With insurers and regulators blaming a surge in water-damage claims for higher property-insurance rates, Florida lawmakers began grappling with a controversial debate that includes homeowners, contractors, insurance companies and trial lawyers.
The issue centers on a practice known as “assignment of benefits,” which involves homeowners signing over insurance benefits to contractors who are hired to do repairs. Supporters say the practice can help ensure that insurance companies pay claims properly, but critics say abuses of the practice are driving up insurance premiums.
