For those who’ve ever handled property harm from a storm or loss occasion, it’s possible you’ll know the way burdensome and time-consuming the insurance coverage claims course of may be. Some householders look to an Project of Advantages (AOB) as a strategy to streamline the declare negotiation and restore course of.
An AOB is a contract underneath which householders assign their proper to insurance coverage payouts for a selected restore job on to a restore contractor. From a policyholder’s perspective, this may let you focus in your day-to-day life slightly than haggling with adjusters over funds. The contractor handles each communications with the insurance coverage firm and coordination of repairs.
However in Nebraska, AOBs are restricted and controlled by the Insured Owners Safety Act. This legislation units clear guidelines that contractors should observe to maintain an AOB legitimate, together with:
- The insurance coverage firm have to be notified of the AOB inside 5 enterprise days of the settlement.
- The AOB should present an in depth breakdown of the repairs and prices.
- The AOB should embrace distinguished warnings explaining what rights have been transferred.
- The contractor may be included solely as a co-payee and should preserve the home-owner listed on any funds.
- The AOB can not stop an insured from speaking straight with their insurer.
Failure to adjust to any of those necessities might render the AOB unenforceable and deprive each the home-owner and the contractor of the protections the Act is meant to supply.
Just lately, some Nebraska legislators have signaled their intent to revise the legal guidelines governing AOBs within the state.
On February 3, 2026, the Nebraska Legislature held a listening to on LB1137a draft invoice that may ban AOBs for residential contractors and prohibit them from negotiating with insurance coverage corporations on behalf of house owners. Supporters, together with insurers and insurance coverage‑trade advocates, contend that such a ban would scale back inflated claims, fraud, and litigation. Critics warning that it may go away householders with fewer avenues for help in presenting claims, leading to underpaid advantages and delayed repairs.
For now, LB1137 stays in legislative committee and has not superior, that means Nebraska’s current AOB framework nonetheless applies.
