Florida consumers and businesses are rallying to convince lawmakers to tackle one of the many proposals dropped from the insurance reform bill during the last legislative session. The Stronger Safer Florida Coalition is asking that the state no longer subsidize insurance for property owners who live outside of Florida.
Private insurance companies will take as many as 400,000 policyholders off the books of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. by the end of 2013, if all goes as the insurance company hopes. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approved the plan recently as part of the state’s ongoing effort to “depopulate” Citizens by moving homeowners insurance policies from the state-backed carrier to the private market.
Citizens Property Insurance Corp. recently announced its proposed rate increases for 2014. Homeowners covered by Florida’s state-backed insurer can expect an average 6.6 percent increase, but homeowners purchasing sinkhole coverage will not fare as well: The company is asking for a steep 24.8 percent hike (statewide average) over current rates.
Insurance rating is a black box in many ways. There are so many layers of data that go into it, in fact, that rating may be more like a matryoshka doll made up of nesting analytical processes.
When individuals in Miami purchase a home, whether it is their first or one in a long string of ownership, a requirement of most closings is homeowners’ insurance. A homeowner will then consistently pay the monthly or yearly premium required under the policy.
Since so many aspects of life are unpredictable, Florida residents frequently take precautions by maintaining a homeowners insurance policy. When storms inflict damage or someone is injured on a person’s property, insurers can provide much-needed support for homeowners.
We are finishing up our discussion of anti-concurrent causation clauses, but we would like to reserve the right to revisit the issue. A state that was hit hard by Superstorm Sandy is considering legislation that would address, among other things, anti-concurrent causation clauses in homeowners insurance policies. The insurance industry calls the proposal “misguided, if well-intentioned.”
If things happen in threes, and your homeowners insurance policy has an anti-concurrent causation clause in it, you had better hope all three of those things are covered. If not, your insurer will deny the claim. Homeowners hit by Superstorm Sandy learned this lesson the hard way, and state legislatures and regulators are looking into how to rein in insurers’ vigorous enforcement of ACC clauses.
We are continuing our discussion of anti-concurrent causation clauses in homeowners insurance policies. ACC clauses have garnered attention in the past few months as states less well-versed in insurance than Florida dealt with the aftermath of Superstorm Sandy. Homeowners were surprised to learn that their insurance policies included a kind of all-or-nothing coverage provision.
With hurricane season looming over Florida homeowners, it may be time for us to learn something from other states with less major storm experience. When Superstorm Sandy hit Mid-Atlantic and New England states last year, homeowners and commercial property owners learned the hard way that anti-concurrent causation clauses in insurance policies are valid and enforceable. At least one of those states has passed a law requiring insurers to explain the ACC clause in a separate notice to each and every new and renewing policyholder.
