Two recent articles, Insurers Gave Ron DeSantis Millions. He Made It Harder to Sue Them, and DeSantis’ New Insurance Law Could Make It Harder to Rebuild After Hurricane Idalia, underscore how new insurance laws, supported by deals DeSantis made with Florida’s insurance industry, will make it more difficult for common folks to force insurance companies to pay what is owed. These articles correctly noted:
Cash is the blood of any business. The owners of businesses know that without positive cash flow, their businesses could die as sure as a human will die without blood. These owners purchase insurance relying upon prompt and substantial payment of cash benefits following a catastrophe. What happens when the insurance company does not promptly pay?
Continue Reading Do Insurance Executives Have Empathy For Their Business Customers Following A Loss?
Ron DeSantis did not create the current mess of the Florida insurance industry. There are many causes and people to blame for the current mess. The question raised by a recent publication1 is whether the proper measures to correct the problems were not taken because the insurance industry has paid off Florida’s top executive.
Continue Reading Did The Insurance Industry Buy Out Florida’s Leaders?
The title of this blog post came from Corey Harris’ quip to me after he read a recent media post, Claims of Florida Insurance Companies Underpaying Policyholders Under Investigation. My hope is that Jimmy Patronis does a thorough investigation and finds what the vast majority of Hurricane Ian policyholders with significant claims already know—the insurers are not promptly and fully paying benefits owed under the policy.
Brianna Sacks of the Washington Post is already far ahead of Ron DeSantis and Jimmy Patronis when it comes to investigating and disclosing Florida’s insurance company claims corruption. After Donald Trump called out Desantis for being in bed with the “globalist” insurance industry and selling out Floridians, it was reported that DeSantis called for an investigation into these wrongful claims act violations.
The Florida Republican leadership is in bed with the insurance industry. Republican Donald Trump said so yesterday, as noted in yesterday’s post, Donald Trump and Chip Merlin Agree—Ron DeSantis and Florida Republican Leadership Has Sold Out to Insurance Company Lobbyists. An example of this is Florida’s public records of consumer complaints about public adjusters versus complaints about insurance companies.
The Tampa Bay Times and other news media reported on an apparent message by former President Donald Trump, which states the following:
Insurance companies are heavily regulated to guard against financial ruin, leaving policyholders without the promised financial safety net. Historically, many insurance companies would charge unsound actuarial rates, take premiums or surplus from the treasury and give it to insurer executives, and make illusory insurance contracts that paid little following a loss. This is why the industry is regulated on a state-by-state basis.
Continue Reading How Florida Insurance Executives Siphon Off Millions and Leave Their Companies Bankrupt
Mortgage servicers, banks, and their accountants must sign off under federal regulations that the loans that they package and are underwritten by Fannie Mae comply with certain requirements, including those involving insurance. If the mortgage does not have the proper insurance, it cannot be part of the Fannie Mae backed system. The Florida Senate passed insurance legislation which clearly jeopardizes the chances of home ownership by Floridians with a Fannie Mae mortgage because it is non-compliant. Worse is that when many Floridians buy that type of non-compliant insurance, they may have the additional burden and expense of the mortgage servicer adding force-placed coverage.
Continue Reading Florida Senate Passes Insurance Bill That Will Make Mortgages Non-Negotiable Under Federal Regulations
Paige St. John wrote a Pulitzer winning series on the corruption of Florida’s insurance industry and propaganda by the insurance company trade associations nearly nine years ago. I was thinking about this and one particular article, How Florida Insurers Make Millions On The Side, when the Security First CEO blamed the furious and upset policyholders for hiring attorneys to help them get their claims paid. I suppose the Security First claims department was counting on policyholders just giving up?
Continue Reading How Florida Insurers Make Millions on The Side