PCI supports roofing contracts assignment legislation

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) is supporting a Nebraska bill designed to protect consumers by requiring disclosures in assigning roofing contract benefits.

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PCI officials have urged Gov. Pete Ricketts to sign the measure, which the organization said provides a balanced approach by creating key disclosure for consumers, ensuring contractors and policyholders can be co-payees on any check from an insurer and protecting the rights of the mortgagee.

“Nebraska is taking a positive step forward with this legislation that is designed to curtail the abusive practices of some contractors and lawyers,” Hilary Segura, counsel for the PCI, said. “The trend lines for property insurance in Nebraska were starting to look like Colorado, Florida, and Texas, where abusive activity by contractors and lawyers not only drove up the rate of disputed claims and court action, but also overall costs. This legislation does not impact how contractors do their work, but it does provide protection for consumers so that they don’t sign away their rights to entities, whose main motivation is litigation.”

PCI officials said the organization, which is comprised of nearly 1,000 member companies, promotes the viability of a competitive private insurance market for the benefit of consumers and insurers.

Member companies write 44 percent of the nation’s automobile insurance market, officials said, in addition to 30 percent of the homeowners market, 35 percent of the commercial property and liability market, and 37 percent of the private workers compensation market.