We are continuing our discussion of a study that concluded that Florida’s public adjusters are more likely to be disciplined than adjusters who work directly for insurance companies. State insurance regulators oversee adjuster’s activities and respond to consumer complaints regarding the mishandling or delayed payment of a claim.
A recent study of insurance complaints revealed an interesting disparity between insurance company adjusters and public adjusters. It seems the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation is much more likely to discipline the public adjuster than the company adjuster.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill renewing and revising the National Flood Insurance Program this week. If passed by the Senate and signed by the president, the program would be authorized for five years, starting October 1 of this year. With the property insurance market in Florida in disarray, the prospect of flood coverage should ease some anxiety.
We’re continuing our discussion of health care billing codes, the alphabet soup that appears on medical bills and health insurance explanation of benefits forms. The average consumer may not know or pay attention to these codes, but these numbers and alphanumeric character strings are key to understanding why the insurer has denied or delayed payment of a claim.
When Dan Brown is done with religious iconography, perhaps he can turn his pen to demystifying the health insurance claims process. It’s hard to imagine Tom Hanks as a world-renown health and insurance law professor called in to help the beautiful and equally learned daughter of an HMO claims adjuster who has mysteriously disappeared, but it is not hard to imagine that there are many in Florida saying, “Better him than me.”
A class action lawsuit was filed recently against an auto insurer, claiming the insurance company fraudulently denied military families benefits following car accidents. The complaint alleges the company violated insurance laws and regulations and charges the insurer with breach of contract and breach of faith. The plaintiffs are asking for punitive damages from the company.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation recently asked major life insurance companies to appear at a hearing regarding unpaid benefits. According to the OIR, life insurers have failed to pay at least $1 billion owed to beneficiaries, policyholders or state governments. Florida’s regulators, along with regulators from 15 other states, specifically want to know how insurers determine a policyholder has died.
As the South fights floods and tornadoes, Florida’s governor is deciding if he should sign an insurance bill that is heavily weighted for the industry and, according to critics, not so much for consumers. We’ve talked about the bill before, especially in light of the industry’s contention that reserves will be wiped out from hurricane claims after that overdue category 5 storm hits.
Our last two posts have talked about a situation outside of Florida involving a conflict between a county and a state insurance authority. The county tried to establish a fund to help defray the medical costs of the victims of an accident at a county park. The insurance authority put a stop to the plan. It’s not the kind of insurance authority we’re used to thinking about, though. This isn’t the regulatory body; this is the division of the government that writes the government’s policies for property insurance, auto insurance, business insurance and so forth.
We’re taking a brief break from Florida’s insurance woes. The sinkhole issue is being hotly debated by legislators and newspaper editorial staffs. The solvency of Citizens is at risk. Coastal communities will be paying exorbitant rates for homeowner insurance if something doesn’t change soon…. We’re heading north to look at a problem that’s arisen between a county government and its insurer.
