ORLANDO: The 2015 Atlantic hurricane season opens on Monday, and a combination of a forecast for fewer-than-average storms and the highest level ever of financial resources on hand in Florida to pay claims may help homeowners and businesses there weather fears of a storm. Florida, the riskiest place in the United States for hurricane strikes,…
After weeks — and in some ways, months — of discussion, the special legislative session to determine what to do with the budget starts Monday. Which meant everyone spent the last week getting ready for it.The Senate was gearing up to make a last-ditch pitch for something that uses Medicaid expansion funding to give more…
Matt Dixon, (@Mdixon55) To avoid the appearance of conflicts, many lawmakers said they would not raise campaign cash leading into a June special session where they will write the state’s roughly $80 billion budget. Taking four or five-figure checks days before finalizing the state budget from donors with items in the state budget, they said,…
Deadly automobile accidents are a tragic daily occurrence across the United States. In 2013 (the latest year complete data is available), 32,719 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes in the U.S., according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The good news is that over the past 10 years, there has been an…
Traffic jams, road construction, bad weather, lack of parking, cost of gas, likelihood of an accident, and even the cost of vehicle ownership can all contribute to numerous everyday challenges for drivers. NerdWallet has analyzed driving conditions, time spent driving and insurance costs to rank the worst cities in the United States for drivers on…
Florida regulators issued a memorandum to insurers recently to eliminate the use of something called price optimization. That’s probably an unfamiliar term to most people. It’s interesting that the memo had to define what “price optimization” is in order for insurers to stop doing it. Simply, the memo from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation…
A memorandum released last week by Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty warning insurers in the state not to use price optimization in rating has gotten cheers from a consumer advocate group and jeers from an insurance industry trade association that says the definition of the practice used is too vague. The memo, released May 14…
Robert Trigaux, Tampa Bay Times Business Columnist One of the very few Florida property insurers that is “A” rated by one of the state’s leading private rating firms is rapidly downsizing. State-run Citizens Property Insurance is busy handing hundreds of thousands of its Florida policyholders in bulk to young, lower-rated small insurers in the state.…
Jeb Bush was in New Hampshire, talking to voters about the education standards called Common Core. Back in Washington, ears perked up on a team that spends all day, every day, scouring television and the Internet for appearances by Republican presidential candidates. A check of the team’s vast video archive unearthed a 2011 clip of…
As we enter the busy home-buying season, you may be wondering which states have the highest homeowners insurance rates. Many factors impact home insurance premiums including real estate values, building and construction costs, vulnerability to catastrophes, as well as levels of economic growth and urbanization. According to a January 2015 study by the National Association of…