State Rep. Tom Fabricio who represents District 103 in South Florida spoke with 850WFTL about today’s special legislative session on the property insurance crisis.
He says part of the problem is fraud. If you’re told you can get a “free roof thanks to your insurance company, ” it’s most likely a scam says Fabricio.
Fabricio says property insurance is not supposed to be a warranty for your roof, it is supposed to cover losses incurred by windstorms or casualty.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis announced several new proposals targeting fraud as part of the upcoming special session on insurance reform.
Patronis said he plans to put forward five initiatives aimed at cracking down on fraud.
The first proposal would add three teams and 23 new positions to the state’s Anti-Fraud Homeowner Squads.
Patronis said the three teams would consist of detectives, attorneys and an analyst to expedite investigations and cover the Jacksonville, Fort Lauderdale and Miami areas.
“We need teams that live and breathe property and casualty fraud, and we need to give state attorneys good cases,” Patronis said.
Other initiatives put forth by Patronis’ office include funding for an anti-fraud and public education campaign, amending Florida’s False Claims Act, providing awards for calls to the “Florida Fraud Fighter Reward” tip line, and making changes to the Assignment of Benefits law.
Homeowners’ rates have jumped more than 20% as three Florida property insurers fell insolvent since February.