Ron Hurtibise – Sun Sentinel The arguments were familiar at a daylong forum in Boca Raton attended by 150 players in Florida’s homeowner insurance rate crisis. But unlike their usual methods of venting over the past four years — legislative hearings in Tallahassee, websites, letters to the editor — the opposing sides listened to each…
Charles Elmore – Palm Beach Post The CEO of one of Florida’s 10 biggest property insurers told a forum in Boca Raton Tuesday that inflated water-damage claims are “morally wrong” and hurt all consumers by raising rates, while an attorney accused insurers of crying wolf about the latest “crisis” that serves their own needs. More…
Washington (CNN) Sen. Marco Rubio seemed to open the door to running for re-election Monday, when asked whether the Orlando nightclub shootings had changed his decision not to seek another term. Asked by conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt if the shootings had led him to reconsider his decision not to run for re-election, Rubio pushed…
By Jim Turner The News Service of Florida Published: Sunday, June 12, 2016 at 10:49 p.m. TALLAHASSEE — Kevin McCarty, Florida’s longtime insurance commissioner, is leaving the Office of Insurance Regulation during the first week of July. McCarty oversaw the insurance industry through the unprecedented 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons and a global recession. But…
JAX Times Union Opinion Lead Letter: Shady lawyers are exploiting loopholes in property insurance policies By Michael Carlson, president, Personal Insurance Federation of Florida Fri, Jun 10, 2016 @ 3:31 pm Last year, Florida broke a record by going 10 straight years without a major hurricane. But not everything is calm as we enter this…
George Bennett – Palm Beach Post – June 10,2016 State Sen. Joseph Abruzzo, D-Boynton Beach, and state Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach, are switching races less than three weeks before Florida’s candidate qualifying deadline. The maneuver comes 16 days before Florida’s June 24 deadline for candidates to submit paperwork and pay filing fees to secure their places…
Steve Bousquet, Times/Herald Tallahassee Bureau As Marco Rubio faces pressure to change course and run for a second term in the U.S. Senate, it’s time to look at the seat’s unique history and ask whether Florida is cursed somehow. “Nothing’s changed,” Rubio said Friday, saying he has no plans to run, even though that would…
Florida’s State-Backed Residual Policy Count Drop Drives 14 Percent Decrease Nationally June 6, 2016 NEW YORK, June 7, 2016 — High-risk coastal property owners in the United States are increasingly able to buy coverage from private-sector insurers, thereby reducing the exposure of state-run residual property insurers, according to the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) The I.I.I.’s…
Ron Hurtibise Sun Sentinel The ability of Florida’s young homeowner insurance companies to manage a large catastrophic hurricane is “uncertain” despite recent strong financial performance, a new Fitch Ratings analysis asserts. The report released last week, “Florida Homeowners Insurance Market Update: No Time for Complacency Following Hurricane-Free Decade,” says the short history and lack of…
Sunshine State News If Marco Rubio decides to run for a second term in the Senate, he would start with some major support, a new poll shows. Mason Dixon released a poll on Monday showing 49 percent of Florida voters favor Rubio running for a second term while 39 percent are against the idea. Rubio…