Citizens Reverses Courses Again On Chinese Drywall
TALLAHASSEE (CBS4) - The state's insurer of last resort, Citizens Property Insurance, has reversed course again for property owners whose homes contain toxic Chinese drywall.
Hundreds of homeowners across the state said they received letters from Citizens stating that their policies would not be renewed if their properties contained the defective drywall.
After attorney David Durkee, who represents 300 Chinese drywall victims, called attention to this action in the media, on Wednesday Citizens announced that the non-renewal notices were "erroneously generated by a computer" and sent out.
Christine Ashburn, Citizen's Director of Legislative and External Affairs, said as soon as they heard about the letters through the media they rescinded them and sent out renewal notices.
"We are glad Citizens acknowledged its mistake and we hope it was an isolated incident that will not be repeated," Durkee said. "After several unsuccessful attempts to reach Citizens, we decided to call a news conference because time was critical before the March 2011 non-renewal came into effect."
Thousands of homeowners nationwide who bought houses built with the defective materials are finding their lives in limbo as hundreds of lawsuits work through the courts. Insurers are in a quandary over the drywall issue. Some say they can't continue providing insurance until the problem is fixed, something some say could cost homeowners more than they paid for their homes.
