Episode 54: Episode 54 – The Truth Behind the 50% Claims Denial

The Florida Insurance Roundup from Lisa Miller & Associates

Amid accusations that Florida’s property insurance companies, including state-backed Citizens Insurance, are deliberately paying only half their claims and “in a state of collapse,” comes new insight and fresh data that debunk the charges. The man behind the allegations is Martin Weiss of Weiss Ratings, who’s now the subject of an investigation by state insurance regulators.

Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller shares the new push-back from Citizens’ President & CEO on these accusations and sits down with the head of a large private insurance company who shares new data showing why these charges are inaccurate and unfair in what is a tightly-regulated marketplace.

Show Notes (For full Show Notes, visit https://lisamillerassociates.com/episode-54-the-truth-behind-the-50-claims-denial/
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The news stories emerged mere weeks after two devastating hurricanes – Helene and Milton – struck Florida, creating $5.3 billion in estimated insured losses in Florida as of late November 2024. Host Miller dives deep into the controversies and complexities surrounding the state-created Citizens Property Insurance Corporation and the broader Florida property insurance market on its claims handling and claims payment rates.

"The innuendo that's going around in the media space is that there is a suspicion that Citizens is trying to cheat its customers, and now forces are trying to extend that innuendo to Florida's private property insurance market companies,” said Miller. “In my opinion, that's just plain dishonest and unfair."

The program features soundbites from Weiss, Citizens Property Insurance President & CEO Tim Cerio, and a studio interview with Locke Burt, CEO and Chairman of Security First Insurance Company. Burt served in the Florida Senate for 12 years, where he helped write the laws that created Citizens and the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund.

Weiss, in various November media reports, said that he’d reviewed Citizens Property Insurance 2023 annual financial statement and concluded that Citizens didn’t pay 50.4% of its 2023 claims. He said that was worse than any private insurance company’s no-pay rate. Weiss declined an invitation to appear on the podcast.

Burt and Cerio defended Citizens and the broader Florida insurance market against Weiss’ accusations, noting there are legitimate reasons claims are closed without payment. It's not always about denial. The reasons include:

• Claims that fall below the policyholder's deductible.
• Duplicate claims.
• Claims related to flood damage, which are not covered by standard homeowners' policies.

Weiss, in his criticism of Citizens, was quoted in the media as saying “One factor that we believe is probably playing a role is a deliberate strategy to reduce their liabilities for whatever reason.”

Cerio shot back at the December 4, 2024 Citizens Board of Governors meeting. “It's critical to just point out that, we are the state created, not for profit, insurer of last resort. We have no financial incentive to not play claims. Zero,” he said.
(For full Show Notes, visit https://lisamillerassociates.com/episode-54-the-truth-behind-the-50-claims-denial/
)
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