Florida Lawmaker: Insurers ‘Smearing’ Me For Not Playing Ball

April 04--Florida insurance companies got the topic they wanted in the spotlight this week: costly claims caused not by hurricanes, but rather by things like leaky pipes or roofs.

But they did not get the bill they wanted to pass the state Senate's insurance committee.

Tense atmosphere? Definitely. Insurance companies are "smearing" her, committee head Anitere Flores, R-Miami, said after her panel passed a bill Monday, SB 1218, that the industry opposes. The legislation not only fails to do what insurers want to curb legal costs when such claims go to court, but it bars insurers from passing on lawyer bills to customers when they lose. That could lower consumer premiums but slam insurer profits.

"Not only is the insurance industry smearing someone who has always fought for consumers because she won't just do what they say, they are pushing hard for rival bill SB 1038 -- a bill they themselves helped craft," Flores said. "However, this bill does nothing to guarantee property insurance rates will decrease, and it hinders consumers' ability to protect themselves when insurance companies take advantage of them."

Flores did not cite specific smears, but insurers are clearly unhappy. Their No. 1 legislative priority is blocking costs they say are inflated by unscrupulous contractors and attorneys, ultimately driving up consumer rates.

Still, it was SB 1218 by Sen. Gary Farmer, D-Ft. Lauderdale and an attorney, that passed the committee 7-2. It would license water clean-up contractors and put certain restrictions on "assignment of benefits." That happens when a contractor agrees to perform work if a consumer signs over control of insurance benefits.

Among other things, Farmer's bill beefs up disclosures on the scope of work under assignment of benefits and lets the consumer rescind the deal under certain conditions.

But insurers say some contractors are in cahoots with lawyers, incentivized by Florida's "one-way" attorney-fee provision to take cases to court and make insurers pay big legal costs if they lose.

.

Florida's insurance commissioner David Altmaier opposed the bill, saying one-way attorney fees were intended for consumer Davids vs. insurance Goliaths, not contractors vs. insurers.

Florida's insurance consumer advocate, Sha'Ron James, said she supported consumer protections in Farmer's bill but expressed concern about barring certain legal costs from rates. A "short-term positive" for consumers could turn into a long-term negative if insurers refuse to write policies or settle claims at inflated costs, she said.

"Without addressing one-way attorney fees, lawsuits will continue to go up," said Edie Ousley, spokeswoman for the Consumer Protection Coalition, a group funded by business and insurance interests.

___

(c)2017 The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, Fla.)

Visit The Palm Beach Post (West Palm Beach, Fla.) at www.palmbeachpost.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.