Insurance Summit: Auto Glass AOBs Are Plaguing Insurers

Assignment of benefits (AOB) allows policyholders to sign over their insurance policy benefits to a third party in exchange for quick repairs. The AOB reform legislation signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis was aimed at curbing AOB litigation by enforcing additional requirements on contractors. It also allows insurers to offer policies with limited AOB rights or no AOB rights at all. 

The legislation only applies to home repairs, not auto glass repairs. The AOB legislation should protect consumers from glass companies that abuse the AOB process. "Just because auto glass AOB suits aren’t costly on a one-to-one basis doesn’t mean they’re not a major problem," said Attorney Adam Hodges during the Florida Chamber of Commerce Insurance Summit panel. 

"In a home repair claim, insurers may not put up much of a fight if a bill is only a few hundred dollars off the mark. And if they do, they’re not looking to skip out on paying the whole bill over a small discrepancy. With auto glass, however, a few hundred dollars over the limit could be double the book rate on the repair. Now imagine that's happening several hundred times a month," said Mr. Hodges. 

READ: Insurance Summit: Auto Glass AOBs Are Plaguing Insurers