Citizens Insurance Rejects Countless Claims Without Payment, According to Reports

Storm damage is bad enough, but seeing your property insurance claim denied in Fort Lauderdale can be particularly crushing. That denial letter rubs salt in the wound, often making you abandon any shred of hope you had left. But what if the insurance company denied your claim without a valid reason? This is a question that one insurance provider in Florida is being forced to answer after the emergence of a new report.

Questions Raised Over Insurer’s Failure to Pay Claims

 In November of 2024, numerous sources reported that Citizens Insurance had failed to pay the majority of its claims in 2023. Over 50% of these claims were closed without payment. Although this does not necessarily mean that all of these claims were “denied,” the statistic sparked concern across Florida – especially in the wake of two major storms.

Observers have given various explanations for this high number of unpaid claims. Some say that new laws in Florida have made it more difficult to sue one’s insurer after receiving an unfavorable decision. These legal changes were part of a sweeping effort to strengthen the insurance industry in Florida, which was hanging on by a thread after numerous storms in recent years.

However, this still doesn’t explain why Citizens is closing more claims than other insurers in Florida. Other private insurers in the Sunshine State have closed just over 36% of claims by comparison.

Some say that this statistic is misleading, and that many of these claims were not actually “denied” per se. For example, some of the people who filed claims with Citizens may not have been policyholders, and they may have mistakenly filed these claims after being moved to a different insurer.

Citizens Insurance representatives say that only 44% of the unpaid claims were officially “denied.” The others had issues like duplicate filings, invalid information, and so on. Some of the claims were withdrawn after initially being filed.

If nothing else, these issues highlight the need to work alongside experienced property insurance lawyers when filing a claim – especially after a hurricane. Invalid information and other errors may cause needless delays or even denials. Many of the people who received rejected claims from Citizens Insurance probably attempted to pursue settlements without legal assistance. With help from a lawyer, it may be easier to receive the compensation you deserve instead of becoming yet another statistic.

 Contact Our Fort Lauderdale Property Insurance Lawyers Today

At Geyer Fuxa Tyler, our legal team is made up of a diverse combination of attorneys who are well-positioned to protect the legal rights and financial interests of policyholders, just as they did for Mr. and Mrs. Gomez. If your property insurance claim was denied, we can help. For a free consultation, please call us today at (954) 990-5251. With an office in Sunrise, we represent policyholders in Broward County and throughout the state of Florida.

Sources: 

palmbeachpost.com/story/news/state/2024/11/25/citizens-insurance-why-half-of-2023-claims-closed-without-payment/76485207007/

news4jax.com/news/local/2024/10/23/citizens-property-insurance-denied-77-of-florida-homeowners-claims-from-hurricane-debby-new-data-shows/