For a year, the Florida Department of Financial Services has thrown away records relating to consumer disputes with insurance companies. Lawyers and open records advocates claim that by tossing the material, the state made it harder to track bad business practices by the insurance industry and uncover patterns of abuse. A public records champion called the practice ‘horrendous.’ A Department of Financial Services lawyer countered that since the files weren't requested and aren't required by law, the agency was free to destroy them. The state also questioned the value of the documents. For now, however, the practice is on hold.
Source: "Lawyers Rip Agency for Destroying Documents" by Paige St. John, published at Florida Today.
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