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Please call  Lee from L & S Insurance, Inc. Your Insurance Consultant  about Home Insurance, Auto, Flood, Private Flood, Car, Life Insurance & Financial Products, Business  & Commercial Policies, and Group Products for business owners to give Employees benefits at no cost to them,

For the seventh year in a row, the Florida insurance industry, regulators, and consumer advocates will push for reforms to the state’s assignment of benefits issue that has now become an insurance crisis, according to a report from the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.)

“[Florida’s] legal environment has encouraged vendors and their attorneys to solicit unwarranted AOBs from tens of thousands of Floridians, conduct unnecessary or unnecessarily expensive work, then file tens of thousands of lawsuits against insurance companies that deny or dispute the claims,” the report says of the misuse of the policyholder protection known as AOB.

Michael Carlson, president of the Personal Insurance Federation of Florida, said the I.I.I. study underscores the global problem with AOBs in Florida, and highlights the “pernicious effects of our one-way fee law on our justice and insurance systems.”

“It is well past time for the [Florida] Legislature to fix this problem,” he said, noting a bill addressing attorney fees – Senate Bill 122 – has already been filed for 2019 Florida Legislative Session, which begins in March.

With rates rising and insurers pulling back in parts of the state where the abuse is most rampant, such as in South Florida, insurance leaders say the crisis must be addressed.

“The key issue at OIR [Office of Insurance Regulation] is the issue of AOB,” Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier told attendees at the Florida Chamber of Commerce’s annual Insurance Summit in November. “It is an excessive litigation issue driven primarily by a loophole in the attorney fee statute … [it] is being used to the detriment of consumers.”

Please enjoy the full article below;

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2019/01/29/515957.htm

Please call  Lee from L & S Insurance, Inc. Your Insurance Consultant  about Home Insurance, Auto, Flood, Private Flood, Car, Life Insurance & Financial Products, Business  & Commercial Policies, and Group Products for business owners to give Employees benefits at no cost to them,

The U.S. Treasury today issued final regulations and other guidance on a provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act that allows owners of sole proprietorships, partnerships, trusts, and S corporations to deduct up to 20 percent of their qualified business income on their taxes.

Today’s final rules cleared up lingering doubts about whether insurance agents qualify for the full 20 percent deduction for their 2018 taxes and for years going forward until 2025 under President Donald Trump’s tax law. They do qualify.

Please enjoy the full article below;

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2019/01/18/515313.htm

Please call  Lee from L & S Insurance, Inc. Your Insurance Consultant  about Home Insurance, Auto, Flood, Private Flood, Car, Life Insurance & Financial Products, Business  & Commercial Policies, and Group Products for business owners to give Employees benefits at no cost to them,

An unlicensed insurance adjuster has been arrested over unlicensed public adjusting activities and the filing of false and fraudulent liens on individuals’ homes following Hurricane Irma, according to a statement from the Florida Department of Financial Services.

Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis reported Mary Bruce is accused of stealing $14,000 in total from homeowners.

Following Hurricane Irma in September 2017, DFS investigators discovered that Bruce approached roofing companies and homeowners in Central Florida and falsely identified herself as a “claims manager.”

Bruce is alleged to have told homeowners she could increase prior hurricane insurance claim settlements up to $30,000, but would require homeowners to sign a Power of Attorney document in order to do so.

Once signed, Bruce submitted an adjusted claim to the insurance company, doubling the original cost estimates submitted previously. If the insurance company refused to pay the increased adjusted amount, Bruce would then place a lien on the homeowner’s property.

Bruce was arrested and booked into the Volusia County Jail on charges of unlicensed public adjuster and filing of false and fraudulent lien. If convicted, Bruce faces up to 10 years in prison

Please enjoy the full article below;

https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2019/01/18/515155.htm

Please call Lee Gorodetsky your Insurance consultant at 954-270-7966  about consulting or referrals on Home Insurance  Auto, Flood, Private Flood, Car, business & Commercial Insurance, Group products from Colonial life, Alarm services referrals and much more.