Whether Florida's private-public insurance system for homeownerscan survive the most intense of hurricanes hitting the mostpopulous areas of the state remains untested, Standard & Poor'ssaid

In an analyst's report put out in response to Hurricane Dennis,which struck the Gulf Coast Sunday, the New York-based ratingsagency said the major insurers in the state are working to reducetheir exposure but are reluctant to walk away from the fourth mostpopulous state in the nation.

The three major national insurers--State Farm Mutual AutomobileInsurance Company, Allstate Corporation and Nationwide FinancialServices Inc.--have formed subsidiaries in the state to separatethemselves from heavy losses.

The subsidiaries were also formed to gain leverage with thestate's regulators, S&P said, but they failed to obtain thekind of mechanism to increase rates to what insurers feel arenecessary levels.

While insurers can raise premiums up to 15 percent, S&Psaid, insurers had to limit deductibles to $500, or 2, 5 or 10percent, with some exceptions based on property limits. An increaseof more than 15 percent requires a public hearing. Because of this,S&P suggests that many of the major insurers will be lookingfor 14.9 percent increases.

S&P said it worries about the number of new, small insurerswho are coming into the state. The companies are unrated, andS&P said it is not certain how much loss these new entities canabsorb in the face of catastrophic losses.

S&P also noted that the state's insurer of last resort,Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, is working to shed some ofits risks, primarily looking to the newer companies to take therisks. Citizens has more than 10 percent of the market, accordingto industry information from both National Underwriter InformationData Service and Citizens Web site.

This system could be stressed to its limits, S&P said, inthe worst case scenario: a category five hurricane, the highestlevel on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with winds exceeding 155 mph,ripping into Miami and sweeping northwest to Orlando or Tampa,could cause more than $100 billion in damage.

"That's when the policies the Florida insurance industry has putin place to stay solvent will be put to the test--a test everyonehopes never comes," the analyst's report said.

According to the National Weather Service, Hurricane Dennis, nowa tropical depression, is causing rainfall through Kentucky and isexpected to diminish later in the week.

Scott Adcock, public information manager with the AlabamaEmergency Management Agency, said two counties in the statesuffered heavy damage, but it would not be until later this weekbefore a full assessment could be made.

He said there was isolated flooding but most of the damage wascaused by wind and debris. There were no deaths reported in thestate.

Georgia also was experiencing extensive flooding from rainbrought on by Dennis. The state's insurance commissioner, John W.Oxendine, said while the state did not receive the full brunt ofhurricane winds from Dennis, the significant rainfall has raisedhavoc, flooding a numerous number of homes and apartments in areaswhere there was no flood plain and subsequently, few holders offlood insurance. Hundreds of cars were also reported caught in thefloods, adding to the disaster.

The state anticipates damages will exceed $10 million and isconsidering requesting disaster aid from the White House.

The rains have loosened the root base of many pine trees in thestate, Mr. Oxendine said, and strong winds from Dennis have easilytoppled the trees. He said this led to one death in Atlanta whenone of the trees crashed into a man's home, killing him as heslept.