Planning, Communications, Advocacy
- Opinions by Scott Johnson Leave a Comment
During the last Citizens board meeting (11/27/12) recent “allegations” and investigations into tawdry or illegal behavior at Citizens were reviewed in detail (click for video of the board workshop).
Based on what I heard, some in the media owe some at Citizens (or those who have left Citizens) an apology, but…I’m not holding my breath. [Read more…] about Who Will Walk the Well Lit Trail?
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It finally happened–during a Citizens board meeting (11/27/12) convened in part to address pending ethics issues, someone (in this case, board member John Rollins) went out on a public limb by pointing to the really “bad actors” in Florida’s property market. [Read more…] about Florida’s Bad Actors…The Tip of the Ice Berg!
- Opinions by Scott Johnson 1 Comment
Last Tuesday the state Insurance Consumer Advocate (ICA) dispatched a letter to Insurance Commissioner, Kevin McCarty, requesting an investigation of Universal Property & Casualty’s claim practices. Citing examples of claim denials due to material misrepresentations on the original application, the letter states:
In the three cases that have been handled in my office, the policyholders have had insurance coverage with Universal Property and Casualty Insurance Company (Universal) for at least 18 months and up to four years and have had their policies cancelled or rescinded as of the original policy’s effective date for misrepresentation after they filed a claim. All cases involved previous financial issues such as bankruptcy or a lien which occurred up to four years before the consumer applied for insurance coverage with Universal. [Read more…] about A RUBIKS CUBE: Post Claims Underwriting & FS-627.409
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While I’ve come to expect opposition from the media against almost anything that might lower Citizens assessment burden, it appears that at least one elected official, Representative Frank Artile’s (and others) and Sean Shaw’s group (Policyholder’s of Florida) may have already made up their minds about the Surplus Note program…they don’t like it! [Read more…] about Citizens Surplus Notes–Freedom of Choice!
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The State Fire Marshall’s office and Division of Insurance Fraud have just completed their joint investigation of the infamous “Case of the Yellow Hammer”. Public Adjuster, Jorge Espinosa, used a yellow hammer on the floor in Angela Frye’s kitchen to inflate her small grease fire (and thus his fee) into a $70,000 fraud against Federal National Insurance Company. [Read more…] about The Case of the Yellow Hammer!
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Last month a federal judge dismissed the libel suit against former New York Governor, Elliot Spitzer, for an article he wrote in 2010 criticizing those charged in what has become known as the worst scandal to ever hit the insurance agency/brokerage system.
With this news I believe the ugliest of insurance stories is now over. [Read more…] about KICKBACK…The Final Chapter!
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A few days ago (Saturday 10/6/12) I expressed the opinion that the Citizens Surplus Note Program, had “a hard road ahead.”
That road, it turns out, was even harder than I thought! [Read more…] about CITIZENS Depopulation…Shut the Front Door!
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There’s no telling how many policies will actually be removed from Citizens via the two pending approaches. One, is the old fashioned way–a handful of carriers will take many thousands of policies under the traditional approach used since 2001. The other, more controversial approach, is the “Surplus Note” proposal–only the most “financially qualified” carriers will remove several hundred thousand policies for ten years with rate increases subject to Citizens 10% glide path for three years. [Read more…] about CITIZENS Surplus Notes…Eight Reasons!
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It feels like every time I begin looking for something to write about Chip Merlin bails me out with another blog.
In this case, after falsely accusing Citizens board of Governors of breaking the law, the head of a prominent sinkhole law firm alleged that insurance agents may be committing the crime of insurance fraud, via a blog he titled:
“Talk About Insurance Fraud, How About the Conduct of Some Insurance Agents?” [Read more…] about AGENT FRAUD…Chip Merlin, again!
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Something extremely unusual, maybe even exceptional, happened last week.
At least one major daily published two side-by-side opinion pieces on Citizens. While that part isn’t so unusual, what’s extremely rare is that even though they were each written by groups that are often opponents, both authors expressed virtually the same opinion, namely…
CITIZENS SUBSIDIES NEED TO END & ITS RATES NEED TO RISE! [Read more…] about CITIZENS, CONSUMER GROUPS & ROBIN HOOD!