As odd as it seems, it is possible that an entire generation of Floridians will never have to live through a hurricane. If the 2015 season is as quiet as the last few years have been, we will have a full decade of hurricane-free living under our belts.
If you are among the thousands of Florida homeowners who were “depopulated” from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. last year, you may now be dealing with a different insurer for the first time in years. The coverage may vary slightly, but the basic terms of the contract and your relationship with the insurance company have not changed. State law makes sure of that.
The enrollment period for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act closes at noon today. Chances are good that those of us who have put this off to the very last minute will have a tremendous sense of relief when it’s finally taken care of. There is a certain comfort that comes from knowing that your insurance is in place for another year.
We are finishing up our series about a Florida Supreme Court decision that the appellate court said could clear up some confusion about workers’ compensation coverage. The issue was whether an employee’s widow can file a workers’ comp claim as well as a wrongful death lawsuit.
We’re continuing our discussion of the recent Florida Supreme Court decision regarding workers’ compensation insurance. An employee was killed on the job, and his widow received a settlement under the employer’s workers’ comp insurance as well as a $9.5 million damage award in a wrongful death lawsuit. The employer’s insurance company refused to pay the damage award from the lawsuit.
Generally, Florida law recognizes workers’ compensation as the sole remedy when a worker is injured on the job. The answer to the question in the post’s title, however, is not a firm “no.” There are exceptions to the rule.
In September 2012, we wrote a post about force-placed insurance with the catchy title, “Force-placed insurance companies feeling the heat.” At the time, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners was just beginning to look into the practice, and Florida was dubbed “Ground Zero” for what regulators believed was an unfair business practice. Two years ago, force-placed insurance (also called “lender-placed insurance”) was the looming sub-scandal of the housing crisis.
A fire erupted in a Fort Lauderdale apartment complex last weekend. The good news is that no one died in the blaze. The bad news is that three families, a total of nine people, are now out of their homes.
Sometimes, an event will occur, such as a fire, which causes a significant amount of damage to a person’s home and the property in their home. After such an event, one thing a homeowner will often do is file a claim with their homeowners insurance provider to try to get financial relief for the property damage. Among the things homeowners insurance generally includes is property insurance. This type of insurance provides coverage for homeowners for certain types of property damage.
Leona Helmsley made headlines after she died by leaving her dog, Trouble, about $12 million. The money was held in trust for Trouble’s care and feeding and, some said, extravagant lifestyle. The move made sense to some of us: Trouble was part of Helmsley’s life.
