"You gotta be kidding me" is probably being repeated by many after reading the title to this post. I wrongfully wrote about Representative Janet Long without giving her an opportunity to explain her concerns and longstanding advocacy for policyholders when she worked as a Deputy Insurance Commissioner in a Florida Department of Insurance Branch office. Before the spotlight of politics and public life subjected her to criticism without an ability to fully explain the purpose of the laws she proposes, her job in the Florida Department of Insurance required her to talk with and help policyholders upset about every imaginable wrong that could possibly befall an insurance consumer. I should have been more diligent in my research of her before jumping to conclusions about the framework for her views in this very public blog.
In Flood Insurance Waivers Concerning Proof of Loss are Subject to Judicial Review: A Recent Flood Case that Makes Sense, I made the following statement:
We all make mistakes and sometimes act arbitrary or capriciously—it is human nature. It is also human to not want to admit our wrongs.
If anybody handled as many consumer complaints and battled insurance company decisions as Representative Janet Long did in her position with the Department of Insurance and then had some ignorant attorney (me) write about her being against insurance consumer interests, they would rightfully be upset and deserve an apology. And, I apologize.
This is not the end of the story between Representative Long and myself. Our meeting was longer than I expected-and we did hug at the end. There will be more in the morning’s post about pending insurance legislation and my interesting day in Tallahassee.
