Although I have a few other things going on (www.shawforflorida.com) I was able to watch most of the Homeowners’ Policy & Claims Bill of Rights Working Group sessions that were televised yesterday and today. As Ms. Westscott’s predecessor in the Office of the Insurance Consumer Advocate, I was very interested in how this workgroup would play out. I have personal knowledge of how hard it is to pull something like this off. The politics of the invite list, the give and take regarding the agenda, and the task of moderating the discussion can be difficult to manage.

I am pleased to report that Ms. Westcott did an excellent job of keeping the interests of the consumer in the forefront of the discussion. Although I believe the invite list was a bit light on consumer representation, the workgroup was a success. The discussion was civil, candid, and informative. I am particularly proud of Merlin Law Group attorney Nicole Vinson who was an active member of this workgroup. While it remains to be seen what work product will come from this workgroup, given the last two days I am confident that the insurance consumers of Florida have something to look forward to with anticipation…not dread.

If you have an idea or comment regarding an item to be addressed by the workgroup, or simply want more info on its purpose, contact Nicole Vinson. To visit the website for the Homeowners’ Policy & Claims Bill of Rights Working Group, click here. We can only hope that the 2013 Legislative Session will contain some of the good ideas that came up during the workgroup discussion.

Below are links to the Working Group sessions:

http://thefloridachannel.org/video/71713-homeowners-policy-claims-bill-of-rights-working-group/

 

http://thefloridachannel.org/video/71813-homeowners-policy-claims-bill-of-rights-working-group/

P.S. I have to give a special shout out to the staff at the insurance consumer advocate’s office whom I am sure put in a lot of hard work to help make this event a success…go Vicki!