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.
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.