Hurricane Season News

La. House Panel OKs Homeowners Insurance Deductible Restriction

Insurance companies should be restricted in their use of so-called “named storm” deductibles in Louisiana, even though the change will probably trigger a rate increase for homeowners, a House committee voted on Wednesday. Insurers in Louisiana and other states have …

Gulf States Prepare Together for Hurricane Season

Officials from three states of the Gulf Coast are meeting this week to discuss preparations for hurricane season. The 2009 Gulf States Hurricane Conference is being held Wednesday through Friday at the Coast Coliseum and Convention Center in Biloxi with …

Florida’s Property Insurance Market: An Overview by Commissioner McCarty

It is always interesting, and frequently amusing, to read various “research” pieces on the Florida property insurance market. While I, like every other insurance regulator, industry professional and observer in the world, agree that the Florida property insurance market provides …

All Policies of Florida’s Coral Insurance To Be Cancelled May 31

All policies of Florida property insurer Coral Insurance will be cancelled as of May 31, 2009 and any unearned premiums will be returned to policyholders, under a state plan approved by a Leon County judge overseeing the receivership of the …

Texas Agents Rate Companies on 2008 Hurricane Response

Insurance companies responding to last year’s hurricanes Dolly and Ike were given generally good marks by independent agents along the Texas coast in a recent member survey by the Independent Insurance Agents of Texas (IIAT), but agents were quick to …

Forecaster WSI Reduces 2009 Season Hurricane Count to 6

The 2009 Atlantic hurricane season will produce 11 tropical storms, of which six will become hurricanes, WSI Corp predicted Monday. The Andover, Massachusetts, private forecaster reduced its forecast from the one it issued in December, when it said the six-month …

Florida Takes Over Coral Insurance; Security First, MacNeill Step In

Coral Insurance Co., a residential property insurer in Florida, has been ordered into receivership for the purpose of rehabilitation. The Department of Financial Services was named as the receiver by Leon County Circuit Court Judge P. Kevin Davey as of …

09.13.08, Hurricane Ike: Must See TV

For Galveston, Texas, and nearby coastal areas, the recovery from Hurricane Ike, the massive storm that devastated the Texas coast on Sept. 13, 2008, has been a slow and painful process. Now, a powerful new documentary co-produced by the Insurance …

Cat 5 Litigation in the Forecast?

As 2008 Hurricane Claims Enter Court and New Season Approaches, Katrina Issues Linger The 2008 hurricane season was the sixth most active tropical storm season recorded since data collection began in 1851. Six storms made U.S. landfall in 2008. They …

P/C Insurers Profitable in 2008 Despite Big Hits From Catastrophes, Financial Crisis

Property/casualty insurers remained profitable in 2008 despite taking hits from several catastrophes, the recession and the ongoing financial crisis. P/C insurers earned $2.4 billion in net income after taxes in 2008, but profits and profitability both tumbled as catastrophe losses, …