An article by Lawrence Mower of the Tampa Bay Occasions, Insurance coverage Giants Are ‘Stiffing’ Prospects in Florida, Report Says, supplies some superb claims statistics:
Floridians submitting a householders insurance coverage declare had the bottom likelihood within the 50 states of getting a examine 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 corporations — subsidiaries of State Farm and Allstate — had the bottom likelihood of all.
Almost half of all claims closed by these corporations final yr went unpaid.
This text cited analysis by Weiss Rankings, an insurance coverage trade score company. In a June 25 report, Giant Property Insurers in Florida Fail to Pay Almost Half of House owner Claims, Weiss referred to as for transparency, better insurance coverage regulatory management and new laws requiring insurers to share this info with the general public:
‘Aggravating the disaster, each the insurers and authorities have hidden vital information that customers urgently must make knowledgeable selections about which corporations to depend on,’ Weiss added. ‘On the identical time, most insurance coverage firm scores are purchased and paid for by the insurance coverage corporations themselves, biasing the grades and portray lipstick on a pig, whereas retaining the general public at nighttime.
However what’s most stunning of all is that among the corporations in Florida with the best denial charges do have the monetary power to afford to pay a a lot bigger portion of their closed claims.
The 2022 MCAS nationwide survey of claims fee issues, printed 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 most important 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. Nonetheless, the NAIC experiences solely state-by-state averages and doesn’t disclose its MCAS information on particular person corporations.
Weiss concludes, “The general public can’t even start to deal with the property insurance coverage disaster till each the trade and the federal government present full transparency. Robust fact in insurance coverage laws is urgently wanted.”
Mower interviewed Martin Weiss concerning the outcomes and quoted Weiss with the bottom-line conclusion from the info:
The large image conclusion is that the insurers in Florida are stiffing their prospects….
The Nationwide Affiliation of Insurance coverage Commissioners Summer season Assembly shall be held in Chicago on August 12-14. One would assume that some of these points can be overtly mentioned, with insurers invited to reply and regulators overtly receiving proposed rules, which might make clear why insurers are denying claims at such a excessive price in Florida and presumably different states. No person ought to maintain their breath that that is going to occur, though I’m sure that Amy Bach and United Policyholders shall be there doing their greatest for shoppers.
I hate to report on points simply to be a kind 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 nicely. Nonetheless, these occasions are dominated by skilled insurance coverage trade lobbyists. Merlin Legislation Group members will not be paid insurance coverage lobbyists.
My first suggestion for these wishing to place money and time in opposition to these injustices is to help United Policyholders. They’ve a seat on the desk with insurance coverage regulators because of their lengthy work relating to these points. United Policyholders shall 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 achieve this as nicely when 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 doable for evil to triumph.
—Haile Selassie