Tag: Florida insurance

Governor Scott signs law in the hopes to minimize phony auto claims

Florida Governor Rick Scott

The bill signing occurred in Jacksonville at a ceremony on Friday. Though the city of choice for the signing of the Florida insurance fraud legislation by Governor Rick Scott is not exactly a hotspot for staged accidents, it still drew attention from the entire state, including Sheriff John Rutherford, who is backing the new law. The signing took place in the parking lot located next to the Northeast Florida Criminal Justice Training and Education Center on the North Campus of Florida State College, where Scott added his autograph while surrounded…

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Florida insurer issues world’s largest catastrophe reinsurance bond

S.Vagus

Citizens breaks world record for largest bond issued Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance has issued the largest catastrophe reinsurance bond in world history. Citizens made a powerful entry into the catastrophic bond market late last week, issuing more than $750 million in bonds. The bonds are considered to be the largest insurance-linked security in the world, putting Citizens in a powerful position in the bond market. Though the state-run insurance organization has been facing daunting financial problems, the bonds are expected to help solve these challenges. Bonds worth more than $750…

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FEMA ban on flood insurance rebates challenges by Florida insurer

S.Vagus
California health Insurance payment

FEMA seeks to ban insurance commission rebates FEMA has come under fire recently in Florida after the agency decided to stop insurance companies from offering rebates to consumers who purchase flood insurance coverage. These rebates would have been garnished from the commission of insurance agents. Consumers purchasing or renewing flood insurance policies through the federal National Flood Insurance Program would have been eligible for these rebates. FEMA believes that these flood insurance rebates are a source of recent complaints consumers have been having regarding the National Flood Insurance Program. Insurer…

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Citizens may increase homeowners insurance policy rates

Julie Campbell
homeowners insurance

Citizens is debating whether or not to increase the rates for new homeowners insurance policies. Consumers, in Florida, taking out new homeowners insurance policies at Citizens may discover that they are being charged higher initial rates than existing policyholders with that insurer. The result of a proposal being debated by the governing board at Citizens Property Insurance Corp. could mean that individuals taking out a policy from the state-backed coverage pool after January 1, 2013 may find that the rates that they pay are over 10 percent higher than the premiums…

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Florida homeowners in danger of losing their flood insurance coverage

S.Vagus
Flood Insurance and reinsurance

Florida law could exclude the state from NFIP coverage, according to FEMA. Florida lawmakers are working to expedite the availability of new building permits, but this may have put homeowners at risk of losing the flood insurance coverage they receive from the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP).  Flood insurance has become a very problematic issue throughout the country, but has been especially problematic in Florida recently. The troubles of flood insurance are linked to NFIP, a federal program which provides the majority of the country’s flood insurance coverage. The program…

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Insurers pulling out of markets in the wake of natural disasters

S.Vagus

The natural disaster rate climbs as industry reevaluates high risk areas. Natural disasters seem to be happening more regularly, a fact that the global insurance industry is becoming uncomfortable with. In terms of insurance, powerful storms and weather-related catastrophes are becoming more commonplace. As such, insurers are feeling the pressure of increased liability and the potential for steep financial losses in the wake of a catastrophic event. There is a strange trend gaining momentum in the industry today, which is spurred by the severity of recent natural disasters. Insurance markets…

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Insurers blast Florida lawmakers for inaction on Catastrophe Fund and Citizens Insurance

S.Vagus

The Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers (ABIR) have begun criticizing Florida lawmakers over their inaction on the state’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. Legislators are also coming under fire from ABIR over their failure to take action on the troubled Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state run insurance organization that accounts for the majority of coverage in the state. Both the Catastrophe Fund and Citizens Insurance are being crippled by financial problems, which could put the state in a very dangerous position once this year’s hurricane season kicks off. Insurers had…

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