NASSAU COUNTY, Fla. – A Nassau County judge recently slammed a Florida property insurance company after he said it is stonewalling policyholders and disregarding court orders.
Court records show dozens of complaints have been filed against Universal Property & Casualty Insurance in Duval and Nassau Counties for underpaid claims and lack of communications.
It’s the same company Jessica Parola is dealing with as a first-time homeowner after a slab leak uprooted her life.
“Where am I going to cook? How am I gonna eat? You know, it’s like, the only thing that’s up is the microwave. I have nothing. I can’t wash dishes. I can’t get a drink of water,” Parola said.
It wasn’t long after she made the biggest purchase of her life that she called her insurance company.
Parola hired a public adjuster to help with her claim. The proof of loss statement and quotes from her contractor estimated the damage to her home to be $25,000.
But Parola said she’s only gotten $8,000 from UPICIC. She also said the company attempted to close the claim after issuing that initial payment.
“I feel that it’s been underpaid and kind of neglected,” Parola said. “We’ve sent emails, we don’t get a response back, we’re just asking for a negotiation, you know, to, to negotiate the price of it, which is what should happen.”
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This problem affects policyholders statewide, but a Nassau County judge recently lost his patience dealing with Universal in court.
The claim dispute came from a Fernandina Beach couple.
The judge sanctioned Universal, accusing them of “blatant discovery stonewalling,” demanding answers from the company, forcing them to default on their lawsuit and referring Universal’s lawyer to the bar for disciplinary action.
The judge also wrote in his order: “This is now, without a doubt, the most egregious act of willfully defying court orders and professional obligations that the court has seen in its tenure.”
Peter Laframbroise is the public claims adjuster helping Parola fight her claim. He said sometimes it’s taken weeks if not months to get a response from the insurance company.
Florida law states an insurer has “7 calendar days” to respond or acknowledge communications involving claims.
“There’s a lot of delay in the claims communication, you know, why would they not acknowledge the estimates and all the documents that we had uploaded to their system?” Laframbroise said.
News4JAX contacted Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company to ask why Parola is stuck waiting on the money she needs to repair her home. An attorney for the company wrote:
“This initial payment does not comprise the final payment on the claim, and it is possible that additional supplemental payments will be made. On the other hand, the company does not agree with the estimate provided by the public adjuster. As one example, this policy relates to a condominium unit, and Florida law outlines the separate responsibilities of unit owners and condominium associations for different portions of the property. Among other considerations, the public adjuster’s estimate appears to include amounts for repairs to property that is the responsibility of the condominium association. The components of the public adjuster’s estimate and the related considerations such the one mentioned here are actively under review.”
Travis Miller, Attorney for Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company
The company does not agree Parola’s claim is worth $25,000 but acknowledges that the case is still under review.
The lack of communication has left Parola stuck without enough money to complete the repairs to her home. She’s still hoping to negotiate with the company.
“We really hope that somebody on their behalf reaches out to us to try to resolve this claim. So you know, she can put everything back together and go back to a normal way of living,” Laframbroise said.