We are continuing our discussion of natural disasters during 2011. The U.S. has had a particularly tough year. For insurance companies, these disasters and others in foreign countries could translate into enormous losses. And although Florida has escaped most of the havoc, homeowners here will likely be paying a portion of the insurance bill.
Florida dodged Hurricane Irene this week, but much of the Eastern Seaboard will not. When the skies have cleared, the damage assessments will begin. Florida may not be so lucky when it comes to dodging the bills — maybe not directly, but through property insurance premiums.
We are wrapping up our discussion of regulatory compliance in the property and casualty insurance industry. Every state has an agency that monitors insurance companies’ financial and service records. When the results are a little out of whack, the departments — in Florida, it’s the Office of Insurance Regulation — conduct a full examination of the company’s operations.
We all make mistakes. Many times we don’t realize it until someone else points it out to us. If we make a mistake on our tax return, say, the IRS lets us know. If we make too many mistakes, the IRS is going to do a lot more than just let us know. We’re going to be audited.
The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) is set to expire at the end of September. In light of recent budget debates, the fate of the program is uncertain, adding another insurance worry to Floridians’ plates. It was hard for residents here to watch the news coverage of the windstorm that took down stage rigging at a state fair — not from a lack of empathy, but from that sense memory of living through hours of 60- to 70-mile-an-hour winds and flooding that come with a hurricane.
We’re discussing a recent Florida appellate decision in a workers’ compensation case. The employer and insurance company primarily denied the claim because the worker was illegal at the time of his accident.
A Florida appellate court has ruled against an employer and an insurance company, saying that they must pay a workers’ compensation claim. The claim was denied because the employee was undocumented.
A federal judge ended the dispute between an insurance company and Florida’s insurance commissioner this week — for the moment. The judge dismissed the claim without prejudice, which means the insurance company can file again in the future. The case wasn’t about improper claim procedures or undue delay in paying claims. It was about an alleged personal vendetta.
Florida’s state-run insurance carrier, Citizens Property Insurance, has requested rate hikes that could take homeowners by surprise. Regulators say most of the new rates will be approved without debate, with one exception: the proposed increase for sinkhole coverage.
We are continuing our discussion of a relatively unknown insurance product, tuition insurance. Offered through K-12 private schools and colleges in Florida and elsewhere, the insurance pays the policyholder if the insured — say, a child just entering college — cannot complete the term for a health reason.
