Florida’s state-run insurance carrier, Citizens Property Insurance, has requested rate hikes that could take homeowners by surprise. Regulators say most of the new rates will be approved without debate, with one exception: the proposed increase for sinkhole coverage.
We are continuing our discussion of a relatively unknown insurance product, tuition insurance. Offered through K-12 private schools and colleges in Florida and elsewhere, the insurance pays the policyholder if the insured — say, a child just entering college — cannot complete the term for a health reason.
Miami parents who are getting their kids ready for college right now may not know of a financial planning tool available to them. Actually, it’s available to anyone in a private educational institution, kindergarten through the end of college. It is tuition insurance. But, like all insurance products, before you buy, you need to look closely at the fine print and figure out what is covered — and what is not covered.
We are continuing our discussion of a study that concluded that Florida’s public adjusters are more likely to be disciplined than adjusters who work directly for insurance companies. State insurance regulators oversee adjuster’s activities and respond to consumer complaints regarding the mishandling or delayed payment of a claim.
Chong v. Medmarc Cas. Ins. Co., No. 10-12237 (11th Cir. May 27, 2011)
A recent study of insurance complaints revealed an interesting disparity between insurance company adjusters and public adjusters. It seems the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation is much more likely to discipline the public adjuster than the company adjuster.
The U.S. House of Representatives passed a bill renewing and revising the National Flood Insurance Program this week. If passed by the Senate and signed by the president, the program would be authorized for five years, starting October 1 of this year. With the property insurance market in Florida in disarray, the prospect of flood coverage should ease some anxiety.
We’re continuing our discussion of health care billing codes, the alphabet soup that appears on medical bills and health insurance explanation of benefits forms. The average consumer may not know or pay attention to these codes, but these numbers and alphanumeric character strings are key to understanding why the insurer has denied or delayed payment of a claim.
When Dan Brown is done with religious iconography, perhaps he can turn his pen to demystifying the health insurance claims process. It’s hard to imagine Tom Hanks as a world-renown health and insurance law professor called in to help the beautiful and equally learned daughter of an HMO claims adjuster who has mysteriously disappeared, but it is not hard to imagine that there are many in Florida saying, “Better him than me.”
This is the last post in our discussion of concrete barrel tile roofs and hurricane mitigation discounts. The current inspection form does not include these roofs, because there wasn’t enough data about their performance when the form was designed. The upshot for homeowners is denial or revocation of discounts on their insurance policies. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has been talking with policyholders and insurance professionals about this and other problems with the form.
