Civil Remedy Notice of Insurer Violations
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Filing Number:     788641
Filing Accepted:  10/24/2024
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Complainant
Last/Business Name *  
CHARLES   First Name   WILSON
Street Address * 2651 NW 63RD TER
City, State Zip * MARGATE, FL 33063
Email Address * WILSONCHARLES66@YAHOO.COM
Complainant Type: * Insured
Insured
Last/Business Name*   CHARLES   First Name   WILSON
Policy # * 09074474 Claim #* 202407001678
Attorney
Attorney is Applicable
Last Name* ALTMAN First Name * ALEXIS Initial
Street Address* 925 SOUTH FEDERAL HIGHWAY
City, State Zip* BOCA RATON , FL - FLORIDA 33432
Email Address * AALTMAN@KPATTORNEY.COM
Violation
Insurer Type *   Authorized Insurer Unauthorized Insurer
 
Insurer Name*   SLIDE INSURANCE COMPANY
NAIC Company Code 17227
 
Name of individual responsible for violation (if any):* TIFFANY PARKER
Type of Insurance * Residential Property & Casualty   
Reason for Notice *
Unfair Trade Practice
Claim Delay
Unsatisfactory Settlement Offer
* Statutory provision(s) which the insurer allegedly violated.
 
624.155(1)(b)(1) Not attempting in good faith to settle claims when, under all the circumstances, it could and should have done so, had it acted fairly and honestly toward its insured and with due regard for her or his interests.
624.155(1)(b)(3) Except as to liability coverages, failing to promptly settle claims, when the obligation to settle a claim has become reasonably clear, under one portion of the insurance policy coverage in order to influence settlements under other portions of the insurance policy coverage.
626.9541(1)(i)(3)(a) Failing to adopt and implement standards for the proper investigation of claims.
626.9541(1)(i)(3)(b) Misrepresenting pertinent facts or insurance policy provisions relating to coverages at issue.
626.9541(1)(i)(3)(c) Failing to acknowledge and act promptly upon communications with respect to claims.
626.9541(1)(i)(3)(d) Denying claims without conducting reasonable investigations based upon available information.
* Specific policy language that is relevant to the violation.
Enter all words or phrases (one at a time) that should be used to filter.

loss settlement provision
 
* Facts and circumstances giving rise to the violation.
Enter all words or phrases (one at a time) that should be used to filter.

