West Virginia’s volunteer fire departments are in financial trouble, forcing some to close, because annual fees aren’t keeping pace with the costs of firefighting, the state fire marshal says. “We used to be able to say it would happen ‘one …
State Farm Insurance Co. has released its top 10 states for claims involving dog bites, with California on top in number of claims and Florida recording the highest cost per claim. The Bloomington-based State Farm reported that California led the …
Coastal Risk Underwriters (CRU), a subsidiary of Insight Catastrophe Group, will begin writing homeowners insurance in Louisiana and 15 counties in Florida. CRU provides insurance capacity to large national and regional specialty channels, as well as through independent agents and …
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has approved a $22 million grant program to strengthen homes on the Mississippi Coast against destructive winds, according to U.S. Sens. Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker. Homeowners will provide 25 percent of the cost for …
Mississippi Gulf Coast residents have been told mitigation is the answer to the region’s high insurance rates. “What do you do to lower rates? It is pretty simple. If you want to lower rates on the Gulf Coast, you build …
Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney has agreed to let Allstate Property and Casualty Co. increase homeowner insurance rates 19.4 percent in the state. Chaney said that Allstate was threatening to drop 18,000 policyholders unless he allowed a rate hike of …
One of Florida’s first “Most Wanted” insurance criminals was arrest based on a tip provided through the state’s new fraud Web site. Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced that Erline Telfort had been arrested after running a “Ponzi” scheme …
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has approved a statewide average 18.8 percent rate increase in State Farm’s homeowners’ policies, which is roughly 10 percent below the 27.9 percent it initially requested. The new rates will apply to new policies effective …
Alabama Governor Robert Bentley is creating a commission to address the rising cost of insurance for the state’s coastal homeowners. Bentley said the commission will be asked to make recommendations on how to make affordable coverage more available to coastal …
Florida lawmakers have approved a plan designed to move more property owners into the private insurance market by restricting what properties the state-backed insurer can cover and allowing it to raise its rates. By a vote that fell along party …
