Editor’s note: Originally published May 2016. The assignment-of-benefits abuse described here was a major driver of Florida’s insurance crisis; AOB was eliminated for property policies issued on or after January 1, 2023 under SB 2A, and Citizens has since reduced its policy count through depopulation. See our 2026 Florida Homeowners Insurance Guide for the current market.
Tampa’s ABC Action News recently did a story on the upcoming Citizens Insurance rate increases about to go into effect. Citizens Insurance, Florida’s state-run nonprofit home insurance company, recently announced to their customers some rate increases and rule changes brought on by “abuse” of company rules. Learn more about Florida homeowners insurance options.
The abuse, which amounts to legal fraud according to some insurance experts, is costing Citizens Insurance millions of dollars through a scheme that’s been happening all over the state, including in the Tampa Bay area, but is especially prevalent in South Florida.
“People are giving the full rights of their policy to a third party, in this case it’s a remediation company or a plumbing company or a company that can claim to take care of everything for them if they just sign here,” explains independent licensed insurance agent Joshua Butts of Cornerstone Insurance. “Not all of them have been honest with the people and it’s turning into a runaway freight train at this point,” Butts said.
Read the original story on the Wayback Machine archive (ABC Action News, May 2016).
