Jakony Tribune. Continue Reading at - WFLA
Video above from Aug. 9, 2024: Debby victims navigating insurance coverage
TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — Florida House Democrats are urging action after a “damning” report from 60 Minutes on Sunday in which whistleblowers allege insurance companies significantly altered damage reports to underpay claims after Hurricane Ian.
In the 60 Minutes piece, one insurance adjuster, Jordan Lee, said he completed a damage report that said one family should be owed $231,368.57, but the insurance company report sent to the family was “totally different.”
The insurance company report said the family should get only $15,469.48. Lee’s report said the family needed a new roof, but the insurance company’s report read as a repair, he told 60 Minutes.
He later learned that a desk adjuster deleted entire sections from his report, but left Lee’s name and license number on it, without telling him they were making changes.
Lee told the outlet he handled 46 claims, and 44 of them were changed. None of them were changed to a higher amount. He was unaware the reports were being changed until storm victims started calling him.
Lee was among those who testified in 2022 in front of state legislators about the issue.
The House Democratic leaders sent letters to Speaker-Designate Daniel Perez (R-Miami) and Gov. Ron DeSantis. The letters were signed by representatives Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa), Kelly Skidmore (D-Boca Raton), Christine Hunschofsky (D-Parkland), Mike Gottlieb (D-Davie), and Dotie Joseph (D-North Miami).
The letter to Perez asks for the creation of a select committee to investigate the claims and propose reforms.
The letter to DeSantis calls for the governor to petition the Florida Supreme Court to convene a grand jury to investigate and issue indictments, if necessary.
“We cannot allow these companies to exploit vulnerable Floridians at their darkest moment and clog our court system with needless cases fighting against claims they know they should have paid,” the letter reads.
Examples in the report show some claims were reduced by more than 90%.
“This prevents Floridians from being able to repair their homes and hurts families,” the letters read.
“Florida House Democrats have insisted that changes to the law to stabilize our insurance market and keep Floridians in their homes must include accountability for insurers to make sure folks get the benefit of their bargain when they pay their contract premiums year after year and are hit with a devastating disaster,” Leader Fentrice Driskell (D-Tampa) said in a statement.
“We can do better, and we must do better,” the letters read.
