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.
It seems a shame, but Halloween is really pretty risky. In the “old days,” the primary concern was about tainted candy. Urban legends abound about the innocent 5-year-old trick-or-treater in a Miami suburb — right on the block where a friend of a friend lives — who bites into a rosy red apple, only to find a razor blade or surgical needle. You couldn’t swing a black cat without hitting some kind of terrifying tale of danger to life, limb and property.
In our last post, we were talking about the state’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. The fund was established to help Florida’s property insurance companies pay claims after a major storm. Recently, financial analysts determined that the fund, in its current state, would be unable to cover a big storm.
Miami remembers Hurricane Andrew. The 1992 storm devastated South Florida and swept away the reserves of insurance companies in the area. Florida lawmakers responded by establishing a hurricane fund that would help insurers pay homeowners’ property claims if a storm were to level part of the state.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has been over the numbers time and again, but it just won’t work. Last week, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told Congress that the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports program can never be actuarially sound. The insurance program was to have been established under the Affordable Care Act.
The human cost alone was appalling. Last month, 11 people died and 74 were injured — some horribly so — when a modified World War II plane crashed into the crowd of spectators at the National Championship Air Races. As one witness said, it looked like a war zone.
Miami-Dade County may have its share of windstorms and hurricanes, but sinkholes are extremely rare in this part of Florida. That may be a selling point for one Marion County family looking to relocate after losing their home to two sinkholes. If there is any good news, it could be that this happened before Citizens’ new premiums go into effect — families with sinkhole insurance could be paying hundreds of dollars more in premiums after the first of the year.
We’re continuing our story of a claims bill that will be heard by the Florida Legislature in 2012. If passed, the bill would compensate the victim of a car accident involving and caused by a deputy sheriff. The parties — the victim and the sheriff’s office — don’t object. The insurance company for the sheriff’s office does.
We’re picking up the thread from our Sept. 28 post, continuing the discussion of a claims bill scheduled for Florida’s next legislative session. The claim involves a personal injury suit against a county sheriffs department. The bill has languished for a couple of years, because the focus has shifted from compensating the victim and his family to setting a new precedent for insurance bad faith claims.
