Florida OIR questions insurers about unpaid life benefits

Sat May 21st, 2011 on     Insurance Claims,    

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation recently asked major life insurance companies to appear at a hearing regarding unpaid benefits. According to the OIR, life insurers have failed to pay at least $1 billion owed to beneficiaries, policyholders or state governments. Florida’s regulators, along with regulators from 15 other states, specifically want to know how insurers determine a policyholder has died.

Catastrophe model given credit where credit may not be due

Fri May 13th, 2011 on     Insurance Claims,    

As the South fights floods and tornadoes, Florida’s governor is deciding if he should sign an insurance bill that is heavily weighted for the industry and, according to critics, not so much for consumers. We’ve talked about the bill before, especially in light of the industry’s contention that reserves will be wiped out from hurricane claims after that overdue category 5 storm hits.

Insurer subrogates against policyholder in hazing incident

Fri May 6th, 2011 on     Bad Faith Insurance,    

If you search Miami and Florida news outlets for stories about fraternity hazing in any of the state’s colleges or universities, you won’t find many, or any, stories. A national search, unfortunately, will reveal multiple incidents, some at institutions with worldwide reputations for academic excellence. To warrant press coverage, of course, the incidents are most often tragic — and often tied to alcohol poisoning.

Legislators take insurance bill to the wire

Wed May 4th, 2011 on     Homeowners Insurance,    

The Florida Legislature adjourns this Friday, and the House and Senate continue to wrestle with the insurance bill. The Senate passed SB 408 on Tuesday only to have the House make major amendments to key provisions today. At the top of the list is, again, property insurers’ coverage of sinkholes.

County wants to help. State says whoa. (concl.)

Mon May 2nd, 2011 on     Insurance Claims,    

Our last two posts have talked about a situation outside of Florida involving a conflict between a county and a state insurance authority. The county tried to establish a fund to help defray the medical costs of the victims of an accident at a county park. The insurance authority put a stop to the plan. It’s not the kind of insurance authority we’re used to thinking about, though. This isn’t the regulatory body; this is the division of the government that writes the government’s policies for property insurance, auto insurance, business insurance and so forth.

County says gov’t will pay. State says no. (p. 2)

Fri Apr 29th, 2011 on     Insurance Claims,    

We’re taking a brief break from Florida’s insurance woes. The sinkhole issue is being hotly debated by legislators and newspaper editorial staffs. The solvency of Citizens is at risk. Coastal communities will be paying exorbitant rates for homeowner insurance if something doesn’t change soon…. We’re heading north to look at a problem that’s arisen between a county government and its insurer.

County: ‘We’ll take care of victims.’ State: ‘No, you won’t.’

Wed Apr 27th, 2011 on     Insurance Claims,    

While the Florida General Assembly continues its debate over sinkhole coverage, rate increases and property insurance coverage in general — not to mention changing the name of Citizens Insurance to Taxpayer-Funded Property Insurance Corporation — a group of community leaders are trying to figure out a way to help the victims of an accident in a county park.

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