Most Floridians are well aware of the difference between owning a condominium and owning a single-family house. The owner of a house is responsible for everything that has to do with that property: the house and the yard, utilities, water and sewer, insurance, flood insurance … ad infinitum. The owner of a condo, however, is only responsible for maintaining the individual unit. The homeowners association takes care of the rest.
In April 2013, it rained especially hard in Chicago for two days. According to local news outlets, some areas reported as much as 6.69 inches of rain in a 24-hour period. And that was just the first round of storms.
One 83-year-old Florida mobile home owner found his homeowner’s insurance policy terminated just 10 days before the hurricane season was to begin. The homeowner was in a state of disbelief and depressed about his current circumstances. Fortunately, after inquiries were made the coverage was reinstated.
The hurricane season is around the corner, and the heavy predictions are coming in. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said this week that 2014 will see normal to below normal tropical cyclone activity in the Atlantic. The season officially runs from June 1 to November 30.
A column in Forbes this week offers some interesting insights about millennials — well, interesting for baby boomers, maybe. This generation, born between 1980 and 2000, does not know a life without the Internet. The Internet and all the technology that has sprung from being more easily connected is just the way things are for millennials. There’s nothing shiny and new about it, the columnist says, the way there’s nothing new about electricity for boomers. As a result, selling to millennials takes a completely different mindset.
While we often discuss homeowners insurance, we know that not everyone owns a home. Research shows that millennials — the generation born between 1980 and 2000 — tend to rent rather than to own. A recent poll shows, though, that millennials may not understanding some of the risks of renting or, perhaps, may not be worried about how to protect themselves.
There are times when a review of pending legislation about insurance makes us think of the ’60s cartoon, “Underdog.” Our hero saved people from perilous situations with a cry of, “There’s no need to fear! Underdog is here!” The insurance industry has your back, Florida.
In our last post, we were talking about a couple of bills that Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has been lobbying for at the Florida Legislature. One of the bills originally had a provision regarding assignment of benefits for emergency mitigation. The version approved by the Senate — and scheduled for debate toward the end of April — does not include the language, but it’s worth talking about.
A friend of ours plays a game she calls “Rather.” Players are given two bad choices and must choose one over the other. The choices range from the innocent to the gruesome: Would you rather be the Scarecrow or the Tin Man? Or, a Florida favorite, would you rather be attacked by an alligator or have to relive high school?
The insurance industry group at Accenture PLC released the results of a survey recently that must have made a few agents and brokers shudder. The results, in fact, may explain in part why the industry is so anxious for Congress to pass the National Association of Registered Agents and Brokers Reform Act (see our Feb. 4 post): If they cannot sell across borders, agents and brokers will have a tough time competing with, oh, Amazon and Google.
