If Florida property insurance companies and regulators hoped a complai
nt about altered adjusters’ reports would quietly fade away, a lawsuit by a homeowner at the heart of the controversy has brought new attention to the matter.
North Port homeowners Jeffrey and Virginia Rapkin, made famous by their appearance on CBS News’ “60 Minutes” program
in 2024, have asked a court to force the Florida Department of Financial Services to divulge records relating to its investigation
into allegations that Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Co. had inappropriately doctored field adjusters’ reports after Hurricane Ian.
“Respondent (DFS) has refused to allow petitioner access to the
requested records and petitioner now prays this court will issue an order requiri
ng Respondent to produce the requested records,” reads the petition filed in Leon County Circuit Court.
The Rapkins, whose home was damaged in Ian’s winds and rain in September 2022, were interviewed by 60 Minutes in the same episode in which independent adjuster Jordan Le
e alleged that Heritage had slashed his damage estimates on the home—while keeping Lee’s name on a revised report sent to t
he Rapkins. The revised report misleadingly made it look like the field adjuster ha
d signed off on a 93% reduction in estimated damage to the two-story home, the adjuster said.
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Lee and two other independent adjusters had gone public with their concerns in late 2022 at a Florida House of Represen
tatives’ committee meeting, charging that a number of insurers had engaged in t
he deceptive alteration practice. They asked DFS to investigate and turned over hundreds of pages in documentation.
Heritage partly denied the allegations but said desk adjusters’ names had been inadvertently left off the revised damage re
ports. While more than 4,100 Ian claims had been revised downward, another 2,583 claimed amounts were revised upward, Heritage leadership said at the time.
Still, the adjusters charged fraudulent behavior and wanted more action by DFS. The Rapkins filed suit against Heritage in 2
023, arguing breach of contract for offering so little on the claim. The Rapkins also filed a complaint with DFS in early 2023, but have he
rd little from regulators, they said in court filings. As part of their litigation, the f
amily in July 2025 made a public records request, asking DFS to release all records pertaining to the Heritage investigation.
“Though DFS has received Plaintiffs’ public records request on several different occasions, as of 09/07/2025, there has been no response,” the lawsuit versus DFS reads.
The records are important to the claim lawsuit and should be considered public under Florida’s vaunted open-records laws, the
plaintiffs argued. “Respondent has refused to allow Petitioner access to the requested records and Petitioner now prays this Court will issue an order requiring Respondent to produce the requested public records,” the complaint reads.