In Florida, lawmakers have been working on fixing the problems of the state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Their efforts have yielded few results and now legislation that could help the program recover from its massive debt has hit a roadblock. Legislators have mostly been focused on reducing the number of people receiving coverage from Citizens by having private insurance companies take on more policies. The Legislature has approved an amendment to the bill that would have accomplished this, House Bill 245, which makes transferring policies more difficult. Now, insurers must…
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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.…
Read MoreScott Wallace, CEO of Citizens Property Insurance, to step down
Scott Wallace, the President and CEO of Citizens Property Insurance Corp., has announced that he will be stepping down on April 6, 2012 from his positions in the corporation. Wallace has been the CEO for the insurer for over six years, and has been the head of the company throughout a time when it underwent a significant amount of growth and became the largest provider of homeowners’ insurance in Florida, reaching approximately 1.5 million policies. Citizens did face some scrutiny after state officials and Governor Rick Scott worked to find…
Read MoreInsurance reform takes a backseat in Florida Legislature, Insurance Council continues to press forward with changes
As insurance reform loses momentum amongst legislators, the Florida Insurance Council says that it will continue pushing for major changes to the state’s regulations and the Citizens Property Insurance group. Reform has fallen to the wayside in the current session of the state’s Legislature, which will begin next week. While lawmakers focus more on budget and redistricting, the much needed insurance changes are not to be considered until the next legislative session, which will happen much later in the year. The Insurance Council is pushing for changes to the state’s…
Read MoreInsurance companies now face massive losses due to sinkholes in Florida
Sinkholes that are destroying Florida houses are now costing insurance companies in that state hundreds of thousands of dollars as claims begin rolling in. In fact, in three claims alone linked to sinkholes that cracked floors and broke water pipes, insurers had to pay out over $500,000. Among those three houses in question, none of the homeowners used the money to try to repair their homes. Instead, they are among the hundreds living in Florida’s “sinkhole alley” – which consists of the counties of Hillsborough, Hernando, Pasco, and Pinellas –…
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