It is hard to imagine any Florida property insurers not making a killing in 2009. With no hurricanes or significant tropical storms, the most financially devastating peril was eliminated. Yet, over 100 Florida residential property insurers reported losses.… Continue Reading
My appointment by Florida’s Governor Charlie Crist to the Citizens Mission Review Task Force afforded me the opportunity to learn about and have a small voice in the Florida insurance marketplace. At War With the Weather: Managing Large-Scale Risks in a New Era of Catastrophes is a significant academic work which our regulators and legislators … Continue Reading
Florida Senator Mike Fasano, a public servant ever vigilant about consumers of regulated industries getting ripped by the amounts they have to pay for mandated services and products, forwarded a recent news article, “Group Backs Florida Property Insurance Rate Hike.” When the Florida legislators and Governor were concerned about the severe escalation of property insurance premiums … Continue Reading
A lawsuit was filed by three public adjusting firms seeking to enjoin the State of Florida from enforcing the 48 hour solicitation ban and the fee caps public adjusters may charge to policyholders. The mastermind behind the lawsuit is lawyer turned public adjuster, Pat Catania of East Coast Public Adjusters. The lawsuit is not a surprise. … Continue Reading
The Florida Consumer Action Network (FCAN) has urged Florida Governor Charlie Crist to veto recently passed legislation that would allow insurers to raise rates without approval by the Office of Insurance Regulation. FCAN is probably Florida’s largest consumer action group. The Bradenton Herald quoted foes of the legislation who refer to the bill as "the … Continue Reading
Numerous newspaper articles have discussed this session’s bills which impact the insurance industry. The anti-consumer bill, which provides for deregulation of insurance rates, passed. I expect Governor Crist will veto that bill as was previously reported.… Continue Reading
State Farm’s announcement to leave the Florida property insurance market has plenty of media attention. It is obvious that State Farm’s view of its actions is far different than that of its customers.… Continue Reading
Karen Clark and Company has recently published findings indicating that the insurance industry’s revised hurricane damage models have not performed well over the past three years. Their conclusion is: "Three years into the application of near term hurricane models, the model predictions have not performed well. While all three major catastrophe modeling companies predicted significantly elevated hurricane … Continue Reading
The Governor, Charlie Crist, who appointed me to the Citizens Mission Review Task Force has gotten married to a beautiful woman. While I am certain he was planning their honeymoon this past week, I was pouring over insurance rate data, market share analysis, and a reinsurance presentation regarding Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. I bet his work was a … Continue Reading