Sadly, these events often bring with them a wave of fraud and other types of crime. My office and local law enforcement will work tirelessly to protect Floridians, but citizens can help by taking steps to protect themselves. Attorney General Ashley MoodyAccording to Moody’s office, after a natural disaster consumers should be wary of tree service scams, building and home repair scams, disaster relief scams and water testing and treatment scams. Charity Scams: This scam is particularly effective after a disaster, during which numerous disaster-specific charities pop up. If you would like to donate to help with disaster relief, consider these tips:Avoid solicitors that use high-pressure tactics or are hesitant to provide additional information on the charitable organizationBe wary of charities with similar-sounding names.

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - State Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis will push during the 2020 legislative session to address auto-glass coverage as part of the overhaul of Floridas assignment of benefits insurance laws. The lions share of that exploitation is the windshield glass fraud that takes place.Lawmakers this year revamped assignment of benefits for claims dealing with homeowners insurance but did not address it for windshield repairs. Under assignment of benefits, property owners in need of repairs sign over benefits to contractors, who ultimately pursue payments from insurance companies. Also, the bill lets insurers offer policies that restrict or do not allow assignment of benefits. Bills (SB 754, HB 323) aimed applying AOB changes to auto-glass coverage did not get through committees during the 2019 session, and the issue also was not included in the homeowners insurance bill that passed.

The state-backed Citizens and other insurers had blamed higher rates on fraud and litigation involving assignment of benefits, commonly known as AOB. In a news release issued late Monday, state Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier credited the new law (HB 7065) with helping reduce the Citizens rate hike. We are pleased to see that AOB reforms passed by the Legislature are already having a positive effect on rates, Altmaier said. Along with the AOB changes, the new Citizens rates also reflect the Office of Insurance Regulation freezing rates in Monroe County for many wind and multi-peril residential policies. While the majority will see rate increases, about 67,000 will see rates go down.