The Home Insurance Guru

The multi year Flood  bill which includes many other items  passed the House w/ a huge vote and should go to the Senate quickly.The Gridlock for year end items needs to be cleaned out and this is one that many will agree and enough votes exist to make it pass. President Obama should sign the bill quickly as Student loans are part of this as well for college funding. Please read the full article and call L & S Insurance for all of your Home, Flood, Auto, Business & Commercial and even life Insurance quotes at 1-888-244-7400.

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2012/06/29/253813.htm

6 rate increases in 2.5 years and the average cost to Florida consumer’s is already averging 150% since then, but this rate hike which will  average 14.2% will cost most in Fort Lauderdale and all of S. Florida about 30% as we are always hit very hard. State Farm is my best friend at L & S as we are saving the clients thousands w/ other carriers, but the Insured’s w/ State Farm are paying through the roof and there is no end in sight. Even though State Farm will now offer the multi policy discount, most will pay so much more that there is no reason to stay w/ the carrier as the rates will be so high. They used to be the largest carrier in Florida, but they are now 3rd to Citizens and Universal P & C. PLease read the full article below from the Sun Sentinal, written by Julie Patel, and sent to us by our friends at First State Insurance. Please call L & S at 1-888-244-7400 for a quote on your Home Insurance, Auto, Flood, Business & Commercial and even Life Insurance quotes.

http://weblogs.sun-sentinel.com/business/realestate/housekeys/blog/2012/06/_14_percent_for_homeowners.html

The new laws start 7/1, but will we really save money as was projected. I personally do not believe it will happen and our CFO Jeff Atwater in Tallahassee  says we will have to wait 12-24 months to see. There will be some changes that will definitely help reduce some fraud, but the changes were so minor and  Fraudulent people are very clever so my guess is not much will get better. To see real price reductions we need real change and this bill did not even come close by my perceptions.The deadline for rate reductions are 10/1/2012 and then not till 2014. The first date will probably be rejected by the Insurance companies because the bill just starts 7/1/2012 and no savings can be realized that quickly so in 2014 we will see. This article was sent to us by our friends at First State Insurance  w/ The Sun Sentinal  and please read all the details below. Please call L & S at  1-888-244-7400 for quotes on Auto and Car Insurance, Home, Flood, Business & Commercial, and even Life Insurance as well.

Thx,

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-atwater-focusing-on-pip-reforms-20120624,0,6142131.story

Bottom line is that Florida is not a political haven for Insurance companies as the regulation which Includes all that Citizens Insurance  is and does is a nightmare to deal with. Mike Stone President of RLI spoke at the recent FAIA convention in Orlando to thousands and this was and is the bottom line. To much control and not enough ability to charge what they want. Good pricing will get the business and competition will keep things in check. Now  for a reality Check, With all of the Fraud in Florida and the high risk of Hurricane catastrohies, that will not always work either. This is why Florida is a nightmare for Insurance companies and pricing of Home Insurance which affects the Real estate markets in Fort laderdale and all of Florida is never going to be easy for decades to come. Please read the fullarticle below and remember to call L & S  at 1-888-244-7400 for all of your quotes on Home, Auto, Flood, Business & Commercial and Life Insurance quotes as well.

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2012/06/14/251564.htm

Interem President of Citizens Tom Grady and at least 25 Legislators in Tallahassee do not like what they see if a Hurricane hits Florida w/ the current population of nearly 1.5 million policy holders. The Legislators now say to Citizens,”Do what you need to do to reduce the exposure or call it Exposure Management.) Most carriers reduce policy holders in a zipcode or county. Since Citizens is now again the Insurer of last resort and they cannot drop people for  that reason, they need other reasons. Those reasons will now be 50% or 100% rate hikes to make policy holders  go shopping to the private markets when they see the new rates next year. With every carrier scheduled or will be scheduled for rate hikes of their own this year, they will be plenty of room for the business to be picked up by the other Insurers, but what happens when the storm does hit????  Also, the rates of Insurance are already more than taxes so how can people afford the homes they live in?? More to come, but enjoy the article and interview below. Please call L & S Insurance at 1-888-244-7400 to shop out your policy for Home, Auto, Flood, Business & Commercial and even Life Insurance.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-citizens-editorial-board-20120606,0,4921074.story

Please watch the news clip from local 10.com and the report by Glenna Milberg about Citizens Insurance, price increses coming, and  Governor Rick Scott’s wishes to clean house by 50% in the next 2-3 years. Please call L & S Insurance(1-800-244-7400) for Home, Auto, Business & Commercial,Flood, and even Life Insurance quotes.Fort Lauderdale and all of S. Florida are the most heavily affected  and the rates will rise big aagin next year plus all of the inspections are being done. We only hope that Hurricane season does not make it worse this year.

http://www.local10.com/news/Citizens-customers-may-need-to-seek-other-insurers/-/1717324/14505332/-/9n1p4uz/-/index.html

Please read How the State of Florida cat fund which protects Citizens Insurance and all carriers is billions short of the needed amounts to maintain the AM best ratings!  This will definitely be an issue to resolve and we will see how it all falls out. Please read the full article below about Citizens Insurance, Home Insurance and how it will affect all of us in Fort  Lauderdale and all over Florida. Please call L & S Insurance at 1-888-244-7400 for all of your Home,Auto,Flood, Business & Commercial, and even Life Insurance quotes.

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2012/06/04/249840.htm

Senator Mike Fasano and Governor Rick Scott may now be on the same page. The real question is which page are they on??? Now they want to consider keeping Citizens for Wind policies only. I do not know which is in a dream world, but Senator Fasano who was trying to be for the people, just lost it. The Citizens board will all meet in July to discuss many options including the 10% rate cap being  increased to 25% which I blogged on recently. Let’s see what happen’s in July and in the meantime, please read the full article below by Paul Owers of the Fort lauderdale Sun Sentinal. If you need quotes on Home, Auto, Flood, Business & Commercial or even Life Insurance quotes please call L & S at 1-888-244-7400.

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/fl-citizens-meeting-20120601,0,5713230.story