Insurance Claims And Issues

Homeowner's Associations and Condominium Associations: Professionalism, Business ... And Insurance.

      Boards of Directors of Condominium Associations, and of Homeowner's Associations and of other similar Community Associations, have a hard job.  Their many obligations and expectations are explored by Kay Senay, Forum Publishing Group, published online on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at South Florida Sun-Sentinel .com under the headline, "Board Responsibility Makes All the Difference".

     Among the responsibilties summarized there, is this one at the top of the list:  "Confirm that the association's master insurance policy is appropriate, including D&O coverage."

Please Read The Disclaimer.

... And Now, On To Everyone's Business Preparing for Catastrophe.

     Good advice for preparing for CatClaims that everyone can put to use is found in "Preparation Eases the Aftermath," published on Friday, June 6, 2008 by the Los Angeles Times Online, found at www.latimes.com.

     Among the good advice given there is to contact your agent or broker --before Catastrophe strikes -- to determine the levels of Insurance Coverage right for you.

     Also, keep records of everything new in your home -- not just recently added personal property such as jewelry but also home improvements and renovations.

     Please Read The Disclaimer.

Flip-Flopping Premium Hikes Rejected in Florida.

     Hartford reportedly at first "voted" against Premium Rate Hikes by announcing it would reduce Premiums by 13.6% effective 06.01.08, then it "voted" for Premium Rate Hikes by asking for a 39.6% Premium Rate Hike effective in 09.08.  Following a new procedure in Florida, the Hartford first presented its request to an Adminstrative Law Judge.  The Florida Judge denied Hartford's Rate Hike request.  Then Hartford took an appeal to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.  The O.I.R. affirmed the Judge's decision.  See Anika Myers Palm, "State Curbs Hartford Rate Hike," p. C2, col. 2 (Orlando Sentinel, Tuesday, June 3, 2008), available online at www.orlandosentinel.com.

     It is also re-reported in the newspaper article that in February, 2007, Hartford announced that it was not renewing 40,000 Homeowner's Insurance Policies in Florida.

Please Read The Disclaimer. 

Florida O.I.R. Lifted Suspension of New Allstate Policies...

... The Same Day Florida's First District Court of Appeal Denied Rehearing of its Opinion Upholding O.I.R.'s Order Suspending New Allstate Policies.

     Press reports published on Saturday, May 17, 2008 made it appear that the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (O.I.R.) lifted its suspension on new Allstate Insurance Policies on Florida on the day before, or Friday, May 16, 2008.  As you will recall, the O.I.R. issued its Suspension Order in the first place because Allstate failed to comply with O.I.R. subpoenas for various groups of documents including unauthorized Catastrophe Computer Models purchased by Allstate in connection with its Premium Rate Increase requests.

     According to the O.I.R., it announced a stay of its Suspension Order on Wednesday, May 14, 2008, immediately after the Florida appellate court denied rehearing of its Opinion upholding the O.I.R. Order.  The reason given by the O.I.R. was its receipt of a sworn affidavit from Allstate "certifying that it has complied with Florida law by freely providing all documents requested" by the O.I.R.  See Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Press Release, "Florida Insurance Commissioner McCarty Stays Allstate Suspension, Continuing Compliance Required," Wed., May 14, 2008.

     Dennis Wall, Chair of the Insurance Law Committee, will speak at the Orange County Bar Association Center in Orlando, Florida about Preparing for Hurricane Insurance, on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 from Noon to 1:00 P.M.  The Orange County Bar Association Center is located at 880 North Orange Avenue in Orlando, Florida.

    You are cordially invited to attend this free public event.  Hope to see you there. 

Please Read The Disclaimer.

Preparing for Hurricane Insurance.

    Dennis Wall, Chair of the Insurance Law Committee, will speak at the Orange County Bar Association Center in Orlando, Florida about Preparing for Hurricane Insurance, on Wednesday, May 21, 2008 from Noon to 1:00 P.M.  The Orange County Bar Association Center is located at 880 North Orange Avenue in Orlando, Florida.

    You are cordially invited to attend this free public event.  Here  is a link to the "EVENTS" published about this presentation by the Orlando Sentinel on Monday, May 19, 2008 on page C3, col. 1, in "The Law & You" Section.

Please Read The Disclaimer.

Country-wide Head Scratching Over Increase in Property Insurance Premiums.

    Across the United States, not only are Property Insurance Premiums increasing but the information on which those increases are based just is not getting to the Policyholders whose Premiums are increasing.   Whether intentional or not, it is not a coincidence.  It uniformly appears to be the case in every State and locality and not just in some places like, say, Florida.  See these letters to the editor published online by The Boston Globe, "An Unfair Plan For Property Insurance" (www.boston.com, Sunday, May 18, 2008).

