A Florida property insurance company has been fined a million dollars by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation - one of the highest ever in state history - for how customers were treated in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian.
According to a consent order, signed by Heritage executives and OIR officials, regulators cited nine violations - including failure to pay or deny a claim within 90 days of notice, and using adjusters that weren’t properly licensed.
“It’s kind of refreshing in Florida because we almost never see action against insurers in Florida,” said Doug Quinn, Executive Director of the American Policyholders Association, a non-profit that advocates for insurance customers.
Quinn says the APA has passed along a criminal referral to state regulators.
The Tampa-based Heritage says they cooperated with the investigation and have already made improvements.
“Our message to our policyholders is simple. We are committed to excellence and will never stop striving to improve. Heritage wants to be a valued partner for our policyholders in their time of need in the state of Florida,” Heritage said in a statement.
Quinn urges Heritage customers should go through their Hurricane Ian related claims carefully.
“You have to aggressively chase down what happened with your claim to make sure you were treated fairly,” said Quinn.
