Abusive assignment of benefits (AOB) claims are an “entirely preventable, human-driven phenomenon” that are driving up insurance cost after Hurricane Irma in Florida, wrote ILR Executive Vice President Harold Kim in an op-ed in the Sun Sentinel.
In these claims, home improvement contractors ask consumers to sign their insurance benefits over in exchange for work. With these benefits, contractors also get the right to sue the consumer’s insurance company in tandem with “fee-motivated lawyers.” The contractors sent inflated bills to the insurance company, and then sue if they don’t get the cash.
These suits have exploded in number, going from 460 in 2000 to 28,000 last year. If left unchecked, Florida regulators say Miami-Dade County’s property insurance rates will rise more than 50 percent by 2022. Kim called on Florida state lawmakers to take action.
