I'm talking about the State of Florida. It seems that almostevery insurance-related conference is held in Florida, and it hasbeen like that for as long as I can remember. We certainly canunderstand why Florida-based associations hold their conferences inthe state, but others?

It's definitely not a beguiling weather issue. The last twoJanuary conferences I attended were in central Florida, and it wascold as all get-out. After all, 56 degrees in Florida is notexactly ideal weather, and I don't even bother packing summerclothes; just a few sweaters and a windbreaker.

But as you've figured out by now, it's not just the weather thiscurmudgeon has on his mind. It's television advertising. And to beperfectly honest, the situation is prevalent not just in theSunshine State, but also in many others where retirees are found.It's those insipient ads from law offices concerning insurancesettlements, and how insureds should never talk to an adjusteruntil they've hired a competent attorney to guide them through theprocess. After all, according to the ads, insurance companies areout there to sock it to you and not leave a leg, or dollar, for youto stand on. What hooey! Especially in Florida, where companies,and adjusters in particular, are jumping through hoops these daysto clean up the mess from the 2004-05 hurricane seasons and tryingto help insureds get back on their feet. Same thing is happening inLouisiana, which I visited in June 2006.

You know, if insureds don't read their policies or bother to getclarification of them, of course problems are going to arise.That's why God created insurance agents — to explain coverage andpolicy limitations.

It's time for carriers to mount campaigns to rebut these sleazyads. What we don't understand is why, in addition to a few adsaddressing coverage issues, major carriers don't intensify admessages to address claim issues, claim-handling effectiveness, andclaim-handling dedication. Our claim-handling procedures need to behighlighted in a very public way, in addition to our coveragecapabilities.

Whew. I feel better already (but not a lot).

On another front, we had a major snafu in our February 2007cover story, which was written by Kathleen J. Robison (who's on oureditorial advisory board) and William C. Stewart, Jr. Due to aproduction error, we erroneously published a chart that misstatedCE credit requirements in two states. The corrected CE requirementsare listed on the web site's article, entitled “EducationalNightmares.” We apologize for any confusion to our readers, and anyembarrassment to very credible authors.