Our info was stolen, insurer claims

‘Mole’ helped contractor, attorney steal secrets, Heritage Insurance alleges

A “mole” fed trade secrets to a water damage contractor and an attorney to help them extract money from one of South Florida’s leading insurance companies, the insurer is charging in court.

Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Co., which had 72,134 policies in the tri-county region at the end of June, is suing Hollywood-based contractor Titan Restoration and Lake Worth-based attorney Randall Shochet in separate actions filed in Pinellas County Circuit Court. Heritage is headquartered in Clearwater.

Both suits assert that an unknown employee inside Heritage — identified as “Jane Doe” — acted as a “mole” by disclosing confidential claims information about the company’s policyholders. The stolen information helped Titan steal damage restoration business from contractors in Heritage’s managed repair network and was used by Shochet to try to extort money out of Heritage, the suits allege.

Attorneys for Heritage and Titan, as well as Shochet himself, all declined to comment about the allegations when contacted by the Sun Sentinel.

Ely Levy, attorney for Titan Restoration and its owners, said by phone that his client “denies the allegations and intends to vigorously defend the case.”

Shochet said he would damage his case by commenting now.

The soap-opera-like cases arise from the insurance industry’s longrunning battle with contractors and insurers over “assignment of benefits.”

Heritage and other insurers operating in Florida have complained for several years about a so-called scheme they say is driving up losses and forcing them to raise rates on nearly all customers in the region.

They say that water damage repair contractors, particularly in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, coerce policyholders into signing over benefits of their insurance claims as a condition of commencing work, then submit inflated invoices and file suit when insurers fail to pay.

The practice borders on fraud, insurers say, and is fueled by state laws enabling attorneys to file large numbers of suits and collect legal fees when insurers settle.

Heritage’s case against Titan Restoration includes claims Titan used “bribery and kickbacks” and submitted “falsified and inflated