JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Are unfair home insurance policies becoming more common?
One attorney thinks so and believes a Jacksonville insurance company is part of the problem.
The company won’t issue a refund to a homeowner who was only insured for 22 days but paid for a full year of coverage.
An attorney says it’s likely a minimum premium earned policy which means even if you cancel, they can keep 100% of the entire yearly cost of your policy.
Pasquale Fusco sold his home in Delray Beach last summer before moving to Upstate New York. He was a customer of Olympus Insurance Company for 20 years prior.
“That money could go a long way with the inflation that everybody’s facing right now, Fusco said.
He contacted News4JAX because he said he’s owed $3,600 from Olympus Insurance Company in Jacksonville.
“There was a lot of moving parts, you know, with escrow and taxes and everything else. So, I came to learn that my policy was never canceled just a few weeks ago, which I again, I thought was handled at that time,” Fusco said.
He’s now fighting with the company for a refund.
Fusco has contacted the BBB, the Attorney General and the Florida Department of Financial Services for help and wants others to know about the unfair practices he said insurance companies are getting away with.
“Basically, I was insured for 22 days, from August 1 to August 22 of last year, and I paid about $3,900. You know, it works up to about $1,100 a day,” Fusco said.
Dante Weston, an attorney specializing in insurance cases like this one, said nonstandard policies are becoming more and more common.
“This is becoming a toxic waste dump of insurance company behavior. That’s what Florida is becoming,” Weston said. “The insurance companies are taking advantage of us. We’re seeing that across every single insurance channel in the state of Florida, and it’s only going to get worse.”
Weston is a managing partner at Donaldson & Weston and has been practicing law for 15 years. He said he sees similar complaints daily from people all around Florida.
“What [these policies] have is a provision in it, which allows for a minimum premium earned or an MPE, which allows the insurance companies to basically keep the majority of the premiums paid, even if it’s supposed to last for a whole year, and they only last for a few days, they can keep the majority of the premium,” Weston said.
While these policies are legal, Weston said homeowners should still complain and leave reviews for the businesses online detailing their experiences.
“What we recommend doing is number one complaint, right, throw your hands up, yell loud, get upset, get frustrated, you have every right to be upset. Another channel is to possibly file a complaint with the attorney general,” Weston said.
Fusco has already done that. He’s still hoping to get his money back and expose what he calls unethical practices by insurance companies.
“A couple 100 bucks out of that, I’d be fine. But you know, it’s not it’s $3,600,” Fusco said.
The best thing you can do is do your research before signing an insurance policy. Check BBB reviews and check with your real estate agent about the company’s reputation.
When you secure a home insurance policy, it’s also important to ask questions. You should ask about refund and cancellation policies before signing to avoid being stuck paying for a premium you’re not using.
News4JAX reached out to Olympus Insurance for comment on this story, but they declined to give one.