One investigative journalist, Brianna Sacks, of the Washington Put up, has uncovered and uncovered extra corruption by Florida insurance coverage firms than all of the state paid for insurance coverage investigators and regulators whose job it’s to guard Floridians from such conduct. The article, Insurers Slashed Hurricane Ian Payouts Far Beneath Harm Estimates, Paperwork and Insiders Reveal, could trigger many to say, “have a look at all of the claims corruption Florida insurance coverage firms. That is outrageous!” The unhappy query raised by the article is:
Why are Florida’s Governor Ron DeSantis and Republican politicians behind and supporting each regulation desired and written by these corrupt insurance coverage firms ripping off Floridians?
The article particularly famous that Florida Republican politicians are doing nothing after getting the stunning details about insurance coverage firms committing fraud in opposition to their very own clients:
Asking lawmakers to take motion
Over the previous 12 months, Florida Republicans referred to as two particular legislative periods centered on the state’s insurance coverage trade and handed extra legal guidelines that additional defend and insulate property insurance coverage carriers, largely on the expense of house owners. Two main trade wins embody funneling $1 billion in taxpayer cash right into a reinsurance fund and stopping carriers from having to pay policyholders’ attorneys’ charges after they sue.
On the December session, Lee, Mandell, Vinson and different adjusters joined residents in talking out in opposition to the laws. Their testimony was coated by Insurance coverage Journal.
After Mandell accused insurance coverage carriers of fraudulent conduct that’s ‘extra widespread than any of us may have imagined,’ state Rep. Bob Rommel (R), the chair of the Commerce Committee, requested the group of adjusters to come back to his workplace later with that data ‘to verify the legal professional common and [Office of Insurance Regulation] takes care of that.’
They did. And in line with 4 folks current, Rommel requested to see proof and instructed the group, ‘If that is actually taking place, this must be taken care of,’ Lee recalled. Vinson had introduced a flash drive with dozens of information to indicate, however the consultant stated it was not protected for a authorities laptop.
The subsequent day, Dec. 14, Mandell emailed Rommel’s workplace with the proof the lawmaker requested, together with a file of 4 paperwork displaying how his estimate of $40,468.54 of harm was revised to indicate $2,658. ‘You’ll word that they left my title on this bogus estimate,’ the adjuster wrote within the electronic mail, obtained by The Washington Put up.
In an electronic mail, Rommel instructed The Put up that the adjusters got here to his workplace with ‘no proof. Informed them the door was open if they might produce the proof.’ After a number of emails from The Put up, Rommel’s workplace stated that it had forwarded the adjuster’s electronic mail to the state’s chief monetary officer, Jimmy Patronis, and that Patronis’s workplace will contact Mandell.
‘We have now requested the CFO’s workplace to maintain us within the loop,’ a spokesperson for Rommel stated. The CFO’s workplace stated in a press release that it has obtained the data from Rommel, met with the property homeowners from the report and that ‘an investigation is at the moment open and ongoing.’
In fact, nothing was performed.
This isn’t a brand new drawback that the Washington Put up uncovered. I’ve famous many situations of those corrupt claims practices, comparable to in Why Are Property Insurance coverage Claims Being Underpaid and Unbiased Disaster Adjusters Leaving the Subject?, and Do Unbiased Property Claims Adjusters Want Extra Authorized Safety From Unethical Managers. So, why isn’t one thing being performed to cease it?
Florida’s insurance coverage trade apparently controls Florida’s Republican management. Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, dictates what the Republican management is to do. He has and is at the moment supporting insurance coverage firms and new legal guidelines that take away protections for abnormal people who’re abused by the wrongful claims practices of their insurance coverage firm.
To me, it is a unhappy state of affairs. For readers not acquainted with my politics, I’m a registered Republican and was a member of the Republican Governor’s Affiliation. Holding wrongdoers accountable for his or her illegal actions and abuse is a core conservative worth that appears to be forgotten on the subject of the acute quantities of lobbying cash which will be raised by the insurance coverage trade. Florida Republican management is misplaced and misguided on these points involving insurance coverage firm misconduct. Nothing is being performed to cease the abuse as a result of Florida’s Republican leaders are on the flawed facet. They’re supporting legal guidelines making it simpler and extra worthwhile for insurance coverage firms to do that.
I will likely be on the Win The Storm convention this week. One of many panels I will likely be on options Republican Florida Lawyer Common Ashley Moody. I’m sure that the subject of prosecuting insurance coverage firm claims managers and corporations for one of these conduct will likely be raised. Hope to see you there. We will study what her ideas are about this abuse and what she intends to do about it.
Thought For The Day
Journalism is the safety between folks and any type of totalitarian rule. That’s why my hero, admittedly a flawed one, is a journalist.
—Andrew Vachss
