Frustration continues to mount among Citizens Insurance policyholders and their attorneys after a last-minute collapse of a bill they say would have made the claims process more fair.
Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance arbitration bill dies
The proposal came after months of backlash over the state-run insurer’s controversial arbitration process— a system that forces claim disputes before a single judge paid by Citizens itself.
A WPTV investigationfound contracts showing Citizens pays those judges up to $250,000 a year. Our analysis of a year of cases found Citizens won 99% of them.
Emails we obtained in a public records requestshow lawmakers questioned whether the process is constitutional. Our reporting also exposed a clause added to renewal policies —expanding arbitration even further. All the while, we listened to homeowners tell WPTV they’re stuck in limbo—after learning their denied Hurricane Milton claims are being decided by a judge paid by the very insurer that denied them…