LMA NEWSLETTER August 9, 2021

Up Close & Personal with an ER Doctor

This weekend I hosted an emergency room physician in my home for the weekend as he was on assignment temporarily in Taylor County (Perry) Florida.  He worked 12-hour shifts for two days and then is off for two days.  So he went in at 6:30am and he got to my house at 9pm Friday night …

Property Insurance Lawsuits Up 51%

AOB creep even bigger

2021 is looking like it will be a banner year for property insurance litigation in Florida, with midyear figures of new lawsuits up 51% over the first six months of last year.  Those involving Assignment of Benefits (AOB) grew even more – up 85% over the same period in 2020.

If …

Who Will Insure Florida’s High-Rise Condos?

Admitted & surplus lines in flux

An increase in costly litigation is one of the drivers leading to a contraction of Florida’s property insurance market, especially among domestic (Florida-based) carriers.  That’s especially true in South Florida, where admitted carriers have been shrinking their footprint or increasing underwriting requirements or raising rates by double-digits (or all …

Pandemic Pushing Auto Rates Higher

Supply & demand imbalance raising costs

It seems the price of most everything is going up in this ongoing Coronavirus pandemic.  Now it’s taking a toll on personal automobile insurance rates, with at least one major carrier reporting its raising rates because of claims severity caused in part by more severe accidents, microchip shortages, and …

The Business Interruption Insurance Gap

Backstop hesitancy on Capitol Hill

During the height of the initial pandemic last year, there was serious talk about what role the insurance industry could and should play in providing protection in future pandemics, especially for business interruption.  Part of the discussion included the likely need for the federal government to provide necessary backstop insurance …

To Insure or Pay Ransomware Attacks?

Those are the questions

Congress has also been busy tackling the issue of cyberattacks and the role the insurance industry is playing in trying to protect vulnerable businesses.  The Senate Judiciary Committee recently held a hearing specifically on how best to prevent and respond to ransomware attacks.  Those attacks involve hacking a computer system, stealing …

Congress Takes Positive Step on Flood Insurance

New bill eases homeowners’ penalty

The U.S. House of Representatives is trying once again to fix a major roadblock that has prevented some homeowners from shopping around for private flood insurance as an alternative to their National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies.  It allows private carriers to better compete by satisfying the NFIP’s continuous coverage …

First 3D House in Florida

A new wave of the future we first introduced you to in a past newsletter has now arrived in Florida – right here in Tallahassee: 3D Printed homes.  Gulf Coast Additive Manufacturing & Design (GCAM&D), a subsidiary of Florida-based construction company, Precision Building & Renovating, LLC., has begun its work on the state’s first 3D …