At the end of May, a
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Every month, homeowners across the state are being dropped by insurance companies pulling out of the state, or seeing their premiums skyrocket, or can’t afford their roof, which was installed more than 15 years ago.
Homeowners are forced to self-insure, which means they don’t have private insurance and have to invest heavily in paying for hurricane damage, replacing old roofs that are in good condition, or getting insurance through
The problem with the Citizens Property Insurance Program is that many legislators and experts oppose the program
The bill was approved by a
In addition, these laws prevent insurance companies from needlessly replacing roofs and provide homeowners with the opportunity through independent inspections to ensure that their roofs are in good condition. These measures, if not resolved by the courts in the long term, should help to reduce prices, but overall, they provide little relief from the existing problems.
Assignment of Benefits claims have become a major problem in the government. This is the process by which a roofer or contractor works for the homeowner to arrange insurance. The homeowner then gives the contractor the right to collect the money owed to the insurance company.
In most cases, these contracts have an attorney to file a lawsuit against the insurance company to collect. In most cases, the insurance company will settle the claim rather than fight the claim and will cover the contractor’s attorney’s fees.
Under the new law, the homeowner or insured beneficiary is the only person who can file a lawsuit against the insurance company in hopes of collecting attorneys’ fees, and cannot assign their benefits to another party.
By having the actual insured party filing the suit, many believe this will deter insurance fraud. Included in the bill are rules on the time frame for identifying and filing complaints, imposing fines, and other important guidelines aimed at preventing malicious prosecution.
The new bill also allows private insurance companies to have a separate deductible that can be 2% of the home value or 50% of the ceiling value. This deductible does not apply to hurricanes or tree damage, but something like snow may not mean a free roof at a lower deductible.
As regulations change, many homeowners will see significant changes in this area, especially if they have an older roof. The bill prohibits an insurance company from refusing to write or renew a policy based on the age of the roof if the roof is less than 15 years old or an inspection confirms that the life of the roof is greater than five years.
The government is implementing a
The bill does not do one important thing, which is stopping systematic abuse by professional plaintiffs. Many worry that the bill will push insurance companies out of business and allow claimants, with the help of aggressive lawyers, to do the same thing differently.
In addition, several businesses have already filed lawsuits against the bill and are challenging the legality of the fee for providing benefits. The bill also establishes a
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In time the new laws may help landowners, but for now, little will change.
