Articles by William Rabb

Two More Arrested in Long-Running Operation Rubicon Investigation

Those familiar with insurance fraud schemes in Florida will remember Operation Rubicon. That was the year-long investigation by Miami-Dade and Florida authorities into an alleged property insurance fraud scheme that involved public adjusters, restoration companies, insurance agents, a police officer …

Andrew Upended Fla. Insurance Market, but Storm of Litigation Even Worse

It was 30 years ago that Hurricane Andrew, the strongest storm to make U.S. landfall in more than two decades, gouged its way across south Florida, destroying more than 25,000 homes, by some estimates, and causing more than $15 billion …

Lawsuit Alleges Ambassador Captive Used to Create Fake Insurance Policies

The owners of one of the oldest insurance agencies in Texas must have felt pretty surprised when they were named in a federal lawsuit brought by an AIG company, alleging the agency was part of an elaborate fraud that forged …

Demotech Downgrades 3 Carriers in Florida; Regulators Outraged

Just two weeks after the Demotech financial rating firm set off a firestorm of controversy by warning that it could soon downgrade as many as 17 Florida property insurers – then promised to hold off – the firm has now …

Fla. 3rd: Policyholder Who Blocked Repairs Can’t Recover Damages from Insurer

Insureds cannot recover damages from the insurance company if they failed to comply with the policy and failed to allow the insurer to make the needed repairs, a Florida appeals court decided Wednesday. Florida’s 3rd District Court of Appeal upheld …

Florida OIR Says Insurers Spent $3B on Legal Defense, 21 Insurers on Watch List

In 2021, Florida’s domestic property insurers spent more than $3 billion on legal defense costs and containment – double the figure reported in 2016. That’s one jaw-dropping but not surprising takeaway from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s recently posted …

Miami Jury Returns $95M Verdict Against Bar that Served Drunken Driver

A Miami-Dade jury has returned one of the largest verdicts ever in an automobile accident, awarding $95 million in damages plus attorneys’ fees to a South Florida family whose daughter was killed and whose son was catastrophically injured by a …

Attorneys Offer Tips on Defending Cast-Iron Pipe Claims

A decade ago, it was questionable sinkhole damages that proliferated in Florida property insurance claims. More recently, “free roof” solicitations, roof claims and thousands of lawsuits have rattled the industry. Now comes cast iron drainpipes, common in homes built before …

Roofing Company Claims Victory, Dismisses Lawsuit Restricting Solicitations

When the Florida Legislature approved Senate Bill 76 last year, with its restrictions on homeowner solicitation by roofing contractors, insurers saw it as a major blow against runaway fraudulent and exaggerated roof claims. Then a contractor, Gale Force Roofing and …

Milliman: Black-Lung Liabilities Top $9 Billion as Coal Industry Shrinks

The U.S. coal industry may be shrinking rapidly as the country shifts to renewable energy, but insurers’ and self-insured companies’ liabilities for black-lung occupational disease claims have ballooned – to an estimated $9 billion and perhaps more than $14 billion. …