8 insurers finedfor post-stormclaims violations

Eight home insurance companies have been fined a total of $2.1 million for claims-handling misconduct, including failure to deny or pay claims on a timely basis, following hurricanes Ian and Idalia, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation said on Tuesday. The eight companies, identified in a news release, are American Coastal Insurance Company, American Mobile Insurance Exchange, Centauri Specialty Insurance Company, Clear Blue Insurance Company, Monarch National Insurance Company, Sutton National Insurance Company, Tower Hill Prime Insurance Company and TypTap Insurance Company. Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky warned insurers to watch how they handle claims that might arise during the current hurricane season, which the agency said is now in “full swing.” “Commissioner Yaworsky wants to make it clear that (the office’s) Market Conduct Unit is ready to deploy during storms to make sure claims handling practices are up to standard,” the release said. Yaworsky was quoted in the release as adding, “Capital is pouring in and the market is stabilizing, but our office holds insurers to high standards. It is important that consumers have confidence that they are getting what they pay for.” The release also quoted Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia as promising to hold insurance companies accountable “if they do not uphold the contractual agreement that they sign with their policyholders.” The findings were based on market conduct examinations of how 10 companies responded to initial, reopened and supplemental claims. The examinations found “several findings of misconduct” for eight of the 10 companies, according to the release. Hurricane Ian struck the southwest coast of Florida in late September 2022 and headed northeast before leaving the state. Hurricane Idalia struck the state’s Big Bend region the following August. Notable to policyholders were the number of times companies did not pay or issue denials of coverage of Hurricane Ian claims within the 90-day deadline required by state law. In this list, followed by fines imposed by the office, they were: American Coastal: 34 (20.4%) of 167 claims, $400,000.  American Mobile: 2 (0.8%) of 241 claims, $400,000. Centauri Specialty: 12 (4.4%) of 272 claims, $100,000. Clear Blue: 27 (11.8%) of 228 claims, $400,000. Monarch National: 39 (12.2%) of 320 claims, $325,000. Sutton National: 3 (1.4%) of 211 claims, $50,000. https://enewspaper.sun-sentinel.com/shortcode/SUN315/edition/76b68f4f-a010-4011-b8d9-bb63014b74d8?page=d11a873c-62a1-45d5-b6fd-801b95e2e4d3&utm_source=listrak&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=trib-sun_sentinel-eNotify_am-nl&utm_term=https%3A%2F%2Fenewspaper.sun-sentinel.com%2Fshortcode%2FSUN315%2Fedition%2F76b68f4f-a010-4011-b8d9-bb63014b74d8&utm_content=eNotify