Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Monday, August 13
Aug 13, 2012
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Daily Florida Insurance-Related Events
There are no insurance-related events scheduled for today.
Florida Legislature turns blind eye to property insurance reform
With the backing of Gov. Rick Scott, and a mostly silent Legislature, Citizens has advanced an aggressive agenda of higher rates and reduced coverage
Property insurance reform was nowhere to be found among Gov. Rick Scott’s “legislative priorities” during this year’s lawmaking session in Tallahassee.
Some seniors opt out of paying sky-high homeowner’s insurance
With the cost of insurance soaring, many senior citizens in Florida are choosing the precarious option of dropping insurance altogether and bearing the risk of a hurricane hit on their own.
Insurance sticker shock for home buyers
As rates rise at Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, real estate professionals say Florida’s housing market is taking a hit
Justin and Ashleigh Leto were ready to buy their Florida dream home. The property was perfect, the price was acceptable and the sellers were ready to hand over the keys to the first-time homebuyers. One problem: insurance.
Citizens: Raising the roof on insurance premiums with reinspections
Patricia Temple’s annual insurance bill soared by more than $2,100 after an inspector knocked on her door earlier this year. The bill came from Citizens Property Insurance Corp., and the inspector was one of thousands fanning the state on Citizens’ behalf, often with sudden and jarring results for homeowners.
Citizens insurance dumping high-end coverage
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s cancellation of hurricane coverage for all homes valued at more than $1 million will force Palm Beach residents to buy alternative insurance at higher costs.
Policy rate increases scramble Southwest Florida’s homeowners insurance market
The largest players in Southwest Florida’s homeowners insurance market have made their case to raise rates from 10 to 33 percent on average. Consumers are scrambling to find more affordable coverage.
Column: When I was innocent and insurance was cheap
All of us can relate to our Hurricane Andrew anniversary coverage, including me. The storm turned my house into kindling
On Aug. 23, 1992, I lived in a three-bedroom, two-bath house west of Metrozoo in a neighborhood called Kings Grant, just south of Country Walk. It was 1,600 square feet, wood-frame, on a builder’s half acre. We had paid $96,000 seven years before, and in a flat real estate market, it wasn’t valued at much more than the day we closed.
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Rejects Praetorian’s Force-Placed Rate Filing
Florida plans to disapprove Praetorian Insurance Co.’s request for a statewide 2.2 percent decrease for its lender-placed insurance program.
Travelers Looks to Policy Exclusion in Trayvon Martin-Related Case
Travelers Casualty and Surety Company of America has filed federal court documents in Florida arguing that it does not have an obligation to defend the homeowners’ association where Trayvon Martin was shot and killed
Florida Waiting to Be Plugged into Duke Energy’s Plans
Energy experts are closely watching how the $18 billion merger of Progress Energy into Duke Energy will impact Florida’s overall power grid.
Governor Scott appoints 13 to new study committee on investor-owned water utilities
Gov. Rick Scott on Friday appointed 13 members to a new committee established by the Legislature to study investor-owned water and wastewater utility systems.
New Florida Voting Laws: Court to Issue Final Order in Two Weeks
Judge Thomas P. Crapps of the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings will issue a final ruling in two weeks, regarding implementation of a controversial new elections law, HB 1355, by the Legislature during the 2011 session and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott.
Tom Lee, Aaron Bean, Kelli Stargel Among Top Florida Fundraisers
In a final push before Tuesday’s primary elections, House and Senate candidates collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions during the past three weeks — and, in some cases, wrote big checks themselves, new reports show.
Visit Florida, state’s tourism bureau, accused of discrimination by former employees
The organization tasked with recruiting a culturally diverse hodgepodge of tourists to Florida has discriminated against its own employees on the basis of race, religion and gender, according to several lawsuits and interviews with former staff.
Louisiana’s Citizens Seeking To Settle Hurricane Lawsuits
Louisiana’s property insurer of last resort is trying to negotiate settlements on two remaining class action lawsuits tied to the company’s handling of claims after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
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