Citizens Property Insurance Corp Pays $950,000

That motorcycle Quantum Claim Service gave former Citizens Property Insurance Corp R. Paul Hulsebusch is going to cost the taxpayers $950,000.

Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has agreed to pay $950,000 to a Texas claims-adjusting firm that claimed it was fired from its 2004 contract with Citizens because it did not make payments to a Citizens executive at the time.

Houston firm Universal Risk Insurance Services sued Citizens, the state-run insurer of last resort in Florida, in 2005, alleging it wasn't paid $1 million for 1,800 claims it handled in the Pensacola area from hurricanes in 2004.

Universal claimed it learned that another company, Quantum Claim Service LLC, had given $28,000 in goods and services to Citizens Chief Operating Officer R. Paul Hulsebusch, and that Hulsebusch gave adjustment work to Quantum that had been promised to Universal.

The kicker is Hulsebusch has never been charged for accepting brides. That's not surprising, Florida makes the House Ethics Committee, during the Mark Foley scandal, look competent. Citizens spokesman Rocky Scott is trying to say Universal failed to fullfill their contract. Scott was asked about 9,831 complaints.

"We're not the company we used to be."

Let's hope not for Florida's sake.

In other news: The New York Times reports that vacation home owners would be "assessed a fee of up to 90 percent of their annual premium" if Citizens runs into debt. Vacation homeowners will have to be rejected by four insurance companies before Citizens will pick them up.

"It's not that hard. There is no one else insuring," said Rocky Scott.

Rocky, I have a feeling I'm going to mention you on the blog again.