Florida’s State Insurance Carrier Aims to Become More Consumer-Friendly After Complaints

My Insurance Carrier Is Not Being Forthright; What Can I Do?

Numerous consumer complaints have prompted Citizens Property Insurance Company to acknowledge faults in the letters it has been sending to its customers. Citizens has been reaching out to customers en masse recently. The embattled insurer has been trying to shed policies by offering them up to private carriers. But the letters it has been sending to its insured clients have been derided for being inaccurate and threatening.

Formerly, letters merely informed consumers that they were responsible for opting out of the transfer of their policy to a private insurer. If the insured party did not respond to the letter or opt out, the individual’s policy was transferred to a private carrier. The letters vaguely threatened increased costs if the insured stayed with Citizens by opting out. In addition, the mailings were not conspicuous, and many consumers mistook them for junk mail. Florida’s Insurance Consumer Advocate has complained that such mailings were unacceptable, and Citizens appears to be listening. The new policy going forward is that such mailings will come from Citizens CEO first, and then the opt out letter will follow.

The recent shedding of policies by Citizens comes amidst political pressure to scale down their operations, and concurrent strength in the private insurance sector. Citizens has shed one million policies in 4 years. It aims to return to its original purpose – which was to be the insurer of last resort for Florida residents. Florida is still seen as a risky bet for insurance companies, due to its susceptibility to hurricane damage, but private insurers are gaining strength thanks to the absence of major hurricanes since 2005.

You do not need to tolerate threatening and inaccurate statements from your insurance company. During such difficult times, it is important to have a trained and experienced insurance litigator on your side to tip the scales. If you are having trouble with a less than forthright insurance company, or are involved in a serious dispute with one, in the state of Florida call the experienced litigators at Pekar Law P.A.