FLORIDA LAWMAKERS TO INVESTIGATE ASSIGNMENT OF BENEFITS

The Florida Senate’s banking and insurance committee is launching a probe into assignment of benefits, the practice in which homeowners that need house repairs transfer insurance claims to contractors and attorneys who then pursue claims payments from insurers. Citizens Property Insurance, the state’s last-resort property insurer, as well as other carriers have contended for more than a year that assignment of benefits has led to a sharp increase in outlays for non-weather-related water claims largely owing to the number of such claims that end up being litigated. To date, insurers’ pleas for lawmakers to examine the practice have been fruitless. The committee has scheduled an initial hearing in the investigation for January 10.