It has been revealed that the insurance company Citizens, which is seen by many as a last resort option, rejected up to 90,000 reports which could have led to cheaper home insurance for many of its customers.
It has been claimed that the company and the contractors it works with hired experts to undertake reports on properties to see if customers would qualify for property insurance discounts; however, the insurance company rejected the reports, which led to the insurance premiums for some customers doubling in price.
One expert said: "The inspection processes is a sham and an outrage. They seem to be shaking down their customers and hoping people won't complain."
The research, which was undertaken by the Palm Beach Post, was based on 225,000 inspections obtained from the insurance company after the newspaper made a public records request. Citizens insures some 1.4 million customers, 140,000 of which are in Palm Beach County.
The Post reported: "Fewer than one in ten rejections resulted in lower customer bills ? for instance, catching a discount the inspector might have missed. After rejections, customer bills jumped an average of more than $660 or almost 25%, more than average for the overall program. Citizens calculates the overall average premium increase after 225,501 reinspections is $608.50, or 23.9%."
Customers are being urged to check their reports if they can get access to them, as they could be missing out on the chance to obtain significant savings. There are plans by many to take further action after this was revealed.