What is going on with these rates? Why did your insurance go up? We haven’t seen a major storm hit us in years and yet the rates went up not too long ago. You were probably affected by this. So again, why? It could be your neighbor signed an AOB.
Before We Get Into It
We’re going to discuss a couple things today but if you’re going to remember anything from today I want you to remember this…
If you have a question, any question, and you call your Claims Dept, they WILL open a claim.
So please, for your sake, CALL US FIRST! We might have the answer for you and if not we’ll make the call and ask in generalities.
The Reason(s)
Let’s talk about AOB.
AOB, or Assignment of Benefits, is a very delicate document you should really think twice before considering signing it.
What does it do?
In short it can mess you up. Bad. Here’s what happens:
- You have a leaky roof so you call a roofer.
- Roofer comes over, checks the damage, and agrees to take the job.
- The roofer now says that he’ll handle everything and that you have nothing to worry about. He’ll even take care of the billing with the insurance company so you can relax. What a nice guy.
- They come to do the repairs. Seems like they’re doing the right things. And, would you look at that? They’re even doing some extra stuff. Wow. How great are they?
- You, happy that nothing came out of pocket, are content with the work and see them off.
- On your renewal you see your policy jump 100%…
…wait, WHAT?!
That’s right. Your contractor did the work and then some extra just to fatten up their check from the insurance company. The insurance company, in turn, goes to you the policyholder and raises your premium for having such an expensive claim. So much for not costing you anything…
Who to watch out for? Dishonest…
- …contractors
- …roofers
- …water mitigation/remediation specialists
Once You Find One of These, Never Let Them Go!
Mechanics. Finding a good mechanic is such a beautiful thing. You never want to let them go. You almost look forward to taking your car back so you can see them again. It’s a true love story.
Well…same goes for public adjusters. See, public adjusters can make you sign AOBs too but with a twist.
Once you sign over the AOB the public adjuster can then choose who he uses to do the work. This can lead to them choosing a contractor that is uninsured. If you insurance company finds out that an uninsured contractor did the work, that’s it. Forget about them paying anything.
They team up with dishonest trial lawyers and are ready to go to court in the case of a lawsuit.
Recap
- Payments from insurer go to contractor.
- They make unnecessary repairs.
- Fatten their check.
- Inflated bills increase your rate.
- If insurer questions repairs they get hit with lawsuit
- Trial lawyers
- Because it’s your policy and it looks like the lawsuit is coming from you they won’t cover you for 3 to five years.
- Some insurers will never insure a person who has sued an insurance company.
Lawsuits from such fraud have gone up 300% since 2010. Due to this Citizens has mentioned that those in the South Florida tri-county area (you and me) can see our rates double. Other parts of Florida might go up 10% a year.
For more information on AOBs please go to www.fightfraud.today and stay informed!
