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As consumer complaints have apparently mounted over unpaid hurricane losses, Florida’s top insurance regulator and some lawmakers have signaled new scrutiny on insurance carriers’ claims-handling practices.

Florida Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­ Commissioner Michael Yaworsky in February posted a memo demanding more data from carriers and warning insurers that improperly handled storm claims involving concurrent causation — those denied due to the presence of both wind and flood damage — “will result in administrative action and restitution to the consumer.”

“While the office recognizes case law surrounding concurrent causation and anti-concurrent causation policy language, it is not a mechanism to handle claims poorly,” Yaworsky said in the memo.

He noted that the state Department of Financial Services has received “a significant number” of consumer complaints related to delayed or underpaid flood claims. DFS did not provide the number of complaints fielded in 2024.

Yaworsky and the Office of Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­ Regulation, in response to follow-up questions from Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­ Journal, did not name the insurers that he or the complainants are referring to. But people in the Florida insurance industry said the memo appears to be targeting “write your own” companies that provide National Flood Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­ Program policies.

“The way I read it, the additional information requirements are for WYO companies,” said Melissa Burt DeVriese, president of Ormond Beach-based Security First Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³»­ Co.

Wright Flood, headquartered in Clearwater, is one of the largest write-your-own companies, providing NFIP flood coverage in Florida and around the country. A spokesman for Wright said that the genesis of the concerns is something of a mystery to the firm.

“With us being a flood-only company, we follow all FEMA rules and regulations and pay every dollar available under the flood insurance policy,” said Robert Langrell, senior communications manager for Wright Flood. The Federal Emergency Management Agency administers the NFIP.

Langrell added that Wright does not utilize anti-concurrent causation clauses in flood policies. For 2024 hurricanes, the company also is 25% ahead of the claims-closing pace seen in previous storms, he noted. Further, the NFIP does not appear to be slower in paying flood claims than in previous years.

The NFIP has reported that as of Feb. 6, it had received more than 57,400 flood claims resulting from Hurricane Helene, which brought storm surge in Florida and unprecedented rainfall to parts of Appalachia last September. The exact number of claims that have been paid was not available from FEMA.

In Florida, the OIR data show that about half of all claims, including wind and private flood claims in Helene and Milton, have been closed with payment as of mid-February. The OIR does not track NFIP claims, but the data show that private flood insurers — not WYO firms — have closed about 22% of Milton claims with payment and 33% of Helene flood claims with payment.

Flood-versus-wind-damage has often been an issue for property owners, some of whom may not realize that most property policies do not cover flood damage, or that storm surge damage is often excluded from wind-coverage policies. For policies with anti-concurrent causation language, insurers may deny coverage if any excluded peril plays a role in the loss, even if a covered peril also contributed, the OIR noted.

To help sort out what claims may have been handled improperly, OIR was asking for more data from carriers. This includes:

• Written confirmation if the insurer has contractual arrangements to write NFIP WYO policies.
• Names of all entities with which the insurer has an active contract to provide claims-handling services on behalf of the insurer for NFIP WYO policies.
• A copy of any claims-handling manual as well as the NFIP Claims Manual, if applicable.
• A written statement that explains weaknesses and setbacks the insurer and claims-handling organizations have identified in the NFIP’s claims handling process.

DeVriese, of Security First, said it’s unclear what’s behind the other part of Yaworsky’s memo, the section warning Florida insurers to follow the law.

“I don’t have any idea why the commissioner added that part,” DeVriese said. “We stress to everyone involved in the claims process the importance of following the law and the policy terms of the homeowner’s insurance contract. I would expect that my competitors do the same.”

The commissioner’s warning came just days after Florida lawmakers began pushing bills that have been called “consumer friendly,” likely in response to complaints from policyholders facing higher premiums in recent years.

Topics Carriers Florida Data Driven