Florida Underwriter April 2010
Cover Story
Juggling Agency Income, Outgo and Upkeep
Even the most optimistic forecasters concede that the climb out of this Great Recession will continue to be steep and arduous. Florida, especially, has been hammered with high unemployment, mortgage failures, and tumbling property values.
Features
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Compromise Measure on Florida's Property Insurance Market Could Emerge
After years of fighting between politicians and Florida's property insurers, it appears that the state's private carriers may be on the verge of getting the ability to raise their rates by a limited amount.
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Lightning Striking Again
My neighbor's home caught fire two years ago after being hit by lightning. Frankly, thunderstorms scare me more than the threat of hurricanes because we have them more often. But I guess there's not much we can do to about it.
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Rethinking Florida's Property Market
Florida's top insurance regulator told his bosses at the March 23 cabinet meeting that the state's property insurance market remains fragile despite no hurricanes hitting the state of Florida for the last four years.
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Avoid Hazards and Reap Rewards When Selling Long-Term Care Insurance
Discussing general insurance matters with your clients is difficult enough. However, when the topic is the complicated, emotionally charged issue of long-term care insurance (LTCI), you are now involved in one very difficult presentation.
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Coming Together in Good Times and in Bad
Not even a still-fragile economy can keep members of Florida's insurance associations from their annual gatherings. Find out where agents, brokers, and industry and carrier representatives will be meeting across the state in the coming months.
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Will Health Insurance Premiums Really Go Down?
A specialist in the life and health markets offers her opinion on the federal health-care reform package.
From the Editor
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Let's Not Have a Heart Attack Over This
Pulling-the-plug-on-grandma scenarios. The N-word and other ugly epithets. Shouts of "baby killers." Vanquished politicos exhorting mobs, "Don't Retreat, Reload." Bricks crashing through windows of congressional offices.
People
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Dr. Kendall Selected for Advisory Board
Dr. Ralph Kendall has accepted an invitation to become a member of the Work Loss Data Institute's (WLDI) Official Disability Guidelines (ODG) editorial advisory board.
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Collinsworth Joins AmPro
Erinn E. Collinsworth has joined American Professional Liability Underwriters, Inc. (AmPro) as a broker specializing in architects and engineers liability.
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Strickland Makes Partner
Nate Wesley Strickland has been elected to partnership in the Tallahassee office of Foley & Lardner, LLP.
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Smith Joins Gunster
Cyril E. Smith has joined Gunster, Attorneys at Law, in its West Palm Beach office as an associate in the firm's insurance coverage practice.
FSLA
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A History of Florida Surplus Lines -- Serving Our Clients for Over a Century
A discussion of the history of insurance in the U.S. always seems to start with the beginnings of Lloyd's of London.
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Knowledge Is Priceless, But You Can Get your CEs for Free
The Florida Surplus Lines Service Office is giving away free CE opportunities to member agents and their staffers to help Florida's surplus lines community stay knowledgeable of their compliance requirements and maximize cost and time savings.
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Personal Lines in Florida's E&S Marketplace
When people think about surplus lines, oftentimes they think about commercial property insurance. In Florida, commercial property makes up about 50 percent of the business written through surplus lines.
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FSLA Travels to Amelia Island in July
The Florida Surplus Lines Association (FSLA) will hold its annual convention at Amelia Island Plantation, Amelia Island, July 22-24.
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Florida Surplus Lines Contributes to the State's Market Stability and Economy
Surplus lines insurance -- also referred to as Excess and Surplus lines or the non-admitted market -- has been in existence since the early 1800s.
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"Piggy Bank" Off of FSLSO's New Savings Options
As the economic challenges from 2009 continue to spill over into 2010, people everywhere are looking for ways to pinch pennies and maximize the efficiencies of time.
Company Notes
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First American Issues Storm Surge Report
In its 2010 Storm Surge report, First American Corp. reviewed the vulnerability of 13 U.S. cities to hurricane damage. Included in the study are three Florida metropolitan areas.
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LIG Moves West
LIG Marine Managers has opened a new division, LIG West, and a branch office in the financial district of San Francisco. LIG West will operate in the 11 western states.
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ISO Offers QuickFill
ISO has introduced the industry's first fully integrated automobile and property prefill solution. QuickFill, available nationwide, delivers any combination of ISO's 34 automobile and property databases to insurance carriers at the point of quote.
