I got my $3655 car insurance renewal notice today for my 2012 Prius ... thanks DeSantis

Up thread I listed many things including higher costs to repair cars, cars just cost more so they cost more to insure.
Also is due to ambulance chasers, and medical providers who scam PiP and suck even nickel out for BS accidents.
The two hurricanes last year caused massive flooding, any idea how many cars were a total loss? I’d bet tens of thousands.

They are all factors.

You want to act like PI attorneys have no effect, all those million dollar settlements and tens of thousands of 30-50k check don’t come without a cost. Those checks come from bodily coverage injury right?

“Bankrste says that part of the reason Florida’s car insurance rates are so high is that it is the third most dangerous state to drive in. It also noted that insurance fraud is a common concern so prevalent that the Senate considered repealing no-fault coverage during the 2023 legislative session.”
Florida car insurance rates double the national average in 2023

 

To be fair, most illegals are not bad people. They are people making rational decisions for their families. I would deport the millions of them tomorrow and halt most construction in the state.

Lots of elderly people flocking here too. They are also making a rational decision because the older you get the colder it gets. They just want to be warm. That doesn't make them bad.

Or maybe you're talking about conservatives bailing on their failing states. They are flocking here in droves for freedom. Can't blame them for that. I would deport them too, but that would be illegal. So, moving forward they will have an impact fee on the home they buy and do 100 community service hours.

 

Its not really the attorneys committing or enabling fraud, its medical providers and the 411 pain-type fixers that send them to shady providers. The latest reforms made the cut-off for medical 14 days to report, so that was intended to combat people coming back months or years later to claim medical, but those people are still around. Maybe if healthcare werent so expensive and more accessible, the incentives for this type of stuff would diminish. In this country though, since everything is privatized, its all a game of who gets stuck with the bill, and no one wants that, hence the legal system sorting it out.

 

I'm assuming the reason why 911 operators can't turn away calls for service like this has a lot to do with fear of litigation. Not exactly addressing the topic of the thread but insurance, CYA medicine, auto claims etc all have a fear of litigation and costs incurred driving how claims are settled, medical is treated, insurance rates etc etc.

I'm not vilifying all attorneys but there is a component that can't be ignored in how industries operate. Sometimes thats a good thing, other times not so much.

Tying this together, there was a time a call like this would be refused or redirected.

 

In my ER time we evaluated these “patients” when EMS brought them in, if they were not acutely ill, they went to triage and waited in the lobby for a bed.

 

Actually there are some attorneys who do, there is a brother team (attorney/chiropractor) in my town who often refer their clients to each other. One sucks off the medical portion of the insurance, the other goes after what ever liability coverage the at fault driver has. Mind you if they don’t have a lot of coverage they don’t mess with them much.
Those 441 pain guys are attorneys who know how to work the system and suck out every dime the can out of a claim.

 

This post reminded me of a situation involving a paraplegic unable to use his legs and a bed pan in the Tampa area some years back. Khalid Mahmud, a 72 year old retired pharmacist summoned an EMS crew to assist him to his bedside commode every time he had a bowel movement. 284 times between January 2014 and June 2016, everyday in recent (2016) months. The total cost was estimated to be at least $22,500.

With no one else to help, home-bound Hillsborough man calls 911 to use the bathroom

"The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office investigated whether this constitutes 911 abuse, but prosecutors declined to pursue charges. State and county officials are trying to find help for the couple, but the Mahmuds say they haven’t found a better option."

 

EMS is probably thankful he doesn’t eat food from Taco Bell

 

We have had a few of those over the years. We responded over 120 times in one year to a particular patient and their spouse and sent as an "emergency" almost every time. One of the transporting ambulances actually let the male call I'm his own radio report to the hospital over dispatch because he knew everything to say. I can't imagine what the costs were once added all up. This went on for at least 5 years.

We are currently trying to address another one in our district. Different situation as this person isn't trying to abuse the system but is basically incapable of living on their own and has even called us to find his medication which as it turns out...he was holding in his hand.

