News & Resources

The hurricane season of 2004 brought devastation to many areas in the southeast. Even though hurricanes have historically caused significant damage, what the people experienced six years ago was unlike any other. Florida experienced one of the busiest hurricane seasons in 2004, but since then Mother Nature seems to have calmed down for the time being. With fewer hurricanes over the past several years, insurance policyholders might expect insurance premiums to go down or at least stay the same. However, rates continue to increase.

In our last post, we were talking about a case involving a commercial general liability insurance carrier, Florida homeowners and a real estate developer. The underlying complaint involves the use of Chinese drywall and the damage to the home resulting from its use. As that complaint was making its way through the courts, the couple filed a motion to add unfair claim settlement practices to the suit. The court denied the motion, saying it was premature.

Here is a brief summary of some recent insurance-related decisions from November 2010:

A complicated Florida case involving homeowners, developers, a commercial general liability insurance company and Chinese drywall has hit another road block. The homeowners and developers had filed a complaint earlier this year, alleging the insurance company denied their claim in bad faith. The court ruled against them. In the present case, the court has told them that the insurance company should not cover the claim at all. Just two months after they moved into their […]

Attorneys at Ver Ploeg & Marino, P.A., have been involved in the following high-profile cases, which were covered by the Law360 news service (http://www.law360.com):

The world’s second-largest reinsurance company announced this week that natural catastrophe losses rose from $22.7 billion in 2009 to $31 billion in the first 11 months of 2010. Man-made disasters — notably British Petroleum’s Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion and the ensuing oil spill — have spurred about $5 billion in claims. Florida residents will not be surprised to hear that hurricane losses this year have been relatively low, resulting in a less egregious increase in insurance losses than initially expected.

When people talk about soaring insurance rates, they’re usually talking about health insurance or – particularly in Florida – property insurance. Another type of coverage has found its way onto the list lately: long-term care insurance.

The last post in this series.

A Florida newspaper’s report about the reinsurance market pointed out the enormous profits made by the off-shore companies — profits that could be, but aren’t, reinvested in the state. It doesn’t look as if the trend among Florida insurance companies of relying so heavily on these reinsurers is on the downswing, either. And, apart from the companies’ lack of commitment to the state and her residents, there’s something distasteful about the way reinsurers root for catastrophes.

We’re not quite done with our discussion of the reinsurance market in Florida. A recent news report brought to light the facts and the issues associated with reinsurance arrangements Florida insurance companies have taken on since the 2005 hurricane season. Homeowner insurance premiums have increased, but the money insurance companies rake in isn’t staying in the state. It’s going to off-shore investors, who run shell companies here while they track hurricanes from afar.