Summary
Homeowners in Florida are losing most of their insurance claim disputes with Citizens, the state's insurance provider of last resort. A large number of these disputes are being settled by the Division of Administrative Hearings (DOAH) instead of traditional courts, where Citizens wins more often. Critics argue this new system might not be fair to homeowners.
Key Facts
- Florida homeowners have lost over 90% of disputes with Citizens when handled by DOAH.
- Citizens is the state insurer of last resort, meaning it covers people who can't get insurance elsewhere.
- The move to use DOAH was part of reforms to deal with the insurance market's problems, including increased natural disaster risks and fraud.
- Citizens has increased rapidly, reaching over 1 million policies by 2023.
- Critics say rerouting disputes denies homeowners the right to a jury trial.
- Traditional court outcomes saw Citizens win about 55% of cases, much lower than in DOAH.
- Policy advocates claim the system heavily favors the insurer.
- Citizens defends the process as being faster and well-established for resolving claims.