Please Read The Disclaimer.
You are invited to "Prepare For Hurricane Insurance," a free presentation of the Insurance Law Committee at the Orange County Bar Association Center, 880 North Orange Avenue, in Orlando, Florida on Wednesday, May 21, 2008.  Dennis Wall, the Chair of the Insurance Law Committee, will be speaking from Noon to 1:00 P.M. on this and other Hurricane Insurance topics.  You are welcome to attend this free presentation.

Storm Clouds in Florida: Legislature Divided Over Rollback, Writedowns.

   The current credit crunch and crisis, problems with issuing and insuring the payment of Bonds, and at least one of the questioned credit rating corporations used in the Insurance industry, have recently made appearances together in the Florida Capitol.

   The current credit crunch has appeared together with the specter of a failure in the market for Florida Bonds.  "In light of the troubled housing and credit markets, state leaders have expressed doubt that they'd be able to sell $27 billion in bonds needed to pay storm claims if a Katrina-sized hurricane hit a major population center in Florida."  Julie Patel, "State Legislators Say Property Insurance Law Has Deep Flaws" (South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com, 10:24 PM EDT, Monday, March 24, 2008). 

   In addition, embattled credit rating company Fitch Ratings just issued a timely report.  In its report, Fitch reportedly takes the position that Homeowner's Insurance Coverage would "'effectively collapse'" if there is a Hurricane in Florida in 2008.  The Fitch report comes just as the Florida Legislature is debating whether to writedown and rollback, or extend, the emergency laws it passed in Special Session in January, 2007.

   A majority in the Florida Senate reportedly is in favor of extending and expanding the 2007 Special Laws on Hurricane Insurance.   For example, a majority of the Florida Senate reportedly supports extending a moratorium on Premium Rate Increases by Citizen's Property Insurance Company.  The moratorium or "freeze" on Rate hikes is due to expire on January 1, 2009.    Citizen's is owned and operated on behalf of Florida Taxpayers as a State agency offering circumscribed Homeowner's and other Property Insurance Coverages.  That its offerings became suddenly more popular in 2006 and 2007 was taken then as a sign of a desperate Homeowner's and Property Insurance Market in Florida.

   On the other hand, a present majority in the Florida House of Representatives reportedly opposes extending the moratorium on Citizen's Property Insurance Premium increases.  Further, a majority in the Florida House is reported to support "scaling back the catastrophe fund" that the Florida Legislature rushed into place in its 2007 Special Session.

   More to come in the struggle among and between Premium Rate Increases and the availability of credit, the performance and issuance of so-called Municipal Bonds such as the Florida Bonds in question in the Florida Capitol, and the very existence and availability of Homeowner's Insurance Coverage in Florida.

Please Read The Disclaimer.

Shopping For Alternative Home and Property Insurance.

   Surplus Lines and Condominium Windstorm Self-Insurance Trusts are reported by Julie Patel, in "South Floridians Turn to Alternative Home Insurance" (South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com, Monday, March 10, 2008).  This report is a potentially useful survey of alternatives for Homeowner's and other forms of Property Insurance Coverage in Florida.  The same is true of this handy reference of critical questions to ask regarding Surplus Lines Insurance and regarding Self-Insurance Trusts:  "Do Your Homework on Insurance Carriers" (South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com, Monday, March 10, 2008).

   Similar alternatives can be explored in other places where you or those you represent may be interested.

Please Read The Disclaimer.

Insurance Questions Before Catastrophes.

    If possible, the time to address Insurance Questions for Catastrophes is before a Catastrophe happens.  Many kinds of different Coverages, with links provided to useful resources, are addressed in this very good single-source-resource newspaper article:  by Renae Merle, "Covered For Catastrophe?" (washingtonpost.com, Sat., Jan. 12, 2008).

Please Read The Disclaimer.

Condominiums Windstorm Self Insurance.

    In a little-noticed Insurance development in 2007, the Florida Legislature wrote laws that began to allow condominium associations and others to form self-insurance trusts.  In basic terms, participants in the new trusts pool their resources to provide a fund for the payment of certain damage claims.  The Legislature acted in response to the extreme upward spiral of Premiums for Homeowner's and other Property Insurance, and the total cancellation or nonrenewal of many of those kinds of Insurance Policies in Florida.

     On January 18, 2008, the Palm Beach Windstorm Self Insurance Trust issued its first windstorm policies.  The policies are reportedly the first windstorm policies of this kind ever to see the sun in Florida.

    The Palm Beach Windstorm Self Insurance Trust is a group of 58 condominiums and cooperative associations in Palm Beach County, Florida.  The results of its experiment with Self-Insurance Windstorm Insurance Policies will be watched closely, not only in Florida but across the United States wherever Catastrophes may occur, meaning just about everywhere.  See "Palm Beach County Condo Group Self-Insures" (South Florida Sun-Sentinel.com, Saturday, January 19, 2008).

Please Read The Disclaimer.