Florida Office of Insurance Regulation News

Fla. Insurers Imposing New Limits on Amounts Spent to Match Appearance

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has approved policy forms filed by at least eight property insurers that limit the amount the carriers will pay to replace undamaged materials to create a matching, uniform appearance after repairs, state records show. …

Fla. Regulator Approves Roof Endorsements that Could Bar Non-Storm Claims

Despite the Florida Legislature taking major steps to rein in the cost of roof claims and litigation, at least two insurers have come out with broad roof endorsements that seek to bar claims for wear and tear, poor workmanship and …

Policyholders, Agents Say United Leaving Ian Claims in Limbo

The Florida Legislature’s insurance rescue bill, approved last week, won’t take effect soon enough to help policyholders and insurance agents who’ve had no response from beleaguered United Property & Casualty Co. on Hurricane Ian claims. The lack of information has …

Fla. Courts Upholding Appraisal Clauses that Bar Assignment of Benefit Cases

A Florida appeals court has upheld the dismissal of no fewer than 16 auto glass assignment-of-benefits lawsuits against Progressive Insurance companies, perhaps putting an exclamation point on the enforceability of appraisal clauses and policy language that bars claims litigation. The …

Florida OIR Says Insurers Spent $3B on Legal Defense, 21 Insurers on Watch List

In 2021, Florida’s domestic property insurers spent more than $3 billion on legal defense costs and containment – double the figure reported in 2016. That’s one jaw-dropping but not surprising takeaway from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s recently posted …

Universal Drops Conflicts of Interest Complaint About Public Adjusters

The Florida property insurance community was abuzz this week after word got out that a closely watched complaint about some public adjusters’ apparent conflicts of interest had been withdrawn. The head of investigations for Universal Property & Casualty Insurance, one …

Florida Policies in Limbo Over Proposed Insolvency Surcharge

The Florida Insurance Guaranty Association is urging insurers to hold off on sending homeowners’ policy renewals until state regulators decide if they will approve a surcharge on premiums to help cover more than $168 million in claims left from two …

How Recent Workers’ Comp Court Decisions May Affect Florida Business

Although there has been a great deal of debate about recent Florida Supreme Court decisions related to workers’ compensation legislation, few employers understand how it will affect their businesses, according to Lykes Insurance, a Florida-based commercial insurance firm. “These decisions …

Residential Claims Make up the Majority of Florida’s Hurricane Matthew Damage

A total of $170 million is the estimate of losses to date related to Hurricane Matthew in the state of Florida, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. So far, residential property claims make up the majority of claims …

Florida Agency Approves Removal of Citizens’ Policies

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (Office) has approved the removal of up to 180,040 personal residential policies and 2,527 commercial residential polices from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens) by the following nine companies: Anchor Property & Casualty Insurance Company …