Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle has brought charges against nine people who allegedly organized a homeowners insurance scam. The yearlong investigation found numerous false and exacerbated water damage claims that cost insurance companies over $600,000. The arrests were made after a yearlong investigation named “Operation Rubicon.” The investigation included fraud detectives with the Florida […]
Even if you live outside of a high-risk flood zone you should consider flood coverage. According to government statistics, over 20 percent of flood claims come from properties outside of high-risk flood zones. Spring is here which brings flood danger to many parts of the country. If you live in an area where flooding is […]
If your homeowners insurance premium has been on an upward trajectory for the last few years, you are not alone. A recent study discovered that homeowners insurance rates have gone up in every state over the last decade and in the midwest the rate increases have been pretty dramatic. The reason for these rate increases […]
The Florida House passed an assignment of benefits reform bill on Thursday despite objections from contractors and the Restoration Association of Florida. The bill passed on a 96-20 vote on hopes that the changes will help keep insurance prices steady or even make them more affordable. However, the House and Senate have not been able […]
A recently added amendment to the Florida State House assignment of benefits (AOB) reform bill would prevent Citizens Property Insurance Corp. from raising rates unless they pass the savings from AOB reform along to their customers. “We are consistently told that AOB reform is necessary and will halt skyrocketing insurance costs in some areas and […]
While the assignment of benefits (AOB) form is a pretty standard practice in the United States insurance industry, rampant fraud in Florida has led to a shocking increase in the number of AOB filings over the past decade. An AOB contract signs over your insurance benefits to a third party such as a contractor or […]
Recently, the Restoration Association of Florida (RAF) responded to two bills moving through the Florida Legislature that could affect the assignment of benefits (AOB) process. RAF stands in opposition to the bills (SB 122 and HB 7065), saying they fail to address the needs of both homeowners and contractors. RAF hosted a panel of attorneys, […]
Recently, two insurance reform bills that hope to rewrite the assignment of benefits (AOB) law made it past Senate and House subcommittee reviews. The bills could actually make it to the chamber floor for a binding vote this session. This would mark the first time in six years that a bill regarding AOB reform has […]
Homeowners that have a mortgage on their home are required to carry homeowners insurance in order to protect the invest their mortgage lender has made in their home but once that mortgage is paid off, homeowners are free to dump their insurance. Unfortunately, thousands of people in Florida have made the decision to drop their […]
View of a Southwest style Florida home in the countryside. In the continuing battle over the assignment of benefits (AOB) issue in Florida, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee recently tabled a bill (SB 122) that had been sponsored by Chairman Doug Broxson, R-Gulf Breeze. The bill was designed to limit attorney fees in AOB […]