Florida AG Says His Office Investigating ‘Anti-Public Adjuster’ Endorsements in Policies
Article 0 Comments In the long-simmering clash between property insurers and public adjusters, the adjusters now have Florida’s chief law enforcement officer on their side, after state Attorney General James Uthmeier announced his office will investigate anti-public adjuster endorsements in some Florida insurance policies. Uthmeier, now in a tight race against Democrat Jose Javier Rodriguez, announced Tuesday, Oct. 21, that his staff has subpoenaed documents from Velocity Risk Underwriters, a Ryan Specialty managing general agent. A civil lawsuit against Velocity, brought by public adjusters over the same issue, is now pending in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. Uthemeier (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell, File) “We are looking into whether Velocity and other insurance companies worked together to ban public adjusters so they could pay out less money,” Uthmeier said in a news release. “Insurance companies use their own adjusters. Homeowners should be allowed to hire an advocate on their side too.” Uthmeier stated flatly, without attribution: “Homeowners who use a public adjuster can receive up to 30 percent more money on their claims than those who do not.” He may have been referencing a 2010 study from the Florida Office of Program Policy Analysis and Government Accountability, which examined Citizens Property Insurance claims from...