Universal Property & Casualty: who you’re dealing with.

We read 1,891 Civil Remedy Notices filed against Florida property insurers over denied claims. 181 of them name Universal Property & Casualty (NAIC 10861). 33 were later withdrawn or recorded as resolved, which is what the record looks like when a carrier fixes the problem inside the 60-day window.

Universal inspected the subject property by way of a field adjuster by the name of [name redacted] (hereinafter referred to as "Mr. Based on the insufficient adjustment of the claim as outlined herein, Universal issued a wholly unsatisfactory valuation of $4,896.13 replacement cost value for the loss. In opposition to same, prior to suit being filed, the Complainant through his retained counsel provided an estimate with a valuation of $188,920.53 replacement cost value that duly takes into consideration the full extent of the latent conditions, that serve to create a plethora of extra contractual damages that continue to accrue, given Universal's general business practice of failing to adjust the full extent of the damages as outlined herein.

Given the scope and nature of the damage, the Insured retained a public adjuster, obtained estimates for repairs, and prepared a Sworn Statement in Proof of Loss, dated August 6, 2020, showing $148,371.39 in damage after application of the policy deductible. The Insurer's response was a letter dated October 15, [address redacted]ating that they would pay only "our undisputed Actual Cash Value estimate in the amount of $20,478.53." Clearly this amount is inadequate to repair the covered damage. The Insurer intentionally ignored covered damage to deny the reported loss and wrongfully fail to pay the Claimant.

Counts are filings naming the insurer, matched on NAIC code. They follow book size as much as behaviour: a carrier with more Florida policies collects more filings. Each is an allegation by a policyholder, not a finding.