Welcome to another chapter in the ever-entertaining saga of Florida insurance regulation—where the unexpected is expected, and reality sometimes reads like satire. The latest? Florida’s insurance regulators are serving subpoenas on a critic who dared to spotlight glaring issues in the insurance industry. Yes, you read that right. Instead of addressing the industry’s woes, they’ve decided to play a game of “blame the messenger.”
The Tampa Bay Times article written by Lawrence Mower, Florida Regulators Issue Subpoenas to Insurance Industry Critic, exposed this recent tactic and had me double-checking my inbox to see if my office had been subpoenaed, too. Here’s the gist:
Weiss Ratings, a Palm Beach Gardens-based financial ratings agency, recently raised the alarm that Florida’s insurance market is teetering on collapse. They backed it up with data showing insurers denying claims left and right and shifting money out of the state. But instead of digging into these troubling trends, Florida regulators decided to demand Weiss’s emails, texts, and documentation. It’s like investigating the weatherman for predicting rain while ignoring the floodwaters rising around you.
The Real Numbers: Why Weiss’s Report Hit a Nerve
Let’s take a look at the stats Weiss highlighted: Numbers that could make even the most seasoned regulator break out in hives:
- Farm Bureau Property & Casualty: Denying 70.5% of claims (Gold medalists in claim denials!)
- American Bankers Insurance Company: 51.2% denial rate (Silver medalists)
- Citizens Property Insurance: 50.4% denial rate (Bronze)
- Overall trend: Denial rates climbing from 24.9% in 2004 to 37.4% in 2023
These numbers aren’t just alarming—they’re a flashing neon sign that says, “Something is very, very wrong here.” To be fair, there may well be valid explanations for some of these increased statistics, as I recently stated in A Frank Discussion About Florida’s Insurance Crisis, Including Admissions About Why Current Claims Statistics Do Not Indicate the Sky Is Falling.
Regulators’ Response: The Great Subpoena Scavenger Hunt
Instead of investigating the insurers for these eye-popping denial rates, the regulators demanded Weiss produce:
- Emails about Florida’s insurance market
- Texts related to claim denials
- Proof of insurers on the “brink of collapse”
- Evidence of funds diverted to shareholders
- Documentation of insurers’ “If you don’t like it, sue us” strategy
Frankly, this approach feels like trying to fix a flat tire by yelling at the GPS.
What Regulators Should Be Investigating
Dear Commissioner Yaworsky and Deputy Commissioner Parker, I want you to succeed in protecting policyholders with great coverage at affordable prices and make certain insurers are fully and promptly paying claims. While I admire the creativity in your subpoenas, here’s a suggestion: How about aiming your investigative prowess at the insurers themselves? Here’s a starter list:
- Internal memos on “loss ratio management” strategies
- Executive bonus plans tied to claim denials
- Training manuals on “creative” claim denials
- Correspondence about shifting reserves out of state
- Management agreements and hidden income streams for executives
Oh, and let’s not forget those PowerPoint presentations on “How to Pay Less and Deny More.”
A Modest Proposal
Rather than focusing on the person holding the flashlight, why not examine the dark corners of the industry? Consider:
- Subpoenaing claims data and executive communications
- Investigating reserve transfers and unexplained denials
- Exploring why denied claims often get mysteriously paid after lawsuits
- Asking Citizens why a 50.4% denial rate is acceptable
- Protecting and seeking whistleblowers who expose unethical claims practices
These steps might not be as exciting as subpoenaing an industry critic, but they’d certainly do more to restore trust in Florida’s insurance market.
Closing Thoughts
Dr. Weiss summarized it perfectly: Florida’s insurance industry isn’t on the brink of a collapse—it’s already there in the minds of the public. Floridians are losing faith in their purchased insurance product, not because of dire predictions, but because of lived experiences: high deductibles, poor coverage benefits, endless delays, denied claims, and an oversight system that’s more focused on optics than outcomes.
Commissioner Yaworsky, if you’d like help drafting subpoenas to the folks actually responsible for this mess, my office is at your service—pro bono. Consider it a goodwill gesture toward fixing a system that’s failing millions in the minds of most Floridians. There needs to be a greater reach for public input and debate because the public is losing faith in their ability to own property due to significantly costly insurance that does not pay after a loss.
P.S. To any independent adjusters who have spoken out about the wrongdoings of Florida’s claims industry and are reading this blog: Save your emails, memos, and notes. If regulators continue down this path, you could be next. And if they ask you for your childhood diary, maybe it’s time to call a lawyer.
Thought For The Day
“No one loves the messenger who brings bad news.”
—Sophocles