Commenting on Sunshine State News' story about problems with sinkhole coverage, the Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters downplayed the impact and presence of fraud.

"Though the insurance industry frequently declares that the rise in sinkhole activity is the result of fraudulent claims, the numbers the Office of Insurance Regulation reports tell a different tale," FAPIA spokesman Dan Ward said in an e-mail.

According to Ward, "From 2006 through 2010, only 203 claims were reported to the Department of Financial Services for investigation … less than 1 percent of the total claims reported.  As the number of total claims has increased, the percentage reported to DFS for investigation has fallen, to 0.64 percent of all claims last year and 0.12 percent of all claims so far in 2010."