One of the strongest worded notices to insurance companies to pay promptly and do whatever it takes to help policyholders following a disaster came from Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier in a December 19, 2018 memorandum entitled Hurricane Michael Claims Response.… Continue Reading
A Florida based insurance agent educator asked me for my thoughts about how arbitration clauses harm policyholders and provide less coverage. He was referencing my earlier post this week, Arbitration Clause Requiring New York Law and New York Arbitration Cited as Avoidance of Florida Lawsuit—Another Instance of Surplus Lines Insurer Abuse in Florida.… Continue Reading
Insurance Law360 is part of my daily reading and it tipped me off to a case which raises the same problem about arbitration, I noted in Should Insurance Agents Get Sued for Selling Insurance Which Requires Arbitration in a Far Away Location and Deprives Their Customers of Consumer Protection Laws? and Arbitration Is an Increasing … Continue Reading
Policyholders and their advocates are fully aware that authorized carriers may be found liable for attorneys’ fees under Florida Statute 627.428, which provides: (1) Upon the rendition of a judgment or decree by any of the courts of this state against an insurer and in favor of any named or omnibus insured or the named … Continue Reading
In May 2012, in Surplus Lines Insurance; Bridging The Gap In Coverage, we wrote about surplus lines insurance and how it is regulated by the Surplus Lines Law.1 Free from the rate and form regulations which govern authorized insurers, the surplus lines industry can fill the gaps in available insurance for Florida residents. In a … Continue Reading
On June 30, 2012, Nicole Vinson wrote, Florida’s 3rd DCA Limits a Major Water Loss to $25,000. In her post, Nicole discussed how the Third District Court of Appeal had to decide whether an insurance policy endorsement limitation applied to limit the damages from a substantial water loss event to $25,000. The case was Certain … Continue Reading
Most insurance coverage in Florida is provided by insurers “admitted” to provide coverage in the state, meaning those companies licensed to transact insurance in Florida. “Surplus lines” insurance refers to a category of insurance for which there is no market available through insurance carriers in the admitted market. Surplus lines insurance is intended to fill … Continue Reading
After being postponed every day for more than a week, House Bill 245 was finally heard in the Senate yesterday. Though the bill eventually passed, it was not before several significantly pro-consumer amendments were tacked on. The resulting version of the bill, which passed its third and final reading in the Senate today, is far … Continue Reading
In Tallahassee, nothing is for certain until it is signed by the Governor. Sometimes, even when a bill’s passage looks like a near certainty, something happens behind the scenes to put on the brakes.… Continue Reading
Surplus insurers in Florida, a/k/a “non-admitted” insurers, have traditionally been exempted from certain regulatory schemes applicable to traditional “admitted” insurers. This was done to persuade these non-admitted carriers to continue to write insurance on risks not as attractive to the admitted carriers. As pointed out by Dick Tutwiler in his comment to my November 1, 2010, … Continue Reading
In Florida, Statute 627.428 generally provides for attorney’s fees to a policyholder who prevails against his or her insurance carrier in litigation related to the claim. Florida Statute 627.428 exists, in theory, to discourage insurers from denying and forcing legitimate claims into litigation. In June of 2009, House Bill 853, regarding Surplus Lines Insurers, became … Continue Reading
Surplus lines insurance is intended to provide coverage that cannot be easily procured in the conventional insurance marketplace. Traditional insurance companies must file their premium rates and policy forms with state regulatory agencies. The rates and forms must be approved prior to any insurance policies being offered for sale to consumers within the state. Generally … Continue Reading
Dan Luby of the Florida Insurance News forwarded a Blog, Alex Sink’s Cold War with the Insurance Commissioner, by Gary Fine regarding a possible “riff” between Alex Sink and Kevin McCarty. I find this curious because the two of them are leading consumer advocates for policyholders. I have never found Bill McCollum, Sink’s opponent for … Continue Reading
Governor Crist has signed the flawed Surplus Lines Bill (HB 853) into law. The story was reported today by the Insurance Journal in an article, Gov. Crist Signs Florida Surplus Lines Regulation Bill:… Continue Reading
The Texas legislature has its hands full this week with an omnibus biill regarding TWIA. Florida Governor Charlie Crist has to decide whether to veto various measures regarding insurance legislation. Additionally, three federal bills were just filed which may impact the landscape of how insurance is made available and sold.… Continue Reading
I am an advocate for insurance policyholders. I am accountable to them. Our firm accomplishes the results they expect through a "can do" outlook, innovation and the timeless All-American mother of most success– hard work. I was imagining what it would be like to make a living as an insurance industry lobbyist. Lobbyists are usually … Continue Reading
As I noted in a blog post last week, House Bill 853, legislation intended to exclude surplus lines insurance carriers from an entire Chapter of the Insurance Code, was poised to pass both chambers of the legislature — with only the hope that time would run out before they could agree on the wording.… Continue Reading
I wrote about surplus lines insurance companies in an earlier post, Surplus Lines Insurers, Sinkholes, and the Law of Mars. I explained how an attorney in our firm, Donna DeVaney, was able to get a favorable ruling in a sinkhole case involving a surplus lines policy due to a recent Florida Supreme Court case, Essex … Continue Reading
Nowdoucit from Slabbed wrote a comment to my post, Surplus Lines Insurers, Sinkholes, and the Law of Mars, concerning the selection of lawyers: "The more cases I read, the more convinced I become of the importance of retaining an attorney experienced in insurance claims litigation – better yet, experienced and successful. The case you cited, Chip, … Continue Reading
Surplus lines insurance companies are a different breed of insurance cat. They are not admitted carriers in the state in which they do business. Thus, most states have consumer protection laws specifically regarding how surplus lines insurance carriers can do business. Surplus lines carriers are very important to the insurance marketplace. They will often insure … Continue Reading