Report reveals Citizens Insurance rejections
Florida’s Citizens Insurance has rejected more than 90,000 reports from commissioned inspectors that identified consumers to be eligible for property insurance discounts, according to an inspection from The Palm Beach Post. The Post inspected 225,000 records concerning the matter and found that Citizens Insurance had been rejecting these cases based on an attempt to cut costs and boost revenue. The state-run insurance group has been struggling with financial trouble for several years and is being pressured by government officials to solve these problems.
Inspections part of a program to cut costs and provide discounts to consumers
The cases inspected by the Post are part of a Citizens Insurance program that aims to ensure that consumers are receiving the appropriate mitigation features that are included in their policies. Per the program, properties are regularly inspected by third-party contractors who determine whether or not these properties are eligible for credits or discounts. According to Citizens Insurance’s own records, three out of four homeowners have lost the credits or discounts they were due even though these homeowners followed the insurance group’s suggestions in strengthening their property’s resistance to natural disasters.
Citizens Insurance pressured to become more sustainable
Florida Governor Rick Scott has been pressuring Citizens Insurance to cut costs, shrink coverage, reduce benefits, and depopulate itself for several months. In an attempt to comply with the whims of the state, Citizens Insurance has been working to make significant changes to its internal structure and the way it does business with consumers. One of the most controversial aspects of this campaign has been the insurance group’s rampant increase of its rates. The insurer has regularly raised rates for its coverage by more than 10% ever year, a practice that has led to a more than $137 million increase in premiums.
Rejections create controversy
Citizens Insurance has been faced with significant financial problems that have been caused by the insurance group’s accommodating nature in the past. The insurer is considered the last place for consumers to find affordable coverage that protects from a wide variety of natural disasters and their auxiliary effects, such as floods. The organization has become the largest insurance provider in Florida after many insurance groups pulled out of the state because of the risk they faced doing business therein.