Florida launches ‘Check My Contract’ portal to help storm victims avoid bad contracts

Florida launches 'Check My Contract' portal

Evan Axelbank reports

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Following the devastation of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis has launched a new tool to help protect Florida homeowners from predatory contractors.

The new ‘Check My Contract’ portal allows residential and commercial policyholders to submit contracts for a free independent review from the Florida Department of Financial Services.

While the state CFO says most contractors are truly there to help, after every major storm, predatory contractors will seek out desperate homeowners in hard-hit areas. He says those with damage need to be especially vigilant with anything they’re asked to sign.

READ: Florida residents planning to sell homes, leave the state after hurricane season: 'We're done'

"If you sign a contract on your doorstep, you may be directing all of your benefits, say for a roof expense, to a stranger you just met, and now they get to bill an invoice for whatever amount they want," explained Patronis.

Florida recently launched a portal to help protect Florida homeowners from predatory contractors.

Each policy includes limits for covered damages. Allowing a contractor free rein to charge potentially artificially inflated rates can quickly deplete a claims payout and leave homeowners on the hook for the difference and for other needed repairs.

"Maybe the market price for your roof should be somewhere around $15,000 to $18,000, but now they're going to bill your insurance company $50,000 because you have enabled that to take place.

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That's a significant amount of money that's out of pocket from you and is going to make your decision to stay in your home that much harder. Do I try to rebuild this and go into my savings or take out a loan because of a bad decision I made at my doorstep with a predatory contractor?"

After Hurricane Ian, Patronis says his office launched more than 76 criminal investigations and put 16 people behind bars for insurance fraud.

He’s hoping the new free review tool will stop fraudsters before they’re able to put homeowners already dealing with significant losses in an even worse situation.

His department will review:

Compliance with Emergency-Specific Protections: Review roofing and public adjusting contracts to ensure they meet Florida’s cancellation criteria outlined in 626.854, 626.8796, Florida Statutes and Rule 69B-220.051, Florida Administrative Code. The consumer will receive the appropriate cancellation form if a contract does not meet these criteria.
Consumer Protection in Post-Storm Recovery: Examine storm recovery contracts to determine if they involve an unlawful Assignment of Benefits (AOB), rendering them void under Florida Statute 627.7152. If a contract is identified as an unlawful AOB, the consumer will receive a notice informing them that it is void, invalid, and unenforceable.

The portal will check for price gouging, that it offers reasonable opportunities to cancel, and that they're not trying to overbill the insurance.

"You're having somebody who's trying to find a pathway to rebuild their home," said Patronis. "Unfortunately, there are bad actors out there that realize this and take advantage of you, because you're vulnerable."

Patronis was motivated to open the portal after his office showed him a contract from a senior citizen in Gulfport who hired a roofer after one of the storms. It was dated August 14, which the CFO says jeopardizes her chance under state law to cancel the contract if things go south in the first 10 days.

Predating it may have been an honest mistake by the contractor, but either way, the customer's rights would have been hindered. About 359,000 Floridians have filed claims after the two storms, including 245,000 homeowners.

"Now we've got the argument to either go after them criminally or go change the laws next year in order to ensure that our citizens cannot be taken advantage of," said Patronis.

Click here to access the ‘Check My Contract’ portal.

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