Florida’s Citizens Settled Almost 70% of Sinkhole Claims in 2014

Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has reached settlement agreements with more than 1,650 Florida homeowners to end litigation on sinkhole repair cases that was delaying critical repairs to their properties.

As of Dec. 15, 2014, Citizens had reached agreements with 1,669 policyholders so work could begin on homes damaged by sinkholes.

Over the past several months, Citizens has taken aggressive steps to end litigation on sinkhole repair cases, according to the insurer. Since the first settlement agreements were signed in April 2014, such efforts have reduced a backlog of more than 2,400 litigated sinkhole claims by nearly 70 percent.

“Repairs do not get made when cases are tied up in litigation,” said Jay Adams, Citizens’ chief of claims. “By any standard, the settlement agreements have been a huge success in providing policyholders with the confidence they need to begin necessary repairs.”

Under the settlement agreements, Citizens has agreed to abide by a neutral evaluator’s decision in situations in which there is disagreement over the best method of repair. Citizens covers all recommended underground repairs and additional above ground work for any damage caused by the underground remediation. Law firms receive a set fee for expenses.

Citizens has extended the settlement terms to any policyholder who chooses to end litigation and begin repairs.

Participating policyholders choose a contractor from a list of qualified businesses. The qualified sinkhole contractors complete the underground repairs critical to stabilizing the property. Citizens pays the claim as the repairs are being completed. Policyholders can choose from any contractor listed in the agreement to complete sinkhole-related, above ground repairs.

To facilitate repairs, Citizens created a sinkhole managed repair program, in 2014 which pairs policyholders with contractors that have demonstrated the expertise and financial resources to properly complete underground repairs.