Who do you want in charge of your home repairs? If the homeowner insurance companies get their way, you will lose your right to control who and how your home gets repaired. Recently, Barry Gilway, president and CEO of Florida’s state-run insurance company, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., wrote an opinion piece in a South Florida newspaper. His editorial created a rosy picture about the recent steps Citizens has implemented to force homeowners to allow Citizens to control repairs to their home. Many other insurance companies are riding Citizens’ coattails and hoping to use the strength of Citizens’ political influence to get their way. If the insurance companies convince insurance regulators to approve similar plans, the insurance companies will be allowed to hire their own contractors to repair your home, deeply affecting multiple industries and stripping you of your rights as a homeowner. It certainly seems like the insurance companies are looking to find yet another way to take advantage of its policyholders all in the name avoiding their obligations to pay covered claims.
Insurance companies admit that they are implementing these repair programs to control homeowners’ options and to reduce the amount of the average insurance claim. Citizens claims that this program is necessary, citing broad and unsupported references to fraudulent contractors and unnecessary litigation. What the insurance companies really want is for no one to question their claims decisions, and if they unreasonably deny a claim, the insurance companies do not want to suffer any repercussions.
