Florida Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky has ordered $2.1 million in penalties against eight insurers for misconduct tied to claims handling after Hurricanes Ian and Idalia, citing failures ranging from late responses to policyholders to improperly appointed adjusters.
The Office of Insurance Regulation said the fines follow market conduct examinations of 10 companies, eight of which were found to have compliance lapses. Two additional reviews are still underway and may lead to further penalties.
The penalties include $400,000 each against American Coastal Insurance Company, American Mobile Insurance Exchange and Clear Blue Insurance Company; $325,000 against Monarch National Insurance Company; $250,000 against Tower Hill Prime Insurance Company; $150,000 against TypTap Insurance Company; $100,000 against Centauri Specialty Insurance Company; and $50,000 against Sutton National Insurance Company.
Among the violations, regulators identified widespread errors in required disclosure statements, with one insurer showing rates exceeding 60 percent for Hurricane Ian claims and 80 percent for Idalia claims. Examiners also found delays in meeting Florida’s 90-day deadline to pay or deny claims, failures to provide the Homeowners Claims Bill of Rights, and lapses in paying interest owed.
“With the most active part of hurricane season approaching, I am fully prepared to deploy OIR examiners to make sure claims management practices are efficient and handled appropriately,” Yaworsky said. “We will be paying particularly close attention to any company who has had concerning performance behavior in the past.”
