Florida law should reflect public policy that Citizens Property Insurance Corporation is the insurer of last resort. Currently, Citizens is merely the insurance agent’s insurer of last resort. I propose legislation be enacted that makes a clearinghouse for admitted insurers to take policies before they get into Citizens and before Citizens renews any policy.… Continue Reading
John Rollins doesn’t understand public service; at least that’s what he implied at the last Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (CPIC) Board workshop – the same workshop that was supposed to address the rationale behind firing the entire staff of Citizens’ Office of Corporate Integrity.… Continue Reading
Reasons listed in the average Citizens Property Insurance denial letter have been getting more ridiculous, the policies are slashing coverage, and rates for most of Citizens’ 1.4 million customers are soaring. These issues alone are enough for Floridians to lose confidence in this state-created not-for-profit, tax exempt governmental entity, but there is even more outrageous … Continue Reading
Over the course of the last several months, insurance lobbyists have worked closely with state-run Citizens Property Insurance on a deal that would effectively subsidize the profits of a handful of large private carriers. If you’ve been paying close attention to the local and state section of your newspaper, you may have seen the story … Continue Reading
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation by definition is a “state-created, not-for-profit, tax exempt governmental entity whose public purpose is to provide property insurance coverage to those unable to find affordable coverage in the voluntary admitted market”. While touted as entity that was formed to help Floridians, Citizens’ actions are under fire again. There has been on-going … Continue Reading
Last week, I wrote about policyholders’ rights to demand appraisal when a carrier recognizes partial coverage for a loss. Appraisal provisions generally require the parties to meet to determine whether it is possible to reach an agreement on the value of a claim. If not, the parties are required to jointly select a neutral appraiser, … Continue Reading
Sean Shaw and I often talk about those who are truly insurance advocates for Florida policyholders. Robin Westcott took over the job for Sean Shaw as Florida’s Insurance Consumer Advocate. Sean now works at Merlin Law Group, representing policyholders where the rubber meets the road rather than in politics, where politicians try to make everybody … Continue Reading
Are the Board of Directors at Citizens Property Insurance Corporation above Florida Law? Should the Attorney General investigate what is going on with Citizens? Where is Florida’s Insurance Consumer Advocate, and why isn’t she speaking up on issues regarding Citizens’ reduction of coverage and rate hikes? What happened to our Insurance Commissioner? Why hasn’t his … Continue Reading
If there is one hot topic in Florida right now, it involves Citizens Property Insurance Corporation and the actions it is taking concerning future insurance coverage for Floridians. At the Citizens Board of Directors meeting earlier this week, board members voted in favor of less insurance coverage while also approving higher deductibles. Sun-Sentinel Pulitzer Prize … Continue Reading
As many of you may have heard, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation recently and mercifully relieved interim President Tom Grady of his duties after a tumultuous two month stint, and hired a new leader – Barry Gilway.… Continue Reading
Today Citizens Property Insurance Corporation named Barry J. Gilway as its new President and CEO. Most recently he held the same positions with a Seattle based private insurance company, Mattei Insurance Services. Gilway comes into this position at a very interesting and critical time. As I wrote recently, Citizens has been discussing hiking rates well … Continue Reading
Hot topics my colleagues have written about on the blog this week include Citizens Property Insurance Corporation and hurricanes. The state-run insurer and the potential impact of hurricane damage are two important topics for Floridians. It was not too long ago when Citizens advised an insured that claim payment would not be forth coming and … Continue Reading
It seems like Citizens Property Insurance Corporation has been in the news an awful lot lately. We’re used to hearing about proposed changes to the state-run insurer during the legislature’s annual session and occasionally during rate hearings, but there have been indications over the last few months that raise the danger of sweeping anti-consumer changes … Continue Reading
Last week, Sean Shaw wrote about the public meeting Citizens held to discuss the issue of lessening its exposure. Unfortunately, many speakers – most of which were representatives of private insurance companies – opined that there is only one solution: raising premiums. While the decision has not yet been made, it seems clear that Citizens … Continue Reading
Earlier this month, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s appointed Board of Governors met in a Tampa Marriott conference room to debate the merits of an ambitious plan to wrest control of key premium-setting policies from their traditional architects – the elected legislature. Among several other provisions, the board discussed a plan to remove the 10% rate … Continue Reading
If you’ve been paying attention to the news cycle the past few days, you’ve probably heard a familiar story – Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, your state-run insurer of last resort, is trying to raise rates on Florida policyholders. Given Citizens’ record the past few years, this revelation is by itself hardly newsworthy. This time was … Continue Reading
In Tallahassee, nothing is for certain until it is signed by the Governor. Sometimes, even when a bill’s passage looks like a near certainty, something happens behind the scenes to put on the brakes.… Continue Reading
Folk singer Kevin Roth, thinks now is the time for Floridians to do something about the state run property insurance corporation and has put his thoughts to music. Roth was inspired to write his song about Citizens after he received a notice from Citizens indicating his coverage would now exclude his screened-porch and carport. Roth … Continue Reading
As noted in my previous legislative update, the Florida Legislature continues to move quickly on several relevant insurance bills. Today marks the midway point in the 2012 legislative session, and we’ve seen a lot of activity on insurance related bills in recent days. Many of the most egregiously anti-consumer bills have steadily move their way through … Continue Reading
Recently, a great deal has been written regarding Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s replacement cost value (RCV) calculation methodology. It seems that, in some cases, Citizens is grossly overestimating the cost to replace a home following a disaster. Consumer advocates decry this practice as nothing more than a backdoor rate increase following the denial of Citizens’ … Continue Reading
The Sheldon family suffered a fire loss to their home in St. Petersburg, Florida, in January, 2011. While their homeowner’s insurance company, Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, has admitted this the loss is covered under the policy, Citizens has failed to properly pay the claim. As a result, this Bay area family will be displaced from … Continue Reading
It’s no secret that Citizens Property Insurance Corporation routinely treats policyholders like numbers on a page. Despite its title as the state’s largest property insurer, Citizens consistently gets the most complaints from policyholders, earning a reputation as the worst property insurance company in the state — and in a state like Florida, that’s really saying … Continue Reading
Tallahassee is buzzing – if you listen closely, you can hear it. As October winds to a close, the traffic on Interstate 10 is picking up, as is the mid-week crowd at Clyde’s & Costello’s. There’s only one thing that could mean – the 2012 legislative session is right around the corner.… Continue Reading
Floridians won a great victory on Tuesday. Against the wishes of powerful legislators in Tallahassee and the exceptionally influential insurance lobby, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty struck down most of Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s proposed 447% sinkhole insurance rate hikes.… Continue Reading