Renzo DowneyNovember 5, 2020
4min902
Insurance providers want protections against malicious assignment of benefits cases.
Tag: AOB abuseDebate party at Sports Grill Kendall. Image via AP.
Renzo DowneyNovember 5, 2020
Michael MolineFebruary 7, 2019
8min1215
It's one part of the problem of assignment of benefits, or AOB, abuse.
Guest AuthorJanuary 16, 2019
3min347
It's not just homeowners who are the victims.
Staff ReportsOctober 25, 2018
3min503
A contractors’ trade association lashed out Thursday against Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis over his warnings to insurance policyholders in the Hurricane Michael zone against signing assignment of benefits agreements. “Don’t let crooked contractors push you to sign away your insurance benefits,” one such advisory reads, delivered by Patronis via his Twitter feed. The message complained of […]
Staff ReportsOctober 17, 2018
4min490
Amid post-Hurricane Michael warnings to homeowners against signing assignment of benefits (AOB) agreements comes a defense of these contracts from the Restoration Association of Florida. “We are extremely concerned about multiple advisories warning homeowners not to sign any contracts containing assignment of benefits (AOB) language,” association spokeswoman Amanda Prater said in a written statement. The trade association represents water, […]
Michael MolineSeptember 6, 2018
4min481
A state appeals court has upheld insurance policy language barring policyholders from signing assignment of benefits agreements without the approval of co-insureds, including financial institutions holding mortgages on the property. The ruling Wednesday, written by Judge Alan Forst for a unanimous three-judge panel of the 4th District Court of Appeal, contradicts a finding by the 5th District reached […]
Staff ReportsAugust 7, 2018
5min901
Two water and mold restoration companies have joined a Florida Chamber of Commerce-led effort to stop abuse of assignment of benefits agreements, or AOBs. They are Rytech and VetCor Services. Also joining the Consumer Protection Coalition Tuesday was the Insurance Information Institute and the National Insurance Crime Bureau. “Rytech is a strong supporter of the coalition and its […]
Staff ReportsJune 18, 2018
2min459
A contractor is facing charges in an alleged $140,000 assignment of benefits scam that targeted 19 homeowners. The Florida Bureau of Insurance Fraud named Timothy Matthew Cox, who operated Nationwide Catastrophe Services Inc. and Restoration Response Services Inc. “Criminals who prey on Florida families after a hurricane or tropical storm are some of the worst […]
Michael MolineJune 13, 2018
3min447
Hurricane Irma-related lawsuits surged at Citizens Property Insurance Corp. early this year, representing a nearly 50 percent increase in the company’s litigation load compared to the same period in 2017. More than 90 percent of those lawsuits originated in South Florida. The state’s insurer of last resort fielded 4,287 legal claims in January through April, […]
Michael MolineMay 14, 2018
5min312
Details of insurance claims gleaned for the ongoing battle against assignment of benefits (AOB) abuse are “trade secrets” that should be shielded from public view, a new lawsuit says. Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co. recently filed in Leon County Circuit Civil court against the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), seeking to block it from complying with a public records […]