TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida House Democrats are calling for a statewide grand jury to explore allegations that some Florida property insurers are altering damage assessments to underpay or even reject consumer claims.

What You Need To Know

  • Florida House Democrats are calling for a grand jury to explore claims that at least one property insurer is short-changing consumers

  • The request comes after a 60 Minutes report that alleges an insurer altered damage assessments related to Hurricane Ian

  • Thousands of claims remain unresolved after Ian made landfall in 2022

  • Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis welcomed the Department of Justice to investigate any criminal wrongdoing

In a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis, House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell spotlighted a new 60 Minutes report that suggests at least one insurer operating in Florida is undermining damage reports related to Hurricane Ian — a Category 4 storm that struck in 2022.

The 60 Minutes segment focused on Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance, a company the state confirms is under an active and ongoing fraud investigation.

“Although the case is still open, I can tell you that our investigators have conducted dozens of witness interviews and collected thousands of documents of evidence,” said Florida Department of Financial Services Communications Director Devin Galetta.

Earlier this year, the Office Of Insurance Regulation fined the company more than $1 million, citing hundreds of state violations.

The company, however, denies altering reports. Officials also accuse 60 Minutes of omitting key facts in their report, including changes made by the company.

“As we told 60 Minutes in a seven-page response to their questions, Heritage made many reforms and improvements following Hurricane Ian two years ago — including overhauling our claims software that now adds the name of any reviewer who works on the claim,” wrote Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance CEO Ernie Garateix. "The accusation by adjusters, via 60 Minutes, that we used ‘altered damaged reports to deceive customers’ is flat wrong.”

DeSantis has yet to take a stance on establishing a statewide grand jury, but said Monday that the Department of Justice is welcome to take action.

"If they're identifying potential criminal activity, we have a Department of Justice in this country ... why not hold the wrongdoer accountable?” he said.

DeSantis also highlighted new legislation that expanded consumer protections after Hurricane Ian. Among other things, the measure (Senate Bill 7053) required regulators to tally enforcement actions against insurers into a report to legislative leaders.