Community paramedicine programs are trying to address these situations by meeting with them and assisting/counseling them in the hopes they stop relying on EMS. I'd be curious to see how much these programs have saved taxpayers if any.

 

There are some elder care agencies that you can make aware of the situation. I can’t remember the name of the one I called for a woman whose daughter left her to live alone in the condo building I used to live in. The lady started inviting men into her condo that she met at different places. She was loaded. I was sitting outside waiting for the sunset one afternoon when she came out and started telling me how much money she had in her checking account. When someone notified her daughter she said her mother was fine and then went on to scold the person because we were being mean to her mom, ignoring her. I think the daughter was a little nuts. The DMV had to be notified as there were scraps, dents, and dings all over the outside of her car. Once they got involved the car was taken away. Beverly was 93 at the time, barely able to walk, and losing her mind. As much as I had contact with her she would see me and ask if I lived at the condo. That went on for over 3 years. Got to get these people struggling some assistance. They should not be living at home alone.

 

We have resources and we use them. Council on aging, community paramedicine etc. People have to utilize them and sometimes there is no making them do so.

 

I've been saying this for years. Not to say that true fraud doesn't exist (it does), but the complexity and gamesmanship involved with medical billing, letters of protection, liens, and personal injury cases in the United States seems crazy to me even when dealing with reputable medical providers and law firms. I have no idea what personal injury cases look like in other countries such as Canada, but I've often wondered.

 

Read thread not sure why Desantis is to blame, other than he has an R by his name so he must be bad!
We certainly haven't forgot about Ian just a year ago, have we? My understanding is one tow company had over 50,000 cars to be towed that were flooded in SWFL. That could affect rates.

 

Edit the thread to Thanks Jimmy Patronis? (Also has an R by his name). An elected official literally signs off on every insurance rate increase in the state. In theory the state has much more regulatory power and control over insurance here than almost any other type of business operating in the state, and it is a partisan elected position.

 

My “favorite” was the 21 y/o female who had EMS bring her to the ER for “abdominal pain”, she didn’t tell them she was on her period and needed pads and knew the ER had them.
Right up there with retained condoms, of the joy of the ER.

 

Probably the most accurate explanation of why auto insurance rates have skyrocketed in Florida.
How Florida’s ‘unscrupulous’ auto glass shops fuel an insurance crisis

They roam Florida parking lots and carwashes in search of cars with damaged windshields, often bearing gifts; gift cards, steak dinners and discounted hot tubs are the common ones. Insurance companies call them “harvesters,” and their sales pitch to car owners is simple: Auto glass shops can offer free windshield replacements because it’s covered by comprehensive insurance. All they need is a signature.

But after the signature is collected and the repair is made, the glass shops send exorbitant bills to insurers, who often deny or pay out a lesser amount for the claim. Lawyers then sue the insurance company for payment and the cost of legal fees, often settling hundreds of lawsuits at a time for a hefty sum.

It’s all part of a network of out-of-state companies and lawyers that have carved out an entire industry based on these glass replacements — so costly to insurance companies that it has caused rates to skyrocket across the state, consumer advocates say.

When Florida resident Francinete Borgstrom was approached last December in an Orlando parking lot by an auto glass salesman, the offer “didn’t sound any alarms,” she said. The salesman told her that Auto Glass America could replace her broken windshield without a deductible, so she signed the waiver with no questions asked.

Borgstrom said she didn’t realize that when she signed away her assignment of benefits — that is, authorized the glass repair company to assume her rights under her insurance policy to seek payment for the work — she also gave the shop the right to sue the insurer in her name if necessary. Auto Glass America did just that when the insurance company, AssuranceAmerica, refused to pay the bill of $1,461. That price is more than four times the average cost for that type of repair, based on figures cited in a lawsuit filed against the same repair shop by another insurance company, Allstate.

​

 

This is the same scheme used for roofs.

I thought the legislators addressed the assignment of benefits making it illegal?

just found this

florida assignment of benefits statute - Google Search

Assignment of Benefits Resources.