Anti-fraud groups are slamming a budget-cutting scenario put out by Florida Department of Financial Services that would eliminate all seven of the state's insurance fraud prosecutors.
Jayme O'Rourke, a Department of Financial Services spokesperson, said all agencies were asked to submit plans to the Senate General Appropriations Committee on how they would reduce 20 percent of their budgets to see what shape the agencies would be in after the cuts.
She noted the department does not want to make such cuts, and that the legislative committee's request was not part of any final plan.
The Coalition Against Insurance Fraud said firing the insurance fraud prosecutors is "a foolish idea that would hurt consumers and play into the hands of insurance crooks."
The Coalition said eliminating the prosecutors will drive up auto premiums, which are already among the highest in the nation.
Coalition executive director Dennis Jay said Florida recently expanded the number of insurance fraud prosecutors from two to seven but still lags far behind states such as New Jersey, which has 31 prosecutors; Pennsylvania, which has 22 prosecutors; and Massachusetts, which has 11 prosecutors.
Walter Dartland, executive director of the Consumer Federation of the Southeast, said, "It's beyond belief that legislators would consider such a move when insurance fraud is increasing across the state. This ill-advised idea would amount to a personal stimulus bailout package for insurance schemers."
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation spokesman Ed Domansky said in a statement: "In Florida, the Division of Insurance Fraud is under the CFO's office. Certainly, Commissioner [Kevin] McCarty believes that fraudulent insurance activity should be dealt with accordingly, but at this time, given Florida's economic conditions, we will work with whatever policy decisions our state's legislators feel are best for everyone."
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