TALLAHASSEE — Florida hasn’t seen a major hurricane make landfall in four years, yet a record number of property insurance companies have gone under and premiums for millions of homeowners are soaring, even after regulators approved repeated requests to raise rates and dump thousands of policyholders.
Some critics argue at least some of the blame falls on the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, which they say is not doing its job.
“We’re not seeing any regulatory action, no fines,” said Richie Kidwell, owner of Orlando-based Air Quality Services mold removal company and president of Restoration Association of Florida, an advocacy group for contractors.
“It’s in the name … They’re not regulating the insurance companies,” Kidwell said. “They might as well be the Office of Insurance Advocacy.”
Kidwell has several active lawsuits against the OIR in state and federal court over what he calls “the shell game that’s been going around Florida for years.” His organization also has filed thousands of lawsuits on behalf of homeowners.
Ten property and casualty companies are in liquidation, four of which filed for bankruptcy this year, leaving thousands of Floridians scrambling to find new insurance. Some insurance companies are jacking up rates by 100% or more.
“All of a sudden they started raising rates and dropping clients, creating a crisis requiring a special session to bail them out,” said John Tolley, a Brooklyn-based lawyer for homeowners who grew up in Orlando and…
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