Citizens Property Insurance Company has announced an eight percent rate hike for Florida homeowners’ policies. The state insurer of last resort says a process called “assignment of benefits” is to blame for the rate increase.

Economic analyst Hank Fishkind tells 90.7’s Nicole Darden Creston that process is most common in South Florida, where a flood of lawsuits related to water damage claims is drawing scrutiny from Citizens.

Fishkind starts by describing how an “assignment of benefits” works.

Click the Play Audio button above to hear their conversation.