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…
ABC 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…
Source: 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…
by 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…
Insurance 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…
March 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…
For 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…
Tampa 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…
An 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…
“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.