Citizens Forced Arbitration Scandal Shows Exactly Why Florida Needs Real Leadership in Tallahassee
Florida homeowners are now seeing undeniable proof that the insurance system in this state has been engineered to work against them. A major investigation by WPTV revealed that Citizens Property Insurance Corporation has been forcing homeowners into mandatory arbitration hearings where the supposed judges are actually compensated by the insurer itself. In one year Citizens pushed fifty four cases into final arbitration and homeowners lost fifty three. These results do not reflect fairness or balance. They reveal a system that is designed to protect the insurer from accountability while stripping homeowners of their most basic rights.
The truth is that this did not happen by accident. This did not appear out of thin air. The mandatory arbitration process was created through legislation that Blaise Ingoglia fully supported and voted for. Blaise helped give Citizens the authority to sidestep the courtroom and funnel homeowners into private hearings where the insurer controls the environment and influences the decision makers. Blaise voted for a system that removed the right to stand before a judge, removed the right to present a complete case, removed the right to transparency, and removed the right to have a jury hear the facts. He handed insurers the ability to create a private dispute system in which they almost always win because they designed it to be that way.
While Florida families were struggling with rising premiums, shrinking coverage, and delayed claims, Blaise Ingoglia was helping the insurance industry build this structure. He was not protecting Floridians. He was not defending homeowners. He was not standing with families who were worried about losing the roof over their heads. He was advancing the interests of the very industry that has been draining the savings of Florida families year after year. His vote created the mandatory arbitration pipeline that is now being exposed on the news for its unfairness and its conflict of interest. Without his support this system would not exist in its current form.
The findings of the WPTV investigation confirm what many of us already knew. When insurers are allowed to finance and influence the people who decide claim disputes, homeowners cannot receive justice. A process in which the insurer pays the judge is not a neutral process. A system in which homeowners lose nearly every case is not a system based on evidence or fairness. It is a controlled environment designed to protect corporate interests and minimize payouts. Citizens may claim that arbitration reduces costs, but the reality is that it reduces accountability. It hides problems from public view and forces families into a room where the deck is already stacked against them.
I have spent years working with homeowners across Florida and across several states. I have walked through damaged homes with families who are desperate to rebuild. I have helped people understand their policies, their rights, and their options after major losses. I have seen firsthand how insurers use delay tactics, confusion, and complicated processes to wear families down. I have also seen how political decisions in Tallahassee feed these problems. This is why this issue is not an academic debate for me. It is personal and it is urgent. Families deserve someone who understands the system from the inside and who is willing to stand against the industry when the industry is wrong.
When I am elected to serve as Florida Chief Financial Officer, we will not continue down this path. We will end mandatory arbitration for homeowner claims and restore the rights that Blaise helped take away. We will ban any decision making process that allows insurers to fund or influence the individuals who rule on disputes. We will restore the right to seek justice in a real courtroom with a real judge and a real jury. We will bring transparency back to rate filings, claim practices, and decisions made by insurers. We will empower investigators to pursue wrongdoing without favoritism or political pressure. We will reshape the oversight structure so that homeowners, not insurers, control the future of Florida insurance policy.
Blaise Ingoglia made his choice. He chose the insurance industry. He chose private arbitration that silences homeowners. He chose a framework that places Floridians at a massive disadvantage during the most stressful moments of their lives. His vote created a system where insurers almost never lose and where families almost never win. His decisions helped lead us exactly to the scandal we are seeing today.
Now Florida must choose. We can continue allowing the insurance industry to dictate the rules, or we can take back our rights and rebuild a system that protects the people of this state. I am running to make sure Florida chooses fairness, integrity, and accountability. I am running to ensure that never again will an elected official be allowed to quietly hand your rights over to the insurance industry. Florida deserves better and together we can create a system that finally works for the people.
