Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has secured $4 million in fines from Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company (UPCIC) to resolve allegations that the company fraudulently submitted numerous ineligible claims for reimbursement from the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) related to Hurricane Irma in 2017.
The FHCF is a tax-exempt state trust fund designed to stabilize the Florida insurance market when hurricanes cause widespread or catastrophic damage. FHCF provides reimbursements to residential property insurance companies for a portion of their payments to homeowners for hurricane-related property damage.
According to a statement from Uthmeier’s office, a whistleblower lawsuit filed in Leon County prompting an investigation into UPCIC to ensure the veracity of claims submitted by the company were caused by Hurricane Irma. During the investigation, it was discovered that numerous unrelated claims were identified in the submissions from UPCIC to the FHCF, a violation of the Florida False Claims Act. As a result, the company agreed not to seek reimbursement for those claims, lowering the FHCF payout from Hurricane Irma to UPCIC by more than $30 million.
This is the first time the Office of the Attorney General has secured repayment related to an insurance fraud case.
“As Floridians, we know the impact that hurricanes can have on our state and how important recovery efforts are in a storm’s aftermath in helping residents start to rebuild,” said Uthmeier. “This office is committed to a healthy and stable insurance market for Florida homeowners, meaning insurance companies must play by the rules.”
