Florida Regulators First Warned of Insurance Company Manipulations in 2021

When Rod Buvens climbed to inspect the tile roof of the Estero home in 2019, he quickly found signs of damage.

Hurricane Irma had churned through the area about 18 months earlier, but there were still broken tiles on the roof’s windward side -- the side that bore the brunt of the storm’s force. When Buvens tested other tiles, trying to lift them with three fingers, many were loose.

Hired by St. Petersburg-based United Property and Casualty to assess the homeowner’s claim, Buvens wrote an estimate for a full roof replacement, at $70,000.

But that’s not what the homeowner received.