Monthly Archives: <span>September 2005</span>

VESTA PREDICTS ITS KATRINA LOSSES

Preliminary gross income losses of from $500,000 to $1.2 million have been predicted by the Vesta Insurance Group of Birmingham, Ala. for damages caused by Hurricane Katrina. Vesta’s Florida Select unit has about 3,500 in-force windstorm policies in South Florida …

INSURERS OFFERING GRACE PERIODS

Some insurance companies are suspending billings or offering grace periods for payments from Alabama customers affected by Hurricane Katrina, according to Walter Bell, Insurance Commissioner. AFLAC, Alfa, Allstate, Farmers, Nationwide and State Farm are instituting plans, and Blue Cross Blue …

People & Places

David Gilbert Five Florida physicians recently received the 2005 Florida CHOICE Awards for Workers’ Compensation in Tampa, Fla. The awards honor physicians for demonstrating excellence in treating injured employees, and are presented by CHOICE Medical Management Services LLC, a Tampa, …

Fla. Lawmakers Nelson, Foley Voice Support for National CAT Fund

Two Florida lawmakers, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) and U.S. Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.), have voiced support for a national catastrophe fund insurance companies would establish to provide extra funding in the event of catastrophes such as Hurricane Katrina. Nelson told …

S. Floridians Viewed Hurricane Katrina as an Expensive Nuisance

Insurance adjusters scrambled to South Florida to work on claims before they realized Hurricane Katrina was going to cross into the Gulf of Mexico and become a catastrophic hurricane devastating Mississippi and Louisiana. Katrina slapped Dade and Broward counties with …

Nationwide Concerns Fla. CFO

Concerns have been voiced by Florida’s CFO Tom Galla-gher over Nationwide of Florida’s decision not to renew policyholders in Florida. “I’m deeply concerned that Nation-wide Insurance is non-renewing over 35,000 customers in Florida,” Gallagher said in a press announcement released …

Mississippi Agents Pick Up the Pieces

In Meridian, Miss. the power is only on in the downtown area and electricity to the rest of the community is expected to be out for one to two weeks, Scott Gray, owner of Insurance Solutions of Mississippi Inc. and …

Fla. Task Force to Discuss How to Solve Hurricane Insurance Crisis

A 12-member Task Force on Long-Term Solutions for Florida’s Hurricane Insurance Market is studying how to help Floridians obtain hurricane insurance, amid complaints that consumers don’t have a seat on the panel. The task force was ordered by the Legis-lature …

FAIA Studying Windstorm ‘Vehicle’

The Florida Association of Insurance Agents has announced it will study “another avenue” for covering hurricane wind damage in Florida and would like to establish its own “vehicle” to insure windstorm risk, according to a statement by Jeff Grady, FAIA …

Making the Case for Diversity on the ‘Top Deck’

The insurance industry has made great strides toward increasing diversity in the past decade. Although there is still room for improvement at the top, there are more doors open to Latins, people of color and women than ever before in …