This notice is given in order to perfect the right to pursue the civil remedy authorized by section 624.155, Florida Statutes. Wilson Charles (“insured”) purchased an all-risk policy of insurance with Slide Insurance (“carrier”) to cover his home and personal property. The Insured made a claim after suffering a water loss. The loss was a direct result of a covered peril under the all-risk policy. Although the carrier opened coverage, the carrier has not attempted in good faith to settle the insured’s claim when, under all the circumstances, it could and should have done so, had it acted fairly and honestly toward its insured and with due regard for their interests. Furthermore, the carrier is required to properly investigate and adjust claims and cannot place that burden upon the insured. This was made clear by the appellate court and the Florida Supreme Court in Allstate Indemnity Co. v. Ruiz, 899 So. 2d 1121 (Fla. 2005)(“The Legislature has clearly chosen to impose on the insurance companies a duty to use good faith and fair dealing in processing and litigating the claims of their insureds…”). The carrier was immediately put on notice of the insured’s water damage claim, which caused extensive damage to the home. The carrier sent out a field adjuster who wrote up an extremely deficient estimate of damages in the amount of $8,703.39. The insured knew this was not an accurate representation of the damages and provided an estimate in the amount of $35,447.55 However, Slide failed to make any additional payments. Pursuant to Florida Statute §624.155(1)(b)(1), Slide has failed to settle the claim in good faith when it could and should have done so. The Insured reported the Loss as soon as they were aware of the damage and the Property was presented for inspection. The damage to the insured’s home was clearly caused by a covered peril under the Policy, but Slide intentionally turned a blind eye to the extent of the damage, low-balled the Claim, and callously delayed the claim process. Slide has not shown a good faith intention to pay what was owed but rather has underpaid the claim for financial gain and profit. Pursuant to Florida Statute §626.9541(1)(i)(3)(a), Slide has a duty to adopt and implement standards for the proper investigation of claims. The estimate written by the carrier’s field adjuster displays a lack of knowledge, improper training, and/or intent to underpay. Florida law mandates that insurers and adjusters do not mislead the Insured. Florida Insurance companies that fail to follow these Florida laws and regulations, designed to protect consumers, do not only breach their duties under the policy of insurance but do so in bad faith. In violation of Florida Statute §626.9541(1)(i)(3)(b), Slide intentionally misrepresented the available coverage under the policy. Slide has intentionally misrepresented the amount of damages. Furthermore, the Insured believes Slide repeatedly and as a standard business practice engages in this behavior to deprive its Insured of their rightful insurance proceeds when they experience a covered loss. Insured contends Slide has implemented a claims program and business practices that are tailored to increase its profits at the expense of benefits that are owed to its customers and that other Insured have been refused insurance proceeds due and owing under the policy in the same or similar circumstances, and some have been provided inadequate insurance monies under the same or similar facts or circumstances. This is wrongful conduct and directly violates the purpose of insurance coverage. Slide’s wrongful conduct and omissions include, but are not limited to: claim delay, not conducting a full and prompt investigation, not treating the policyholder with good faith claims conduct, looking for ways to reduce recovery to Insured; looking for ways to delay full recovery to Insured; holding back and failing to pay portions of claim clearly owed; not adjusting the claim and evaluating the loss properly, promptly and fairly to provide full and prompt indemnity to the Insured; not training, supervising or managing adjusters properly so that prompt and full payments are made, but rather placing the company’s interests before the policyholder’s interests; establishing severity control initiatives and otherwise establishing a culture of not fully and promptly paying claims following losses; and failing to pay the full amount of the Insured’s damage despite knowing it must do so. Consequently, these actions have caused undo frustration and financial harm to the Insured. As a direct and proximate result of the poor handling of this Claim by Slide the Insured sustained extracontractual damages. Due to the bad faith actions of Slide, Insured was forced to engage the services of the Public Adjuster to attempt to recover the settlement to which they are rightfully entitled. All the aforementioned are part of what appears to be an ongoing pattern and practice of behavior of the carrier that it demonstrates a wanton and reckless regard for the insureds’ rights and a pattern and practice of bad faith claims practices to its insureds across the state of Florida. Therefore, to cure the defects outlined in this Civil Remedy Notice, the carrier must: 1.) Pay the complete covered loss in the amount of $35,447.55, minus any applicable deductibles or prior payments; 2.) Pay all emergency remediation services; 4)Pay the statutory interest on the amount of unpaid damages from the date of loss to the date payment is finally made. A copy of this letter and filed form submitted to the FDFS has been printed out and mailed. Please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned at (561)-892-9988 if you have any questions or concerns. Sincerely, Alexis Altman
Comments
User Id Date Added Comment
