [...]

Palm Beach Post: AOB lawsuit-for-profit scheme can’t be ignored

March 12th, 2018|Daily News, Opinion Pieces|

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 [...]

Sun-Sentinel: Florida homeowners need break from assignment-of-benefits lawsuits

November 2nd, 2017|Opinion Pieces|

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 [...]

FPCA Op Ed: Managed Repair Programs

July 24th, 2017|Opinion Pieces|

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 [...]

Tampa Bay Times Editorial: Lawmakers ignore insurance mess

May 26th, 2017|Opinion Pieces|

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 [...]