MELBOURNE, Fla. — A 94-year-old woman’s family doesn’t know where to turn for help after a contractor suddenly stopped repairing her home several years ago. The protective siding of her Melbourne house? Gone.
Backtrack to 2017, when Betty Fonrose and her husband filed an insurance claim for hurricane-related damage. In 2018, the contracting company handed Betty and her now late husband an Assignment of Benefits, or AOB document, which legally transferred their claims benefit to the contractor.
Betty says she had no idea what she was signing, and now the contractor won’t finish repairing the home.
What You Need To Know
- Assignment of Benefits agreements legally transfer claims benefits to a third party
- In 2019, Florida lawmakers passed AOB reform legislation to combat contract abuse
- Betty Fonrose signed her AOB in 2018. The contractor has yet to repair her home
“My husband was here and he was not altogether upstairs,” she said. “He’s deceased since and he had this thing to sign and he passed it to me and I didn’t pay it much attention.”
The problems don’t stop at the lack of repairs. Last year, Betty’s insurance company dropped her policy, citing the need to reduce their exposure related to “catastrophic loss.”
No other insurance company will offer Betty a new policy because the damage is so extensive.
AOB contract abuse became so widespread in Florida that in 2019, lawmakers passed AOB reform legislation, which, in part, established…
