We are picking up the discussion from our Dec. 4, 2011 post. We were looking at a study of insurance policy language that is scheduled to be published this month. The author, a law school professor, compared homeowners insurance policies, focusing on policies at the top 10 insurance groups in six states. He found that changes from the standard forms are “systematically less generous” to consumers.
We have been talking about the proposals that officials of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. presented to a panel of lawmakers at the specific request of Florida Gov. Rick Scott. The insurance company has been under fire for some time, with the governor and others sounding the alarm about the company’s financial stability and its rate of growth. Citizens was designed to be the insurer of last resort in the state, but it now boasts 1.5 million policyholders and $500 billion or more in exposure.
Back in November, Florida Gov. Rick Scott asked Citizens Property Insurance Co. to come up with a plan that would help the company stay afloat. The state-backed company has long struggled with financial viability, and lawmakers are beginning to wonder aloud if the problem can’t be traced to business practices rather than legislative and regulatory limitations.
We are continuing our discussion of proposals presented to Florida’s governor and other lawmakers by Citizens Property Insurance Co. The governor directed the insurer several weeks ago to devise a plan that would improve its viability — and not just any plan, but a plan that did not involve legislative action.
The chairman of the board of Citizens Property Insurance Co., Florida’s state-backed insurer, spoke to a roomful of state officials earlier this week. He brought with him 31 new proposals for steps the over-burdened insurance company can take to reduce its exposure, but he also brought the same message the company has delivered throughout the process: Not much will change without a serious overhaul of public policy.
As Florida homeowners track arguments between the state and Citizens Property Insurance Co. over sinkhole coverage, they are keeping an eye on Washington. Last week, the National Flood Insurance Program was granted a reprieve — its second since the program officially expired in September. This extension will last another few weeks, at which point debates over coverage for wind and water damage will likely be postponed until 2012.
When Florida Governor Rick Scott threw down the gauntlet a couple of weeks ago, he expected the board of Citizens Property Insurance Company to come back with strategies that would help the company trim its budget and grow its reserve. The state-backed insurer may have taken the governor and the Legislature by surprise when it came back earlier than expected with requests for legislative action.
Two weeks ago, Florida’s governor asked the board of Citizens Property Insurance Company to get its house in order. Concerned that the state’s insurer of last resort would not be able to meet the financial demands of a major storm, the governor chastised Citizens’ management team for allowing the company to become so large without safeguarding its financial stability.
Florida’s Gov. Rick Scott has come close to issuing an ultimatum to the board of governors of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. The governor challenged the board on Tuesday to come up with ways the insurance company can better meet its obligations in the event of a big storm. Lawmakers around the state agree with Scott that Citizens would fail altogether if a hurricane or series of hurricanes were to hit.
In our last post, we were talking about the risks associated with Halloween. As wonderful as it is, Halloween can turn into a nightmare if a trick-or-treater slips and falls in a homeowner’s yard. It’s also a time of year that presents a host of opportunities for vandals and thieves. Property insurance policies may cover pranks and cranks, but there may be a few easy ways to avoid that injury or damage altogether.
