Information from the Office of Insurance Regulation re Florida Office of Insurance Regulation to Solicit Feedback from Businesses on Insurance Difficulties 7/17/06

Please find below news from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Should you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact this office.

Regards,

Fred E. Karlinsky

FLORIDA OFFICE OF INSURANCE REGULATION TO SOLICIT FEEDBACK FROM BUSINESSES ON INSURANCE DIFFICULTIES

TALLAHASSEE (July 11, 2006) � The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (Office) today announced it will be conducting an on-line survey to gauge the problems businesses in the state are encountering accessing commercial insurance coverage. The Office said it has heard from businesses and policymakers from around the state regarding problems with the availability and cost of commercial insurance coverage.

“There is little doubt we have problems in this area of our market that mirror or exceed those we are wrestling with in residential insurance,” said Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty. “We need to find out which businesses are having difficulty, where they are located and what exactly are the challenges they are facing. Armed with that information we hope to develop some targeted remedies to provide relief to the segments of our business community which are having difficulty.”

The on-line survey will consist of 10 questions dealing with the type of business which is responding, 10 questions about the specific insurance difficulty the business is encountering and an area for individual feedback. Any business can respond by going to https://apps.fldfs.com/Survey/default.aspx?qid=49&pre=CP.

Most of the questions can be answered by pointing and clicking on drop-down menus. The name of the business or owner does not have to be provided but an email address will be needed so a password can be sent which is required to complete the survey. Directions are printed on the bottom of the page.

Additionally, the survey will be forwarded to chambers of commerce across Florida and it also will be provided to associations and federations representing business interests throughout the state.

Business owners and managers can fill out the survey until July 24th at midnight. When the survey results are compiled they will be displayed on the Office of Insurance Regulation website at http://www.floir.com/.

# # #

Directions: Click on the survey link (above), to arrive at a screen that will request a user name and password. Creating an account is simple. Click the “Create An Account” link on the left side of the screen. Provide your name (first and last), email address, choose a users name and password (the password must be 8-10 characters long), then click “Create Account”. You will immediately receive an email with a link and instructions to activate the account. Once the account has been activated, log in and complete the survey. The Office will issue a report on the findings of this survey in the aggregate; names or addresses of survey respondents will not be included.

�

�

