Insurance news in Florida made when Governor contacted Citizens

Florida homeowners insurance, Citizens Property

Gov. Rick Scott is seeking to find out why the state-backed insurer fired its corporate integrity team. The Governor of Florida, Rick Scott, has made insurance news by throwing in his support for the efforts to investigate why the corporate integrity team was let go from the state’s insurer of last resort, Citizens Property Insurance Corp. The Chief Inspector General, Melinda Miguel, has now been assigned to investigate the event. On Monday, Governor Scott directed the Chief Inspector General to look into the termination of the watchdog team – which…

Read More

Consumers being warned to protect their social media information from insurance companies

As social media becomes a popular tool for the insurance industry for investigating claims and, at times, pricing insurance policies, consumers are being warned to watch what information they share on their favorite networking platforms. A new study from the Paw Research Center, a market research and trend analysis firm, shows that the majority of adults in the U.S. (64%) have an active social media presence. The study finds that a scant few of these people have any knowledge on how to protect the information they share on these platforms…

Read More

New York regulators to investigate insurer’s rate proposals for accuracy

As complaints regarding insurance rate hikes begin to weigh on regulators in New York, the state’s Financial Services Superintendent, Benjamin Lawsky, has announced a new investigation into the matter. Regulators will be investigating the data submitted by insurance companies to justify their premium increases. The goal is to determine the accuracy of the data that these insurers use. These investigations will work alongside the regular rate review process and insurers will not know when they will be investigated. Lawsky notes that any errors made by insurers in their requests for…

Read More

Investigation over home insurance includes Bank of America and Citigroup, among others

The state financial regulator in New York is currently conducting an inquiry regarding the possible overcharging of customers for force-place insurance, into large organizations such as Citigroup Inc. and Bank of America Corp. The focus of the probe is the service known as force-place insurance, which requires the a loan provider to purchase an insurance policy in the circumstance that a homeowner is unable to maintain insurance premiums on the property. According to industry experts, this practice is becoming increasingly common. The probe is being conducted by the office of…

Read More

Imperial Holdings targeted by federal insurance regulators after allegations of fraud

Imperial Holdings has become the target of a federal criminal investigation after insurance regulators caught wind of allegations concerning the life insurance branch of the company – Imperial Finance and Trading. The investigation applies only to the company’s life insurance premium finance business and no other aspect of the company. A multitude of class action lawsuits have been filed against Imperial Holdings since September of last year. Many of these lawsuits are coming from shareholders who claim that the company is committing fraud. Federal regulators seized control of the company’s…

Read More