One of the many repercussions of the 2005 hurricane season was that insurance companies started adding hurricane and wind deductibles to homeowners insurance policies. The deductibles are not as simple as a renters insurance deductible, say, where the policyholder is responsible for the first $1,000 of damage and the insurer covers the rest — up to the coverage limit, of course.
We were talking about Superstorm Sandy in our last post, and it occurred to us that the flooding from the rain and the storm surge could be new to some homeowners and business owners. Hurricanes Irene and Lee last year gave some communities along the East Coast their first experience with flood damage, but Sandy seems to have cut a wider, and perhaps deeper, path. As a result, we thought we would back up a little and explain some flood insurance basics.
Florida has more flood insurance policies in force than any other state, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Our 2 million policies provide $475 billion in coverage for homes and businesses here, even though we have managed to avoid a major storm since 2005. Floridians do not want to gamble — to the point, at times, that outsiders think we are a little nuts.
We are talking about how two or more unrelated adults who share a rented house or apartment can have some interesting insurance questions. For example, married couples can share a policy, but state law may prohibit unmarried couples from being the named insureds on one policy. In our last post, we talked about how cohabitation can affect property insurance for renters; in this post, we want to tackle renters liability policies.
Piracy insurance is a relatively new idea, spawned by the Somali pirate takeovers of several ships in recent years. Marine kidnap and ransom insurance covers ransom costs and vessel recovery costs if a ship is hijacked by pirates. Florida has its own history of piracy, but modern piracy is a multi-billion dollar industry. And when insurance companies see losses, they see opportunities for their own profits.
Florida insurance regulators have successfully negotiated a settlement with another life insurance company over unpaid death benefits. As one of the six lead states in this effort and other insurance industry matters, Florida is making a name for itself as an enforcer. The direct benefit, if any, to Sunshine State residents is unknown, though.
When it comes to health insurance, there are a few terms that can give just about anyone hives. The first, of course, is “pre-existing condition.” There may not be one resident of Florida who does not know someone who has fought a claim denial over a pre-existing condition.
Neil Armstrong’s widow committed her astronaut husband’s ashes to the Atlantic Ocean this week, in many ways bringing an era to a close. Men who walked on the moon are still alive — Buzz Aldrin, for example — but the first man to do so is gone. It is an odd feeling for those of us who remember that first step in August 1969.
The death of Neil Armstrong late last month seems to have reignited interest in the space program and the lives of the Apollo astronauts. Tributes to Armstrong always included the grainy footage of his first step on the moon, and some recalled the entire Apollo 11 mission, from liftoff in Florida to splash-down and quarantine. Armstrong’s achievements may well inspire a whole new generation of explorers.
Insurance companies are very careful about what they cover and what they exclude. With homeowners policies, for example, outbuildings may not be covered. If you have a shed or a playhouse, you would need to purchase additional coverage for that. Medical malpractice insurance does not cover illegal acts; if the physician is accused of assault, for example, the insurance company will not pay for the doctor’s defense attorney and will not pay any damages awarded to the victim.
