The Restoration Industry Association (RIA) has spoken up about Florida House Bill 909, which you can read more about by clicking here. According to a press release, RIA believes that the use of an assignment of benefits (AOB) is in the best interest of the policy holder, and any prohibition will result in delaying work needed for the proper restoration of damage.

RIA encourages insurance providers in Florida to continue to include AOB in policies as this is in the best interests of their customers and consumers all across Florida. The current language in HB 909 has the potential to allow insurance providers to remove the rights of consumers to assign benefits within policies and RIA recommends that this language be eliminated in its entirety.

The current statutes in Florida adequately provide for AOB and have done so since at least 1917, and this should not be altered. Any attempt to disallow AOB in Florida will effectively remove the rights that all Florida consumers of insurance products have to choose their contractor and could create a perception that insurance providers are manipulating the property insurance market for their own best interests.

For more information, contact the Restoration Industry Association in Rockville, Maryland, (800) 272-7012 or visit www.restorationindustry.org.