Florida insurance market reaches crisis point with another insurer bankruptcy

Florida insurance - Bankruptcy Sign

As insurers rapidly depart the market, even recent legislation isn’t having a fast enough impact. The Florida insurance market for property coverage has been rapidly stumbling again following storms in recent years. As a result, the insurers that aren’t withdrawing are going bankrupt. FedNat is the latest of the insurers to cancel the homeowners’ policies it’s been selling in the state. Florida insurance has reached a desperate level. This latest withdrawal of FedNat will cancel another 68,200 policies in the state, following a massive trend of coverage cancellation there. Homeowners…

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Hurricanes and lawsuits to send Florida homeowners insurance rates higher

Florida homeowners insurance rates - home - car - US dollar

Another busy storm season and rising claims litigation explain insurer policy premiums hikes. Florida homeowners insurance rates will be heading upward for policyholders across the central part of the state next year. Insurers point to consecutive active hurricane seasons and a steadily rising claims litigation trend to explain the rising prices. Insurance companies face higher expenses due to the continual record-setting hurricane seasons. The state has suffered damage from several record-setting hurricane seasons. Between those damage claims and the rising lawsuits regarding those claims, insurers are raising Florida homeowners insurance…

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Florida legislation could move consumers from Citizens Property Insurance to more risk surplus lines.

It is no secret that the Florida Citizens Property Insurance group is under financial stress. The state-run insurance company has offered affordable insurance policies to Floridians for decades. This affordability has attracted thousands of consumers, making Citizens the largest insurer in the state, but it has also come at a cost. The insurer now has more policies than it can handle efficiently and is not generating enough revenue to continuing operating viably. State legislators have been working on a way to trim the number of policies covered by the company.…

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Florida pushes ahead with reforms to personal injury protection insurance laws

The Florida Legislature is moving ahead with plans to reform the state’s mandatory personal injury protection (PIP) insurance rules. Florida lawmakers and insurance companies have been battling a rampant outbreak of fraud throughout the state. Insurers claim that the fraud stems from the state’s regulations which require all drivers to have PIP coverage. The coverage is comprised of no-fault policies, which require insurers to pay claims whether a policyholder is at fault in an accident or not. This week, the Civil Justice Subcommittee approved HB 119, the bill that will…

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Florida to join the Interstate insurance Product Compact

Florida may be the latest state to join the Interstate Insurance Product Compact, a program established in 2006 in order to improve consumer protection and hasten the accreditation process for new insurance products. Currently, 41 states have joined the program, all of which have adopted universal standards regarding application procedures concerning life insurance and long-term disability coverage products. The program does not account for health insurance, but Florida legislators may seek to include these products into the program if the state joins. The Insurance Product Regulation Commission, a multi-state agency…

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