Florida Insurance Consumer Advocate To Host Alternative Dispute Resolution Roundtable

TALLAHASSEE — In an effort to help Floridians affected by property insurance losses the Insurance Consumer Advocate will host a roundtable on Wednesday, January 6, 2010. Recently, several insurance companies have amended or removed the appraisal provision from their policies. The appraisal process had been considered to be a cost-effective process for resolving claim disputes, but has been highly criticized in recent years.

Sean Shaw will bring together members of the insurance industry and other professionals who are involved in the alternative dispute resolution processes, such as public adjusters, appraisal umpires and attorneys. The roundtable will work to identify complications with the current appraisal process and make recommendations on how to improve the appraisal process so that it can again be a viable dispute resolution process.

The following is pertinent information regarding the time and location:

DATE: Wednesday, January 6, 2010

TIME:            10:00 A.M. – 12:00 P.M.
                      1:00 P.M. –   3:30 P.M.

LOCATION:   House Office Building, 4th Floor
                     Committee Room 404
                     The Capitol
                     Tallahassee, FL 32399

A copy of the agenda will be posted on the Insurance Consumer Advocates website at: http://www.myfloridacfo.com/ICA/. Public Comments will be heard in the afternoon session. Those unable to attend the meeting may listen via conference call at Dial-in Number: (888) 808-6959, Conference Code: 4132880 or watch the roundtable on the Florida Channel’s website at http://www.wfsu.org/tfc/index.php.

Participants of the Claims Dispute Resolution Roundtable include:

Sean M. Shaw, Esq., Insurance Consumer Advocate, Tallahassee
Johnny L. Moore, Esq., Deputy Insurance Consumer Advocate
R. Terry Butler, Senior Attorney, Office of the Insurance Consumer Advocate
Art Newman, Windstorm Insurance Network, Inc. (WIND), Deerfield Beach
Christopher N. Mammel, Esq., Childress Duffy Goldblatt, Ltd., Orlando
Frank Artiles J.D., LL.M., Insurance Appraisal and Umpire Association, Inc., Miami
George Meros, Jr., Esq., The National Association of Public Insurance Adjusters, Tallahassee
Jim Reichle, Florida Insurance Council, Inc., Lake Mary
John A. Voelpel, III, CPCU, AIC , Voelpel Claims Service, Inc., Orlando
Leonard “Lenny” Bauman, Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters, Inc., Seminole
Paul G. Neilson, Account Manager-Property, Travelers of Florida, Tampa
Stephen A. Marino, Jr., Esq., Ver Ploeg & Lumpkin, P.A., Miami
Tim Zeak, Florida Public Adjusting, Lakeland
William “Chip” Merlin, Jr., Esq., Merlin Law Group, Tampa
William Stander, Regional Manager, Property Casualty Insurers Association of America, Tallahassee

The Insurance Consumer Advocate is appointed by Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and is committed to finding solutions to insurance issues facing Floridians, calling attention to questionable insurance practices, promoting a viable insurance market responsive to the needs of Florida’s diverse population and assuring that rates are fair and justified.