The Florida Insurance Roundup from Lisa Miller & Associates®

Alternative dispute resolution – including appraisal – is playing an increasingly important role in settling homeowners property insurance claims.  Florida’s 2019 Assignment of Benefits (AOB) law requires third party contractors to utilize these alternatives before filing a lawsuit against an insurance company, if required by the policy.  Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller ta...

The Florida Legislature in a May special session passed a series of reforms to help stabilize a property insurance market that has seen a growing number of carriers stop writing business or becoming insolvent.  Homeowners rates keep growing by double-digits and coverage is increasingly difficult to obtain.  Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller talks with a lawmaker who was one...

The Florida Legislature will meet in a special session May 23-27 called by Governor Ron DeSantis to “bring some sanity and stabilize” Florida’s property insurance market.  Homeowners are suffering big rate increases and some have lost their coverage, while a growing number of insurance companies are going insolvent or reducing or eliminating their policy-writing in the state. Former Florida Deputy...

Beside their direct impact on Florida homeowners, multiple double-digit rate increases in property insurance are impacting Florida’s real estate market as well.  If rates continue to rise, there’s concern they will affect the availability and affordability of insurance for new homebuyers.   Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller explores the reasons for the increases, including i...

The Florida Legislature begins its 2022 session on January 11.  Among the bills filed are those seeking enhanced insurance consumer protection, greater safety for high-rise condominium buildings following the Surfside collapse, COVID-19 relief, controls on prescription drug costs, and legislative redistricting.  Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller sat down with state capitol r...

Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier told a legislative committee in late September that the state’s property insurance market is in “critical condition” with a growing number of insurance companies losing money and consumers facing continued double-digit rate increases.  A new set of reforms designed to help is already being challenged in federal court by roofers and restoration companie...

In the wake of the Champlain Towers South condominium building collapse, insurance companies are looking to tighten their underwriting requirements on Florida condo association policies.  Policy renewal premiums are expected to increase up to 25% for those that can’t show a good building maintenance record.  While the commercial residential market tightens, Florida’s homeowners insurance market is...

Florida’s new property insurance reform law takes effect on July 1.  While its intent is good, Florida policyholders are in desperate need for the law to have a significant impact on double-digit rate increases and questionable door-to-door solicitation practices.  Will it deliver? Former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller walks us through the details of Senate Bill 76 with two insu...

The Florida Legislature has passed a property insurance reform bill designed to stem double-digit rate increases, costly claims practices, and excessive litigation.  While the bill awaits the Governor’s expected signature into law, there are questions about just how effective it will really be. Host Lisa Miller, a former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner, talks with a leading state Senator and...

Florida’s residential and commercial property insurance market is in a precarious state of flux, for both insurance companies and consumers.  Old hurricane claims, litigation abuse, and fraudulent repair tactics have led to big underwriting losses and rising reinsurance rates.  Those are being passed along to Florida residents in double-digit rate increases – some as high as 50%. Host Lisa Miller,...

Whether you’re an insurance consumer or professional, 2020 is providing lessons and insight into the changing Florida insurance market for 2021.  How can you get the best priced coverage for your needs?  And for insurance professionals, how can you better serve your customers now and in the long-run? Host Lisa Miller, a former Florida Deputy Insurance Commissioner, talks with Amy O’Connor of the I...

As hurricane season heats up, a growing number of properties located outside of FEMA-designated high-risk flood zones are actually flooding.  The problem is especially bad in the urban areas of America’s cities.  A national survey shows nearly 85% report experiencing urban flooding.  Insurance claims are on the rise, too. Host Lisa Miller, a former deputy insurance commissioner, talks with Sam Bro...

The invisible coronavirus' crushing impact is being felt by businesses small and large – and on the insurance companies that insure those businesses.  But for those organizations with business interruption policies, do they have a valid insurance claim because the government shut them down and/or their business was "interrupted"?  There’s a lot of disagreement and finger-pointing and now Congress...

In the six months since legislative reform, insurance companies report the number of Assignment of Benefit (AOB) claims in Florida are way down as are related lawsuits.  But they’re also seeing new strategies by contractors and their attorneys to work around the reforms. On the other side, contractors complain that without the “old AOB,” they’re getting shortchanged by insurance companies and home...

The Florida Legislature begins its 2020 session this Tuesday, January 14 amid growing concern about the state’s property insurance market.  Two carriers have failed in recent months.  Others are seeking rate increases of up to 30% to stem rising reinsurance and litigation costs.  Future financial ratings downgrades on some Florida domestic insurance companies are also likely. There are other insur...

Two hundred Mexico Beach, Florida homes sitting beach block from the Gulf of Mexico, yet labeled X-Zone, FEMA’s lowest risk for flooding, were nearly wiped out by 2018’s Hurricane Michael.  Many of those residents had no flood insurance, complicating which damage from the Category 5 storm may or may not be covered by their homeowners insurance. In fact, 80% of flood losses in the Florida Panhandle...

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, including Assignment of Benefits (AOB) contracts, has contributed to growing claim cost...

Not only was the Florida Building Code not fully effective in buildings damaged by Hurricane Michael, but neither were mitigation efforts designed to fortify our homes and businesses, according to a new FEMA report.  A team of building experts conducted an assessment of 350 structures affected by Michael’s Category 5 winds that reached upwards of 160 mph.  They paint a dismal result.  Buildings wi...

As Hurricane Dorian bears down on Florida, two reports that examined damage from last fall’s Hurricane Michael have mixed reviews on building construction in Florida’s Panhandle.  While newer homes built after the 2002 Florida Building Code was enacted suffered less structural damage than older homes, the roof cover loss and siding damage was just as common in the newer structures.  In fact, almos...

The July 4 earthquakes that hit South Central California are a fresh reminder that California's population is the most susceptible in the country to major earthquakes.  So why is it, that earthquake insurance is no longer required as a condition for California mortgages?  Especially, when wind insurance is required throughout the state of Florida and elsewhere to protect against hurricane damage?...

Florida’s seven year wait for meaningful reform of Assignment of Benefits (AOB) abuse is over.   The Florida Legislature has passed a measure to level the playing field for consumers and reduce the skyrocketing rates of litigation filed by vendors against insurance companies, driving double-digit rate increases. Hailed as a “wake-up call for the bad actors” exploiting homeowners and the insurance...

For the seventh time in as many years, the Florida Legislature this spring of 2019 is considering bills to reform abuses of Assignment of Benefits (AOB) insurance contracts between vendors and property owners.   AOBs allow contractors to take control of a homeowner’s insurance policy and bill their insurance company directly for repair work – sometimes fraudulently inflating the scope and cost of...

The Florida Legislature convenes its 2019 session next Tuesday, March 5.  The big insurance issue: the growing cost of property insurance claims litigation.  But there are also bills that would change Florida’s no-fault auto insurance and more than 200 bills funding much-needed Hurricane Michael relief to the 14 Panhandle counties still struggling with debris cleanup and recovery. But there are ot...

2018 was a tough year for flooding in the United States, and nowhere worse than in the Carolinas, where Hurricane Florence dumped three feet of rain in spots.  Damage is estimated at $13 billion but at least half of that is uninsured – as most residents had no flood insurance.  While some didn’t know they needed it, others took a gamble by going without and lost. But the bigger folly some argue is...

The Thousand Oaks, California bar shooting.  The Pittsburgh synagogue massacre.  Just two of the recent mass shootings across the country involving what police term as an “active shooter.”   The worst to date in Florida was the Valentine’s Day 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Broward County, in which 17 people were killed and 17 others injured. Beyond the tragic loss of hum...