CENTRAL FLORIDA — Several Citizens Property Insurance customers have seen their discounts disappear, resulting in a massive increase in their premiums.
But those customers fought back, and now the state-run insurer has decided to change its re-inspection policy.
Earlier this year, Citizens Property Insurance decided to re-inspect 300,000 homes to make sure the customers deserved the yearly discounts they were receiving for home improvements.
Last month, Action 9 reported that the company re-inspected 7,000 homes in Central Florida alone, and 77 percent of homeowners saw their premiums increase by an average of $450.
Greg Harrigan spent a lot of money to hurricane-proof his home, including adding tougher windows, a garage door approved for category five winds, and a new roof.
So he was confused when Citizens cancelled his big hurricane discount, and raised his premium by several hundred dollars after the company sent its own contractor to re-inspect the home.
"They told me that I did not provide proof that my roof met building code," said Harrigan. "I was quite upset because I spent a good deal of money trying to fortify my house."
Several customers argued the re-inspection program was rigged in favor of citizens to jack up rates.
"We had situations where we actually found there was a change on the inspection form that the inspector didn't make," said Robin Westcott, a consumer advocate.
On Friday, Citizens announced a change to the re-inspection process.
Customers who have discounts taken away can now request a follow-up inspection for no extra charge.
"If you do not agree with those findings, we will pay. You can dispute this," said Citizens President Barry Gilway.
Citizens claims changes in standards are to blame for the disappearing discounts.
The insurer said it would award credits retroactively for any customer who makes improvements based on the new standards and requests a re-inspection, but it will not return any premiums.
WFTV
