Articles by William Rabb

Rabb is Southeast Editor for Insurance Journal. He is a long-time newspaper man in the Deep South; also covered workers' comp insurance issues for a trade publication for a few years.

Sentence Upheld for Tenn. Trial Lawyer Who Said Football Brain Injuries Led to Misdeeds

A Memphis plaintiffs’ attorney who made his living suing auto insurance carriers must spend two-and-a-half years behind bars for forging clients’ names on multiple settlement checks and depositing them into his own bank accounts, a federal appeals court has decided. …

Few Insurers Offer Input on Future of the Federal Home Loan Bank System

Very few insurance companies showed up this month to talk about the future of the much-debated, 90-year-old Federal Home Loan Bank System, despite the fact that the system lends heavily to many large insurers at low interest rates, for a …

Crist’s Claim of Cutting Insurance Rates ‘Mostly True,’ Politifact Says

A fact-checking publication known for its thorough examination of claims made by politicians has deemed Charlie Crist’s statement that he once reduced Florida property insurance rates by 10% to be “mostly true.” Crist, the Democratic nominee for Florida governor, has …

Florida CFO Calls for Ban on Assignments of Benefits, Limits on Public Adjusters

In the wake of Hurricane Ian, Florida’s chief financial officer has taken a hard line on insurance claims litigation, calling for an outright ban on assignments-of-benefits agreements. At a press conference in Cape Coral, a city hit hard by the …

Farm Bureau Must Defend Insured in Deadly Legionnaires’ Disease Outbreak in Carolina

What started out as festive time at the North Carolina Mountain State Fair in 2019 ended with 96 people hospitalized with Legionnaires’ disease. Four of them died. The tragedy in Fletcher, North Carolina, made national headlines. Multiple victims filed suit …

Requiring Citizens’ Policyholders to Also Buy Flood Insurance Could Address Problems

Problem: Less than 20% of Floridians in vulnerable areas carry flood insurance. Uninsured flood losses from Hurricane Ian are projected to be as high as $16 billion – almost half as much as insured wind damages, according to CoreLogic, the …

Florida Building Codes Made a Big Difference for Newer Homes in Ian, Reports Show

In the hardest-hit parts of southwest Florida, many newer structures survived remarkably intact in Hurricane Ian’s winds, suggesting that updated Florida building codes are making a difference in reducing property losses, according to early assessments. “From what I saw, the …

Will Hurricane Ian Consume Florida’s Catastrophe Fund, Forcing More Back-Breaking Reinsurance Next Year?

While some analysts are predicting that the property insurance industry will be able to manage Hurricane Ian and its estimated $50 billion in insured losses, a few are now warning that the storm could significantly erode the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe …

Judge Dismisses Florida Racketeering Lawsuit Against United P&C

A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit against United Property & Casualty Insurance Co. and its adjusters, a closely watched legal action that charged the insurer had violated anti-racketeering laws to systematically deny assignment-of-benefits claims from Hurricane Irma. “We’re very …

Alcon, J&J Agree to Settle Contact Lens Price-Fixing Suit for $75 Million

Alcon Vision and Johnson & Johnson have agreed to pay a total of $75 million to settle a class-action lawsuit that accused the companies of price fixing on disposable contact lenses. More than a third of the total settlement amount …