Ethics loophole creates new drama for Citizens Property Insurance
A loophole existing in Florida’s ethics laws has generated new controversy for the state’s Citizens Property Insurance group. The loophole allows the organization’s executives to work for companies that offer then multi-million dollar contracts only a few short months after having received a job offer. The matter has caught the attention of Integrity Florida, a non-partisan research institute and accountability organization. The organization has sent an official letter to Citizens Inspector General Bruce Meeks petitioning for a review of the matter.
Former insurance industry executives may have exploited legal loopholes, according to Integrity Florida
Integrity Florida suggests that the state’s current ethics laws have too many loopholes. These problems create situations that can be easily exploited for personal gain. The organization claims that many of the executives of Citizens Property Insurance have exploited such loopholes in the past, taking advantage of the law and benefit from the contracts that they are offered because of legal loopholes. Closing these loopholes may be challenging, however, due to their relation to other state laws.
Company claims that it and its employees have broken none of the state’s laws
Citizens Property Insurance holds that its employees have not broken any laws. The organization notes that senior directors that have left the company did not have any direct contact with the companies offering them new contracts before their resignations. The contracts may have been awarded to these former executives through conventional procedures, meaning that the practices aligns with the state’s ethics laws.
Insurance industry sometimes runs afoul of complicated regulatory framework in many states
The insurance industry often struggles to navigate a very convoluted regulatory landscape and many insurers are sometimes targeted by consumer advocacy groups because of their perceived inability to comply with every regulation that may exist in a particular state. Citizens property insurance is no stranger to such accusations and has faced serious controversy over the past several years due to matters regarding ethics violations and the organization’s past financial troubles. Whether the Citizens Inspector General will begin reviewing the issue is not yet clear.
