Tampa Bay Times Editorial A steady drip usually signals bigger trouble, and this is no exception. Insurance claims and lawsuits for water damage are climbing, and the mess is spreading from South Florida to Tampa Bay. That means trouble for private insurers and the state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. And that means trouble for homeowners…
An Update of the Abuse of Assignments of Benefits and its Correlation with One-Way Attorney’s Fees by Mark Delegal and Ashley Kalifeh for Florida Association of Independent Agents, Executive Summary As discussed in FJRI’s 2015 paper,1 the prospect of one-way attorney’s fees has encouraged a growing number of lawyers to partner with various service providers…
Tampa Bay Times, John Romano You do everything the right way. You buy flood insurance, even though you have no lender demanding it. You surround your doors with sandbags for the approaching storm. You evacuate just as local officials ask, even though you are hesitant to abandon the house you bought less than a year…
“An Ohio insurance-rating company has warned that recent court rulings and skyrocketing losses from water-damage claims have created an ‘uncertain operating environment’ for Florida’s property insurers and that is will downgrade the financial stability of 10 to 15 Florida-based companies, potentially threatening the solvency of thousands of homeowners policies.” READ MORE.
“The prospect that a national rating firm might downgrade Florida insurance companies because of rising costs linked to assignment of benefits agreements has lit a fire under advocates of reforming those contracts.” READ MORE.
TALLAHASSEE An Ohio insurance-rating company has warned that recent court rulings and skyrocketing losses from water-damage claims have created an “uncertain operating environment” for Florida’s property insurers and that it will downgrade the financial stability of 10 to 15 Florida-based companies, potentially threatening the solvency of thousands of homeowners policies. Demotech, Inc., a company which…
As the Legislature debates restricting attorney fees in insurance litigation involving assignment-of-benefits agreements, a tort-reform group has identified a way to circumvent that fix. Attorneys could convince policyholders to file suit in their own name. A report, “Restoring Balance in Insurance Litigation,” released Monday by the Florida Justice Reform Institute, discusses that possibility in the context of…
SUN SENTINEL – OPINION If Florida drivers don’t get a replacement for the state’s overpriced no-fault auto insurance system this year, it will be Tallahassee’s fault. Bills in the House and Senate would abolish the nearly five-decades-old requirement to purchase $10,000 worth of Personal Injury Protection as part of the policy. Five years ago, the…
February is Hit-And-Run Awareness Month! ORLANDO, Fla. – Every February, Florida Highway Patrol shines a spotlight on the problem of hit-and-run accidents. Hit-and-runs are a big problem statewide, and FHP is using this month to bring awareness and educate drivers. “We have seen a dramatic increase in hit-and-runs here in the Central Florida area, especially…
Insurance Journal The insurance industry has an image problem. That is probably not really breaking news to anyone reading this, but it’s an important topic to discuss and one the industry can address and, believe it or not, an issue that can be resolved. The Florida Chamber of Commerce’s 2017 Florida Insurance Summit held in…