The Home Insurance Guru

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Nearly 17,000 flood insurance claims connected with Hurricane Irma have been filed, and more are expected in the coming weeks.

The Sun-Sentinel reports that of 16,786 flood claims filed through Thursday, 3,969 were filed in Monroe County.

FEMA data shows that Miami-Dade residents have filed 1,870 claims, 829 have been filed in Broward County and 199 have come from Palm Beach County.

Other counties with large numbers of flood insurance claims are Duval, with 1,514, Lee, with1,426 and Collier with 1,364.

Fewer than 200 claims have been filed in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Charlotte counties – an example of how the Tampa Bay region was spared the severe impact feared by forecasters.

http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2017/09/27/465727.htm

Please call Lee at 954-351-1960 for free quotes on Home Insurance, Flood, Private Flood, Auto, Business & Commercial policies as well as Life, Disability and all group products.

With two Florida landfalls in the same day, Hurricane Irma‘s destructive wind and flood damage could cost up to $65 billion for both insured and uninsured losses, according to a recent estimate by CoreLogic.

Residential property flood loss is estimated at up to $38 billion, CoreLogic reported, noting that includes storm surge, inland and flash flooding in five states – Florida, Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina

80 percent of the flood damage is uninsured, the company said.

Reported insured flood loss for commercial properties could top out at $8 billion.

AIR Worldwide estimated insured losses for the U.S. States resulting from Irma will range between $25 billion – $35 billion.

The catastrophe modeling firm noted the hurricane-force winds extended 80 miles from the eye and tropical storm–force winds extended more than 400 miles, covering the entire state and driving storm surge into both the Atlantic and Gulf coasts.

Downed trees, signs and utility poles and flooded or debris-strewn streets could be seen in the southern regions of the state, AIR Worldwide reported.

Karen Clark & Company estimated losses in the U.S and Caribbean at $25 billion. Of the $18 billion insured loss in the U.S., the majority is in Florida, followed by Georgia, South Carolina and Alabama, KCC reported.

As of Thursday, Sept. 21, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation reported more than 397,000 residential property claims and just over 17,000 commercial property claims had been filed. Including all types of losses, total estimated insured losses thus far had passed the $3 billion mark. OIR has been updating claims data daily.

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http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2017/09/22/465115.htm

Please call Lee at Acentria Insurance at 954-351-1960 for free quotes on Home Insurance, Auto, Flood, Private Flood, Car Insurance, Business & Commercial & Life & Financial products as well.

Florida policyholders so far have filed nearly $2 billion in claims to insurers for damage from Hurricane Irma, the state’s insurance regulator said on Monday.

The estimate of insured losses is based on preliminary statewide data that insurers filed with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation as of 4 p.m. ET on Sunday for nearly 335,347 claims, the regulator said. About 88 percent of the total number of claims are from residential property owners, of which only 3.8 percent have been closed, the filing said.

Of the claims, commercial property comprised 3 percent, while private flood insurance made up 0.2 percent.

Irma was ranked as one of the most powerful Atlantic storms on record before striking the U.S. mainland as a Category 4 hurricane on Sept. 10. The storm killed at least 33 in Florida.

Shares of Florida-based insurers Heritage Insurance and Universal Insurance fell 3.4 percent and 3.8 percent, respectively.

HCI Inc’s shares dropped 2.2 percent, while Federated National fell 2.6 percent and United Insurance edged 1.7 percent lower.

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http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2017/09/19/464730.htm

Please call Lee at Acentria Insurance at 954-351-1960 for free quotes on Home Insurance, Flood, Private Flood, Auto, Business & Commercial and Life & Financial products as well.

Although insured losses as a result of Hurricane Irma will not be as severe as originally forecast, the storm still represents a sizeable catastrophe event that will test the infrastructure and potentially strain the financial wherewithal of some local and regional carriers in Florida, particularly those that are geographically concentrated, according to a new briefing from A.M. Best.

The Best’s Briefing, titled, “Hurricane Irma Tests Newer Participants in Florida Market,” notes that over the past decade, the number of more concentrated local/regional writers in Florida’s insurance market has increased as national writers pulled back on the state

The state-formed Citizens Property Casualty Insurance Corporation took on much of that risk exposure, and as a result, experienced significant financial pressure. This led to a fairly successful depopulation program, whereby private insurers were given incentives to assume policies from Citizens. This, along with other factors that included benign weather in Florida and favorable reinsurance pricing, prompted many new insurance companies to form.

According to the report, a number of new insurance companies were formed since 2007, writing nearly a fifth of the property market lines: homeowners, farmowners, fire and allied, and commercial multiperil (non-liability). Hurricane Irma represents the first severe event to test the strength of these business models, particularly with regard to risk selection, loss mitigation and potentially their reinsurance programs.

The report also states that with Hurricane Irma occurring in such close proximity to Hurricane Harvey, the demand for independent catastrophe claim adjusters has increased. A.M. Best-rated entities had already started strengthening their claims processes in response to the state’s Assignment of Benefit issues. Newer companies may face additional pressure from a lack of experience as well as limitations due to scale.

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http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2017/09/18/464615.htm

The ads were out before the storm hit so be careful. Please remember to call me at The Acentria office at 954-351-1960. We also provide free quotes on Home Insurance, Auto, Flood, Private Flood, Car, Business & Commercial and Life, group and Health Insurance  products.

As Florida residents return home after being evacuated by Hurricane Irma, the pressure is on the insurance industry to keep a bad situation regarding assignment of benefits abuse in the state from getting worse.

Florida regulators, carriers, industry trade groups and lawmakers are all echoing the same advice to policyholders: now’s the time to contact your agent or insurer and file claims.

“CFO Jimmy Patronis and Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier encourage Floridians to be prompt in notifying their insurance companies and cautious of repair deals that sound too good to be true,” the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation alerted consumers in a statement released Tuesday.

While Florida was spared the worst-case scenario by Hurricane Irma in terms of the storm’s strength, the state still suffered significant damage from wind and coastal flooding. Agents and carriers are just starting to deploy resources to affected areas, and stakeholders say timing will be of the essence as “bad actors” will be on the prowl for homeowners willing to assign to them the right to obtain insurance benefits to deal with damage to their homes.

“All consumers need to be on alert as they recover from Irma for fraudulent schemes and assignment of benefit scams so they don’t unknowingly sign away their rights,” said Chris Gardner, chairman of Citizens board of governors. “If unsure, agents are prepared to advise you and guide you through the claims process.”

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http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/southeast/2017/09/13/464047.htm