Florida state insurance law has led to increased insurance rates for consumers with little or no benefit to them. The current Assignment of Benefits (AOB) rules have resulted in an extremely unlevel playing field involving on one side contractors and lawyers, and on the other side consumers and insurance companies. This has resulted in consumers […]
insurance
Florida’s Assignment of Benefits Insurance Swindle
The Assignment of Benefits (AOB) fraud and abuse has affected hundreds of thousands of Floridians. In the first three quarters of 2018, there were 135,000 AOB cases. Homeowners are dragged into the swindle when they assign to a restoration contractor the right to have their insurance company pay for repairing damage to their home. The […]
THE HILL: National Flood Insurance Program Needs Long-Term Reauthorization to Address Key Challenges
As the House Financial Services Committee Meets this week to discuss reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), there is a lot at stake. The NFIP, on which 5 million Americans depend for protection from flooding, began with the best of intentions — reducing the burden on federal taxpayers stemming from flood relief while providing […]
The Hill: Shutdown Should Focus Attention on Common-Sense Flood Insurance Reform
As the partial federal government shutdown drags on, numerous agencies have closed shop or are operating with a skeleton crew. That includes the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), the government-run insurer intended to help Americans recover from floods. With more than 5.1 million policies providing over $1.3 trillion in coverage, the NFIP is by far […]
Daily Caller: Insurance Scam Causes Skyrocketing Insurance Rates For Florida Home Owners
Even before hurricanes hit Florida over the last two years, residents were seeing their homeowner’s insurance rates increase sharply for more than a decade year after year. The culprit for these increases surrounds scams by crooked contractors assisted by a cabal of trial attorneys. You can read this op-ed by visiting the Daily Caller.
Personal Stories Highlight Need for AOB Reform in Florida
Assignment of benefits (AOB) abuse is rampant in Florida, enriching shady contractors and unscrupulous attorneys while driving up home insurance premiums for consumers across the state. An AOB allows an insurance policyholder to transfer the rights to insurance benefits to a third party, such as a contractor, to speed up the billing process. The contractor […]
Fort Meyers News Press: Home insurance provision driving up rates
In the aftermath of Hurricane Michael’s destruction, Florida’s home insurance costs will soon be reaching an all-time high, but not primarily due to violent storms or exceptional levels of flooding. It’s being driven by the abuse of a Florida insurance provision called “Assignment of Benefits” or AOB. This entire article is available at the Fort […]
Wildfires and Insurance
In 2017, wildfires accounted for most of California’s $16 billion in home and farm fire losses. In October and December of 2017, 32,000 homes, 4,300 businesses, and more than 8,200 vehicles were destroyed and many people were dislocated from their neighborhoods and employment. By the end of August 2018, $845 million in insurance claims had already been […]
Coalition Sends Letter to Congress Supporting the GRATER Act
A coalition of national nonprofit organizations sent a letter to Congress in support of the GRATER Act. This legislation directs federal agencies to establish policies that, to the maximum extent practical, transfer operational and catastrophic insurance risk from the federal government to the private sector. The result will benefit both American consumers and taxpayers. The […]
Florida: Assignment of Benefit Litigation Has Run Amok
In Florida, non-catastrophic damages such as water leakage during a rain storm can be insured. When a homeowner faces insured damages, he or she will call a contractor to mitigate further damage and repair the original damage. The homeowner is usually offered an assignment of benefits (AOB) form that appoints the contractor to fix the […]