Citizens Property Insurance Corp. reports it returned nearly $310,000 in refunds to affected policyholders in 2014 as part of its efforts to recover claims payments of $4.9 million by pursuing reimbursement from product manufacturers, contractors and other third parties responsible for the losses.
Citizens’ recovery unit was established in 2009. Its eight employees are charged with reviewing claim losses that appear to be the fault of someone other than Citizens’ policyholders. Common causes for recovery include defective products, improper installation and negligent actions of other responsible parties.
The recovery unit surpassed its 2014 goal of $3.3 million by more than 30 percent by taking back more than $12,000 per claim in 2014 compared to its rate of more than $10,000 per claim in 2013, according to the company.
Citizens’ ability to recover against parties that caused or contributed to losses sustained by policyholders gave Citizens the ability to refund a total of $309,335 in deductibles on 383 claims in 2014. Affected policyholders received an average refund on their deductibles of more than $800.
Kay Weldon, Citizens claims manager overseeing the recovery efforts says Citizens’ recoveries in 2014 had a direct impact on keeping premiums as affordable as possible while ensuring that Citizens policyholders receive all they are entitled to.
“The funds we recover either go to individual policyholders directly or are set aside to boost Citizens’ surplus to benefit all Florida policyholders,” she said.
Source: Citizens Property Insurance Corp. — http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2015/02/20/358125.htm
One of the most common claims filed by homeowners in Florida involves water damage. Water damage can have several causes, including but not limited to plumbing leaks, roof leaks, drain line backups, washing machine leaks or a/c leaks. These water leaks can cause substantial damage to a residence or personal property and furniture. While most insurance policies cover such sudden and accidental water leaks, the most common denial for such claims is the constant or continuous seepage exclusion. This exclusion comes into play when the insurance company retains an expert or independent adjuster to inspect the damaged property and provide an opinion that the damage is long term. The insurance company will rely on photographs, the existence of prior claims, prior repairs or prior plumbing issues to support their opinion. As a result, homeowners might be faced with the difficulty of trying to prove that the water damage they sustained on their property was sudden and accidental.