Articles by William Rabb

Rabb covers the Southeast region for the Insurance Journal, a sister publication to the Claims Journal.

Miami Homeowner Charged with Defrauding Citizens by Claiming Old Damage

Florida authorities have charged a Miami man – who has a long record of criminal and civil cases under his name – with insurance fraud after investigators found that some $300,000 in claims were linked to pre-exiting damage to his …

Adjuster’s Lawsuit Accuses UPC of Altering Hurricane Damage Estimates

The practice of insurance companies revising independent adjusters’ damage reports may be as widespread in Louisiana as it is in Florida, according to adjusters and a plaintiffs’ attorney who has filed a lawsuit over it. “They changed my estimate completely. …

Plaintiffs Attorneys Rush to File Suits Before Tort-Reform Bill Signed into Law

The Florida Senate approved a take-no-prisoners tort-reform bill Thursday and it could be signed into law as soon as Friday. The bill, which extends limits on one-way attorney fees, assignments of benefits, and other provisions to most types of insurance …

Florida House Panel Approves Bill to End AOBs in Windshield Repair

Auto insurance and tort-reform groups are celebrating after a subcommittee of the Florida House Banking and Insurance Committee approved a bill that would ban assignment-of-benefits agreements for windshield repairs, a measure that proponents hope will stem a flood of litigation …

ALJ Order Raises Question: Must Appraisers Be Licensed?

A public adjuster that has been vilified by insurers for disrupting and delaying property inspections could soon be suspended for two years following a recommended order by an administrative law judge. But state regulators’ recommendations in the case have raised …

Fla. Tort Reform Bill Aims to Pick Up Where Lawmakers Left Off

Outside of insurance attorneys, plaintiffs’ lawyers and some doctors, few people in Florida may be familiar with what are known as letters of protection. But critics say the instruments, in which doctors agree to take a share of the judgment …

DeSantis Pitches More Tort Reform, Trial Lawyers Push Back

It’s now clear what the regular session of the Florida Legislature will focus on when lawmakers convene March 7: More litigation measures that would bring property insurance-type reforms to automobile, liability and other lines of insurance. The rough outlines of …

Few Florida Insurers Compel Arbitration, but Attorneys Say that Will Change

After American Integrity Insurance Co. filed for a binding arbitration endorsement on homeowner policies one year ago, many in the industry expected a wave of other insurers to follow suit as claims litigation costs continued to rise in Florida. So …

Insurers Do Not Have to Defend in Opioid Litigation, Federal Appeals Court Finds

Two insurance carriers have no duty to defend or to indemnify Quest Pharmaceuticals in lawsuits brought over the drug distributor’s role in the opioid crisis, a federal appeals court decided last week. The opinion could bolster U.S. insurers’ arguments that …

New Florida Law Makes Joint Settlement Offers ‘Legit’ but May Not Go Far Enough

In the celebration over the Florida Legislature’s sweeping insurance reforms approved last month, one statutory change has slipped under the radar a bit – one that insurance attorneys said will streamline the settlement process and could help reduce litigation. Among …