The Florida Republican management is in mattress with the insurance coverage business. Republican Donald Trump stated so yesterday, as famous in yesterday’s publish, Donald Trump and Chip Merlin Agree—Ron DeSantis and Florida Republican Management Has Offered Out to Insurance coverage Firm Lobbyists. An instance of that is Florida’s public information of shopper complaints about public adjusters versus complaints about insurance coverage firms.
Florida’s present Republican management is making an attempt to move insurance coverage business written legal guidelines that make it harder to carry insurance coverage firms accountable for unhealthy religion and wrongful claims practices. They and the insurance coverage foyer are additionally making an attempt to crack down on public adjusters who assist policyholders get full and truthful remedy by passing legal guidelines that make it way more tough for public adjusters to generate income doing this. In actuality, by making legal guidelines that limit legal professionals and public adjusters from serving to shoppers who’ve been mistreated, the Republican management helps wrongful performing insurance coverage firms.
I’ve public information which present that from September 2017 by means of November 2022, shoppers filed 99 complaints about public adjusters. Guess what number of complaints have been filed in opposition to insurance coverage firms throughout that very same interval? 105,000 Florida shopper complaints have been filed in opposition to insurance coverage firms.1
With confirmed public document statistics of 99 versus 105,000, I guess you’ll assume the Florida Republican management can be writing a variety of legal guidelines cracking down on insurance coverage firm misconduct and permitting extra lawsuits to be filed in opposition to these wrongful and dishonest insurance coverage firms, proper? However simply the alternative is going on.
Florida politicians are writing legal guidelines in opposition to public adjusters and making it harder for policyholders to file lawsuits in opposition to insurance coverage firm unhealthy religion. Florida’s legislature has responded by holding two particular periods, which did nothing to carry insurers accountable. As a substitute, they offered statutory protections to carriers from their very own policyholders having the ability to battle again.
When an insurer accepted premium funds and promised to pay you absolutely and pretty – then broke that promise – Florida legal guidelines protected policyholders who needed to go to court docket by making insurers pay their legal professional charges. All lawsuits usually are not “frivolous,” as insurance coverage propaganda tries to make individuals imagine. If insurers paid official claims, there can be no want for litigation. They need to additionally battle really “frivolous” claims. Nonetheless, a disagreement over how a lot is owed, whether or not coverage interpretation excludes protection for a loss, and claims about insurer misconduct usually are not “frivolous” disputes. But, the insurance coverage foyer and Republican political leaders use the phrase “frivolous” to explain all lawsuits in opposition to insurance coverage firms—as if the 105,000 complaints filed by shoppers are “frivolous” as effectively.
Not one of the laws handed requires insurers to cut back premiums in Florida. Trump referred to as out his fellow republicans for this truth as effectively. They’re passing legal guidelines that take away policyholder rights, and the policyholders get nothing in return. Worse, there was an insurer bailout to the tune of tens of millions of taxpayer {dollars}, together with new statutes that may make it much more tough for policyholders to receives a commission what they’re owed.
Insurance coverage coverage contracts in Florida have dramatically modified, decreasing protection for Floridians, all underneath the watch of former Workplace of Insurance coverage Regulation Commissioner David Altmaier, who resigned in December to just accept a place with a big insurance coverage firm. Trump famous this truth as effectively.
Details are details—99 versus 105,000. The legislature is now utilizing the minimal 99 complaints as a foundation to wrongfully change public adjuster legal guidelines whereas closing its eyes to the 105,000 complaints in opposition to insurance coverage firm misconduct and making it harder for the policyholders to acquire redress for these complaints.
Trump is correct to name out his fellow Republicans. That is shameful.
Thought For The Day
By no means, by no means, by no means hand over.
—Winston Churchill
1Motive Discipline and Resolutions for All Firm complaints from 1/1/2017 by means of 11/15/2022.
