This weekend I traveled back to Panama City. It’s a tough trip because so many of the trees are as they were …snapped like pencils and on the ground. Tasha Carter, Florida’s Insurance Consumer Advocate held a town hall meeting so consumers could tell their stories. The Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) also attended.
Most …
Hurricane Michael insurance claims are still a topic of discussion at the state Capitol. This past week there were several articles that saw momentum swing from blaming insurance companies to instead blaming public adjusters and plaintiff lawyers as the obstacle to resolving open claims. New reasons have also come to light.…
Recent disasters and the growing number of open insurance claims are creating renewed interest in an alternative to costly litigation in resolving claims disputes: mediation. While claim frequency is down, claim cost is way up – more than five times what it was 20 years ago. Unnecessary and abusive litigation has contributed …
Five months after the Governor signed Assignment of Benefits (AOB) reform into law, enforcement is reported to be a mixed bag in the courts. A key element that drove AOB abuse – one-way attorney fees – is the very thing that is getting uneven enforcement by judges hearing insurance claims …
We’ve chronicled the rapid growth of private flood insurance coverage here in Florida and our efforts to export our model laws that encourage private competition to other states. We have a digest of flood news this week, some good, some worrisome – especially on the public’s …
Under the assumption that it cannot control severe weather, nor deny recovery money to communities struck by future catastrophes, the federal government is developing a framework for how best to invest its finite taxpayer resources into more efficient and effective resiliency efforts across the country.
The U.S. Government Accountability …
Last spring, the Florida Legislature passed a bill directing the state Department of Transportation (FDOT) to develop routes for three new toll roads in what would be the biggest highway expansion in decades. Three task forces have begun work in what is turning out to be a departure from traditional methods …
