Sun Sentinel Ron Hurtibise
Some property insurance companies are not taking on new business in ZIP codes with high claims rates in South Florida and canceling or deciding not to renew customers in high-risk areas.
The action is a result of rising water damage claims in the region, the same problem that is leading to higher premiums for many customers.
Newly released data from the state Office of Insurance Regulation do not yet show the full effects of insurance companies’ efforts to defend themselves against what they call “bad actors” who use state law and the courts to extract inflated settlements from the not-for-profit, government-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and other companies. But they show a handful of large insurance companies writing fewer policies in the tri-county region, and some are increasing cancellations and non-renewals of South Florida policies.
Warning in March about abuses threatening the vitality of the overall insurance market in South Florida, Citizens President and CEO Barry Gilway said he knew of three insurance companies seeking to drop thousands of policies.
