The Home Insurance Guru

Please call L & S Insurance at 1-888-244-7400 for free quotes on Home Insurance, Auto, Flood, Private Flood, Business & Commercial, & Life & financial products as well.

In September, Hurricane Hermine broke Florida’s hurricane drought that had lasted since 2005. The category 1 storm hit the Florida Panhandle, bringing significant storm surge to the Tampa Bay area before slowly traveling up the Eastern Seaboard.

The storm weakened to a tropical storm as it moved inland in Florida, with winds topping 70 miles per hour, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center, but it was still enough to cause widespread damage and power outages. Toppled trees in Tallahassee left some residents without power for a week

Then in October, Hurricane Matthew hit. The storm was classified as a category 3 with winds of 120 miles per hour.

“When Matthew was nearing Florida, there was a large amount of uncertainty of whether there would be more wind and storm surge or less so because the storm was paralleling so close to the coast,” said Tom Sabbatelli, RMS Hurricane Risk Expert based in the UK

Please read the full story below;

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2016/12/14/435122.htm

Please call L & S Insurance at 1-888-244-7400 for free quotes on Home Insurance, Auto, Flood, Private Flood, Business & Commercial & life & Financial products as well.

Assignment of benefits abuse has become such a well-known problem in the state of Florida this year that it now just goes by the nickname “AOB.”

The issue with AOB comes from when a policyholder suffers a loss, such as water damage to their home, and then signs over their insurance policy to the person repairing the damage. Repair contractors utilizing the AOB on behalf of the insured often work with attorneys who then sue the insurance company over the claim

Florida’s one-way attorney fee statute has encouraged these suits because the insurance company is typically left paying the attorney fees. In many cases, policyholders don’t know the lawsuit has even been filed.

Florida’s state-run insurer Citizens has been the most affected by this abuse. Citizens CEO and Executive Director Barry Gilway says that the negative impact on the pricing of property insurance and availability of coverage in Florida is getting worse. Gilway said while the gross misuse of the AOB form is a major component of the issue, the problem has really become a litigation issue relating to all non-wind water claims.

“The situation is deteriorating even further at Citizens,” Gilway told Insurance Journal. “Despite a book of business that has stabilized at around 490,000 policies, we are now projecting the number of lawsuits received each month will grow from 900 this year to over 1,000 in 2017. And yes, it is the same 10-15 firms that continue to be responsible for 60 percent of the litigation across the state.”

Please click the link below to read the full story!!

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2016/12/13/434926.htm

In Fort Lauderdale and all of S. Florida some people do not get covered as they should. Most do, but this will help the few who did not get paid. They will all be costly and come with Litigation so I know for sure we will all pay for this with more rate hikes for many years to come. Water Damage claims, Hurricane Matthew and now this?? How much more can we take. Please call L & S Insurance at 1-888-244-7400 for free quotes on Home Insurance, Auto, Flood, Private Flood, Business & Commercial & Life & financial products as well.

John Sebo v. American Home Assurance Company, Inc. Case No.: SC14-897 (Fla. Dec. 1, 2016)

Please call L & S Insurance at 1-888-244-7400 for free quotes On Home Insurance, Auto, Flood, Private Flood, Business & Commercial, & Life & Financial products as well.

Florida lawmakers can expect substantial pressure to tackle the assignment of benefits (AOB) and water loss claims crisis from the state’s insurer of last resort when Florida’s legislative session begins early next year.

At a governing board meeting Wednesday, leaders of Citizens stressed that rising water claims and “out of control” litigation are threatening the insurer’s long-term financial stability and will stifle efforts by Citizens to offer premium breaks to policyholders in 2017.

The company said that barring significant changes, including possible legislative action on assignment of benefits, non-hurricane losses will continue to chip away at Citizens‘ reserves and could result in policies returning to the state’s insurer of last resort as private insurers face similar challenges.

“Without significant reform, litigation, water claims and AOB pose a serious threat to the financial position of Citizens,” said Chris Gardner, chairman of the Board of Governors. “This is not a sustainable situation.”

Citizens plans to make AOB reform its 2017 legislative priority, the company said.

Please enjoy the full article below;

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2016/12/08/434610.htm

Please call L & S Insurance at 1-888-244-7400 for free quotes on Home Insurance, Auto, Flood, Private Flood, Business & Commercial & Life & Financial products as well.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday handed a victory to two whistleblower sisters by upholding a jury verdict that found State Farm defrauded the U.S. government when the insurance company assessed damage caused by Hurricane Katrina along the Gulf of Mexico coast in 2005.

The court ruled 8-0 to reject State Farm’s challenge to a 2015 lower court decision upholding the verdict in a 2006 lawsuit brought by sisters Cori and Kerri Rigsby under the False Claims Act, which lets people sue on behalf of the government over allegations it has been defrauded.

This will also mean much higher premiums for Fort Lauderdale, S. Florida and the entire state for many years to come so a few can get paid. Please enjoy the full article below;

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2016/12/06/434413.htm