Florida 2010 Sinkhole Report Findings Published---Where's the Fraud?
Sinkholes are a problem in Florida. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation conducted a data call study from insurers regarding the insurance issues created by this peril. One significant finding was the extremely low reported cases of fraud. Here is what the report said on that issue:
From 2006 through 2010, only 203 claims were reported to the Department of Financial Services Division of Insurance Fraud—less than 1% of the total claims reported. The number of alleged fraudulent claims peaked at just over 2% of the total claims reported in 2007.
I have known and worked with, and against, many fine lobbyists who are highly ethical and honest. The majority fall into that category. However, for years I have had to listen to some insurance lobbyists lie about the amount of fraud involved with sinkhole claims. They took a lesson from the McCarthy era tactics and simply made up information and presented it to legislators as the truth, even though they had no factual basis. Any fraud is wrong. Lobbyists who present false information as fact to influence legislation in their clients’ favor are, in my opinion, committing the same kind of fraud that they often wrongly accuse insurance customers of. Our regulators and legislators should remember this study every time an insurance industry lobbyist is spinning information concerning insurance claims.
How about a song acknowledging what everybody should think of when insurance industry lobbyists speak about insurance claims:
I love this post, Chip. Very well stated.
Nancy,
Thanks for the kind words.
I think one of the biggest problems in our society is that many of our leaders, in the media or in politics, use reason rather than "spin" to justify public policy. It is almost as if we are a country of propagandists rather than reasoned adults.
I think Keith Richards would have made a good public adjuster.
Chip, listening to this song was so inspiring that I "dug out" my "Let it Bleed" Stones CD. I'm going to listen to it in my car tomorrow and many days thereafter....
SHIRLEY HEFLIN
A shining example of a "frivolous" sinkhole claim
The January 2009 Engineering Report filed for a Spring Hill home states: "The distress to this residence consists of minor cracking of a cosmetic, not structural, nature. While there are several potential causes, including what appears to be a substandard foundation system, a surface layer of very loose soil, normal aging and deterioration of building materials, and previous landscaping or earthwork activities, subsurface conditions are such that sinkhole activity could be occuring. This home collapsed into a 15 foot sinkhole in May 2009.