Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis said: "At my direction, these new fraud fighting squads have also focused on major cases involving organized schemes to defraud that have resulted in four RICO prosecutions statewide. This is a major win in the battle against bad actors working together to deliberately game the system to line their own pockets." (Credit: Michael O'Keene/Adobe Stock)
The two property insurance fraud investigation squads established by the Florida legislature in 2021 have led to a 148% increase in uncovered instances of fraud, a 55% increase in arrests and a 129% increase in successful property fraud prosecutions across the state during the first 12 months of operation, according to Florida's CFO Jimmy Patronis.
"That's tremendous progress in just one year to protect insurance consumers from fraud and help combat rate increases statewide," Patronis said in a release. "At my direction, these new fraud fighting squads have also focused on major cases involving organized schemes to defraud that have resulted in four RICO prosecutions statewide. This is a major win in the battle against bad actors working together to deliberately game the system to line their own pockets."
The fraud squads consist of 12 sworn law enforcement personnel dedicated to fighting insurance fraud in the state. While the squads are located in Central Florida along the I-4 corridor, they have the authority to investigate cases throughout the state, according to the CFO's office.
The squads work in areas throughout the state where unlicensed contractors are soliciting homeowners and regions hit by natural disasters. In addition to helping in instances where fraud has occurred, the CFO's office reported the squads are playing an important role in discouraging insurance fraud and educating the public.
Along with exorbitant litigation levels, Florida's home property insurance market has been marred by fraud, with roof replacement schemes running rampant.
"These two factors contributed enormously to the net underwriting losses Florida's homeowners insurers cumulatively incurred between 2016 and 2021," Sean Kevelighan, CEO of the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I), said in a release.
Since 2016, the state has seen two major hurricanes make landfall, according to Triple-I. During the past three hurricane seasons, the state recorded no direct hits from hurricanes. However, the state still saw 79% of all national homeowners insurance lawsuits regarding claims filed. Florida home insurers see about 9% of all U.S. home insurance claims.
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