Tag: Slide has been accused of getting sweetheart deals from the Florida government
DeSantis Helps Florida Insurance Companies Cheat Homeowners
Video exposes how Insurance Companies changed damage reports and offered a fraction of what was needed for repairs, while REPUBLICAN Ron DeSantis made it hard to sue them. This is just another exmample of how Republicans are corporate boot-lickers who are for the RICH and don’t give a damn about average Joe Americans
Insurers gave Ron DeSantis millions. He made it harder to sue them.
The Florida governor’s insurance overhaul is hurting homeowners-and possibly his presidential campaign.
Insurers Gave Ron DeSantis Millions. He Made It Harder to Sue Them.
Per the above article; “Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis enacted a slate of insurance law changes. The sweeping revisions makes it more difficult for homeowners to sue their property insurance companies for acting in “bad faith” and removes the right of homeowners to recover attorney’s fees, even in lawsuits they ultimately win. Additionally, the adjustments to Florida’s insurance laws allow insurance companies to create new policies with mandatory binding arbitration agreements in exchange for a premium reduction, which will also thwart many homeowners’ option to take insurers to court’.
Florida is Uninsurable: What Next?
Hurricane Milton landed on Florida’s west coast. But even if it’s not the worst ever, Milton could still be the final straw for Florida’s ever-escalating home insurance crisis. In this video, we’re taking a look at how climate change created an insurance crisis in Florida, how the government subsidised the entire market, and why the model isn’t sustainable.
Slide Insurance is Getting Sweetheart Deals from Florida Regulators-And Using Its Power to Harm Consumers · Consumer Federation of America
Florida’s insurance market has been troubled for quite some time. Premiums are skyrocketing, insurers have gone bankrupt left and right, and consumers are struggling. But one insurance company in particular, Slide Insurance, is getting sweetheart deals from Florida regulators-and consumers are paying the price. This is unacceptable, and Florida consumers deserve better.
Per the above article: “Slide Insurance, founded in 2021 by its current CEO Bruce Lucas, has received a considerable number of takeouts. The Washington Post reported that “insurance officials have awarded him [Lucas] the opportunity to take over far more policies than any other company, data shows — either directly from Citizens or from other insurers that have gone under or pulled out of the state.” All in all, Florida has granted Slide the chance to pick up over half a million policyholders, far more than any other company.
This is evidence of a very cozy, and possibly improper, relationship. And before Lucas founded Slide Insurance, he worked for another company called Heritage. In 2013 he closed a takeout deal with Citizens, where Heritage got 60,000 policies and Citizens agreed to pay the company up to $52 million in retroactive premiums. Legislators attacked the deal, calling it corporate welfare, and other insurance companies complained that it was unfair. It later emerged that Lucas’s lobbyists met with then Governor Rick Scott before the takeout went public, that Heritage donated to Scott’s campaign, and that the Citizens board member who broke the tie vote in favor of the transaction was appointed by Scott.
More recently, Slide has been accused of getting still more sweetheart deals from the Florida government. For example, Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation helped broker a $400 million deal where Slide took over a bankrupt insurance company. Slide and Lucas benefited handsomely but many policyholders did not. Instead, Slide denied their legitimate claims, made them jump through hoops and fill out excessive paperwork, and gave them inadequate payouts. And it has increased premiums for lots of consumers, sometimes by 500% or more.
Consumer Federation of America has previously written about insurance companies and their exploitation of consumers, and urged the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation to investigate and punish alleged wrongdoing. We have also criticized the Office for being cozy with the insurance industry and often being part of the revolving door, where insurance regulators go to work for the insurance industry or regulators come from the insurance industry. But if the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation is making unfair and biased deals with Slide Insurance at the expense of consumers, the fox is guarding the henhouse”.
