Assignment of Benefits (AOB) abuse is a fast-growing fraud scheme that is hurting Florida’s insurance consumers. While AOB is a long-established legal tool intended to allow vendors to receive prompt payment from insurers after doing emergency repair work in a home – without having to directly involve the homeowner – this process is being abused by a cottage industry of unscrupulous trial lawyers, water remediation firms and roofers. These bad actors are persuading homeowners to sign over the benefits of their insurance policies as a means for fraudulently inflating claims, filing thousands of lawsuits against insurers, and driving up attorney’s fees.
PIFF recognizes the usefulness of Assignment of Benefits but recommends legislative reforms be enacted to prevent AOB abuse from becoming a statewide consumer crisis on par with sinkhole claims abuse and PIP auto insurance fraud, which resulted in increased premiums for Floridians.
PIFF supports a change to Florida’s “one-way attorney fee” law so that businesses that sue insurance companies are required to pay their own lawyers – just like they do when they sue any other business. PIFF also supports legislation that will end referral fees between vendors; require detailed written estimates for work to be performed by a vendor; prohibit unlicensed adjusting by vendors; and put reasonable limits on how much work can be performed before the insurer is able to adjust the claim.
Visit FightFraud.Today and sign the petition to let members of the Florida Legislature know that you want to stop scams on Florida Homeowners. To learn more about how Floridians are being victimized, read their stories today.
PortOrangeObserver.com By: Nichole Osinski, Staff Writer Hurricane Irma not only brought destruction, but according to Florida State Senator Dorothy L. Hukill, it is bringing changes. On Friday, Oct. 20, at the Riverside Pavilion, Hukill discussed the aftermath of the hurricane and new bills that will be filed in the upcoming legislative session. According to Hukill, the most recent…
DetailsABC Action News Jackie Callaway 11:24 PM, Apr 19, 2017 Small business owner Mike Hinsch’s trouble started after a mobile glass business replaced the windshields in three work trucks.Hinch’s auto policy exploded from $16,000 a year to $22,000 over the windshield claim.This plumber had no idea the glass company hit his insurer up for…
DetailsSource: Florida Office of Insurance Regulation and Insurance Journal The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has launched a new webpage as part of its efforts to educate Florida consumers about the state’s ongoing challenges with assignment of benefits abuse. The AOB resource webpage has been added to the OIR website and offers information about what an…
Detailsby Carrie Salls, FloridaRecord Apr. 1, 2017, 5:11pm TALLAHASSEE — A trend has emerged in the storm-battered Sunshine State in which a relatively small number of roofers and attorneys are utilizing assignment-of-benefits (AOB) clauses in homeowners’ insurance policies to sue insurance companies for more than the actual cost of repair or, in some cases, for non-existent…
DetailsInsurance Journal March 29, 2017 Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will post a net loss for 2016, its first loss in more than a decade, as water loss claims, assignment of benefit (AOB) abuse and litigation costs increasingly impact the company’s bottom line, according to a statement from the Florida state-run insurer. The Citizens Board of Governors was…
DetailsMarch 27, 2017 Drew Wilson, Florida Politics The Consumer Protection Coalition launched a radio and television ad campaign Monday to warn homeowners of how Assignment of Benefits abuse could cause insurance rates to skyrocket in Florida. Assignment of Benefits, or AOB, is a system where homeowners can sign over their insurance policy to a contractor…
DetailsFor three decades, Florida has offered insurance companies a highly effective, performance-based tax credit that has resulted in tens of thousands of good jobs being created or imported to our state. Not only does this credit bolster our state’s economy in a transparent, accountable way, it also helps ensure insurance rates for Floridians stay as…
DetailsTampa Bay Times Editorial A steady drip usually signals bigger trouble, and this is no exception. Insurance claims and lawsuits for water damage are climbing, and the mess is spreading from South Florida to Tampa Bay. That means trouble for private insurers and the state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. And that means trouble for homeowners…
DetailsAn Update of the Abuse of Assignments of Benefits and its Correlation with One-Way Attorney’s Fees by Mark Delegal and Ashley Kalifeh for Florida Association of Independent Agents, Executive Summary As discussed in FJRI’s 2015 paper,1 the prospect of one-way attorney’s fees has encouraged a growing number of lawyers to partner with various service providers…
Details“The prospect that a national rating firm might downgrade Florida insurance companies because of rising costs linked to assignment of benefits agreements has lit a fire under advocates of reforming those contracts.” READ MORE.
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