mthornton@slideinsurance.com 12-19-2024 Via E-mail & Posting on DFS Website Alexis Altman, Esq. The Law Office of Kanner & Pintaluga 925 S Federal Hwy Boca Raton, FL 33432 aaltman@kpattorney.com Complainant: Wilson Charles Insured: Wilson Charles Claim No: 202407001678 Policy No: 09074474 CRN Filing No.: 788641 Dear Alexis Altman: Please allow this correspondence to serve as Slide Insurance Company’s (“Slide”)’s response to the Civil Remedy Notice (“CRN”) filed on behalf of Wilson Charles (“Insured”). The CRN was accepted by the Department on October 24, 2024. Without waiving any objections to the sufficiency of the CRN, and specifically subject to a reservation of all rights and defenses herein, Slide denies all allegations that it violated Florida Statutes or other codes, regulations, and/or rules in this matter. Slide challenges the validity of the CRN as it fails to identify the specific policy terms the Insured claims Slide failed to follow, nor do the allegations as stated give rise to any violation of Florida law or insurance policy. See, e.g., Julien v. United Prop. & Cas. Ins. Co., 311 So.3d 875, 879 (Fla. 4th DCA 2021); Demase v. State Farm Florida Insurance Company, 351 So.3d 136, 138-39 (Fla. 5th DCA 2022) (holding the trial court properly determined a civil remedy notice that failed to state with specificity the relevant policy language was legally insufficient). Thus, the CRN is deficient. CLAIM FACTS Slide acquired a homeowners’ insurance policy from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation issued to the Insured for property located at 2651 NW 63rd Terrace, Margate, Florida, for the period from January 12, 2024 to January 12, 2025 (the “Policy”). On July 17, 2024, the Insured reported damage to their property from a kitchen sink leak. The date of loss was reported as May 25, 2024. The same day the claim was reported, Lifeline Public Adjusters LLC (“Public Adjuster”) submitted notice of their representation of the Insured. Slide acknowledged receipt of the claim, assigned a licensed field adjuster to inspect the property, and in a letter dated July 18, 2024, requested information from the Insured regarding the loss. The inspection was completed on July 19, 2024, with the field adjuster, Insured, and the Insured’s Public Adjuster. During the inspection, water damage was documented to the kitchen sink cabinet and baseboards in the adjoining laundry room. No other damages were reported or observed. Due to the lack of response to the prior request for documents, in a letter dated July 24, 2024, Slide again requested information from the Insured including but not limited to, repair records, plumbing receipts, photographs of the damage, and a recorded statement of the Insured. The desk adjuster assigned to the claim followed up with the Insured’s Public Adjuster for the pending information on August 13th, August 21st, and September 10th, 2024. On September 20, 2024, the Insured’s Public Adjuster provided an invoice from General Services 365 LLC dated June 10, 2024 for a hot water valve replacement and p-trap adjustment. The Insured also provided a recorded statement on that date advising that after filing a claim for roof damage with their Public Adjuster in May 2024, they asked their Public Adjuster to look at the kitchen leak. The Public Adjuster then referred them to General Services 365 LLC to complete repairs to the sink. No further documentation responsive to Slide’s requests was provided. Contrary to the allegations in the CRN, Slide was still awaiting the Insured’s submission of the documentation first requested on July 19th and July 24th, 2024, to conclude its investigation. In furtherance of its assessment of the claim, Slide retained a licensed engineer to evaluate the Insured’s property and the cause, origin, and duration of the claimed damages. Before the engineer was provided access to the property and while Slide’s information requests were still pending, the Insured’s attorney, The Law Offices of Kanner and Pintaluga, filed the instant Civil Remedy Notice and Property Insurance Intent to Initiate Litigation on the Insured’s behalf on October 24, 2024. To date, the Insured has yet to comply with Slide’s request for records relating to their claim or provide access to the property for inspection with an engineer, contrary to the Conditions of the Policy. Therefore, all allegations that Slide breached the terms of the Policy are without merit. Slide maintains that it has acted in accordance with the terms of the subject insurance policy and the law in its adjustment of the claim. The facts and circumstances set forth in the CRN are misleading, vague, and incomplete. The Insured has presented no evidence to support the allegations of claim delay, unsatisfactory settlement offer, or unfair trade practice. Rather, the facts show Slide promptly investigated the loss and made communications as necessary to adjust the claim, in compliance with the Policy and Florida Statute. All delays have been the direct result of the Insured’s and / or their representatives’ conduct. DENIAL OF ALL VIOLATIONS OF FLORIDA STATUTE The CRN asserts Slide violated §§ 624.155(1)(b)(1), 624.155(1)(b)(3), 626.9541(1)(i)(3)(a), 626.9541(1)(i)(3)(b), 626.9541(1)(i)(3)(c), and 626.9541(1)(i)(3)(d), Fla. Stats. Notwithstanding any challenges to the CRN’s legal sufficiency, and specifically subject to a reservation of all defenses and/or rights, Slide categorically denies all violations of Florida Statutes or any other codes, regulations, and/or rules in its handling of the subject loss. The underlying claim was investigated in as thorough and expedient a manner as possible. The facts demonstrate Slide employed proper and customary claims practices in the investigation of this claim including, but not limited to, a prompt inspection of the Insured’s property and timely communications with the Insured and/or their representatives. Despite repeated requests to the Insured and / or their representatives for information material to Slide’s investigation, the claim is still pending the Insured’s cooperation. Thus, the statutory violations asserted in the CRN are baseless. The Insured has not submitted any facts or circumstances to support their allegations. Rather, the facts will show the Insured breached multiple conditions of the Policy and impeded any meaningful investigation of the claims made. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the documented facts contradict all allegations that Slide has in any manner acted improperly or contrary to its contractual obligations to the Insured. In filing this response, Slide does not intend to waive any rights or defenses that it may have in law or the policy. Rather, Slide expressly reserves all such rights and defenses without exception or limitation. Should there be any questions or further inquiry with respect to this matter, please contact the undersigned at mthornton@slideinsurance.com. Sincerely, /s/ Marianne Thornton Marianne Thornton, Esq. Staff Counsel
Acknowledgement
* The submitter hereby states that this notice is given in order to perfect the rights of the person(s) damaged to pursue civil remedies authorized by Section 624.155, Florida Statutes.

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DFS-10-363
Rev. 10/14/2008