An article by Lawrence Mower of the Tampa Bay Occasions, Insurance coverage Giants Are ‘Stiffing’ Prospects in Florida, Report Says, offers some superb claims statistics:
Floridians submitting a householders insurance coverage declare had the bottom likelihood within the 50 states of getting a verify from their insurer in 2022, with greater than a 3rd of claims going unpaid.
And final yr, these submitting claims with two of the state’s largest, healthiest firms — subsidiaries of State Farm and Allstate — had the bottom likelihood of all.
Almost half of all claims closed by these firms final yr went unpaid.
This text cited analysis by Weiss Rankings, an insurance coverage business ranking company. In a June 25 report, Massive Property Insurers in Florida Fail to Pay Almost Half of House owner Claims, Weiss known as for transparency, larger insurance coverage regulatory management and new laws requiring insurers to share this data with the general public:
‘Aggravating the disaster, each the insurers and authorities have hidden crucial knowledge that buyers urgently have to make knowledgeable choices about which firms to depend on,’ Weiss added. ‘On the identical time, most insurance coverage firm scores are purchased and paid for by the insurance coverage firms themselves, biasing the grades and portray lipstick on a pig, whereas holding the general public in the dead of night.
However what’s most stunning of all is that among the firms in Florida with the best denial charges do have the monetary energy to afford to pay a a lot bigger portion of their closed claims.
The 2022 MCAS nationwide survey of claims fee issues, revealed by the Nationwide Affiliation of Insurance coverage Commissioners, validates Weiss’ findings. It reveals that, among the many 50 states, insurers in Florida not solely denied the biggest share of unpaid claims but additionally had the nation’s largest share of unprocessed claims and the second largest share of claims paid solely after a 60-day delay. Nevertheless, the NAIC stories solely state-by-state averages and doesn’t disclose its MCAS knowledge on particular person firms.
Weiss concludes, “The general public can’t even start to deal with the property insurance coverage disaster till each the business and the federal government present full transparency. Sturdy reality in insurance coverage laws is urgently wanted.”
Mower interviewed Martin Weiss in regards to the outcomes and quoted Weiss with the bottom-line conclusion from the info:
The massive image conclusion is that the insurers in Florida are stiffing their prospects….
The Nationwide Affiliation of Insurance coverage Commissioners Summer time Assembly will likely be held in Chicago on August 12-14. One would assume that a majority of these points can be brazenly mentioned, with insurers invited to reply and regulators brazenly receiving proposed rules, which might make clear why insurers are denying claims at such a excessive price in Florida and probably different states. No one ought to maintain their breath that that is going to occur, though I’m sure that Amy Bach and United Policyholders will likely be there doing their greatest for shoppers.
I hate to report on points simply to be a type of social media whiners about information who then do nothing to appropriate the state of affairs. Steven Bush of our agency went to a NAIC assembly in December, and I’ve been to them as properly. Nevertheless, these occasions are dominated by skilled insurance coverage business lobbyists. Merlin Legislation Group members are usually not paid insurance coverage lobbyists.
My first suggestion for these wishing to place money and time in opposition to these injustices is to assist United Policyholders. They’ve a seat on the desk with insurance coverage regulators because of their lengthy work concerning these points. United Policyholders will likely be holding their Up To Good 2024 on September 20 in Santa Rosa, California. Merlin Legislation Group proudly helps this occasion. I’d recommend you accomplish that as properly in case you really need policyholders to have a voice and make a distinction with insurance coverage regulators. Here’s a hyperlink.
Thought For The Day
All through historical past, it has been the inaction of those that might have acted; the indifference of those that ought to have identified higher; the silence of the voice of justice when it mattered most; that has made it potential for evil to triumph.
—Haile Selassie