The Florida Legislature is planning to take another stab at ending claims abuses blamed for property insurance rate hikes.  Property insurers (homeowners and commercial property insurers alike) are battling the well-financed trial attorneys to bring an end to the manipulative self-serving generation of attorney fees from excessive lawsuits by repair contractors working under an affidavit […]

The Virginia State Corporation Commission has appointed Scott White Commissioner of the Virginia Bureau of Insurance effective January 1, 2018.  He succeeds the retiring Jacqueline Cunningham.  The bureau licenses, regulates, investigates and examines insurance companies, agencies and agents on behalf of the citizens of the Commonwealth of Virginia with a staff of about 195 state […]

It was announced today (April 29) that David Altmaier, Florida’s current Deputy Commissioner, Property & Casualty, has been unanimously approved by the Florida Cabinet for the position of Insurance Commissioner of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Current Commissioner Kevin McCarty has served as Florida’s chief insurance regulator for over ten years.  He will remain in office […]

Arizona Governor Doug Ducey has appointed Leslie Hess as the Interim Director of the Arizona Department of Insurance.  The official press release states Hess has been with the Department of Insurance for 12 years as deputy receiver and legal advisor.   She was with the Arizona Legislative Council for 2 years and worked for the Arizona Corporation Commission, Securities Division […]

I have been asked:  “Is there a difference between a hurricane and a wind deductible in a homeowner’s insurance policy?”  The answer is, generally, with most homeowner insurance policies, YES, there is often a difference between wind deductibles and hurricane deductibles.  It depends on how the insurance policy describes the deductible.  The deductible is the […]