Fla. High Court Affirms Policies Cover Only Losses from Covered Perils
Southeast News • September 21, 2007
Florida's valued policy law means property insurance companies are only responsible for actual damages caused by perils that are specifically cited in the policy, the Florida Supreme Court has ...
Insurance Journal is not responsible for the content of the message below.
Subject: Hip, hip, hurray! And "that book"
Posted On: September 23, 2007, 6:39 pm CDT
Posted By: OA
Comment:
1) Thank goodness for the Florida Supreme Court ruling. Fair is fair: pay for coverage and receive benefits after the fact or don't pay and self-insure. Don't whine. Don't waste your money paying your attorney to get a 'windfall' of benefits you didn't pay for in advance. Do you want fries with that? (Perhaps liberal arts majors make decent insurance agents, LOL!) There's no place in the US that at some time won't flood!
2) In 27 years in this crazy biz I've spent many Friday evenings reading "that little book". The problem is that there are two very active versions of the ISO homeowners policy on the street (yep, if you are a nerd and know where to look, the 1984 version is still out there, too) plus manuscript policies by certain companies (big boys, ones you've heard of and write nationwide; and I mean that literally, am not picking specifically on Nationwide) and oh-my-goodness, a million "manuscript" endorsements that different Florida domestic companies tack on to policies. I just read 4 new endorsements Citizens - our Florida "market of last resort" for you folks out of state that might be reading-is offering re sinkholes, sinkhole deductibles and "catastrophic ground loss" or something like that. My head is still spinning!
I write homeowners insurance in Florida for a living and I can barely keep up with all the endorsements. AND, I'm an agent who actually READS the POLICIES as well as the underwriting guidelines! No wonder buyer's eyes glaze over when they receive their insuring agreements! It has become very complicated, to say the least! No longer a simple little book, for sure.
3) The previous writer was correct: more flood insurance is sold in Florida than in any other state in the nation and it is absolutely due to the efforts of Bob Ross and David Thompson and the FAIA. And the new flood waiver from FAIA has folks sign off on both basic AND EXCESS flood for the BUILDING AND CONTENTS as the max in the NFIP is respectively $250,000/$100,000. I am a little worried about folks who DID buy flood insurance, generally a Preferred Risk policy, and then let it lapse. Will some attorney figure out a way to sue me because I didn't PAY the renewal premium for them?
4) The "oh, you're not in a special flood hazard zone, you don't need flood insurance" mentality of real estate agents, mortgage brokers, et al, certainly works against the buyers' interests in the long run. However, RE agents and mortgage brokers are ALWAYS looking to close a sale as inexpensively as possible and as soon as possible. If you don't believe me, check out how the sub-prime market is doing just now! They take their money and run and I'm left, after a cat, picking up the pieces. Sic the attorneys on those guys. That would be a refreshing change!
5) Aren't you glad you didn't mention Charlie Crist? And the demise of PIP?
Subject: Hip, hip, hurray! And "that book"
2) In 27 years in this crazy biz I've spent many Friday evenings reading "that little book". The problem is that there are two very active versions of the ISO homeowners policy on the street (yep, if you are a nerd and know where to look, the 1984 version is still out there, too) plus manuscript policies by certain companies (big boys, ones you've heard of and write nationwide; and I mean that literally, am not picking specifically on Nationwide) and oh-my-goodness, a million "manuscript" endorsements that different Florida domestic companies tack on to policies. I just read 4 new endorsements Citizens - our Florida "market of last resort" for you folks out of state that might be reading-is offering re sinkholes, sinkhole deductibles and "catastrophic ground loss" or something like that. My head is still spinning!
I write homeowners insurance in Florida for a living and I can barely keep up with all the endorsements. AND, I'm an agent who actually READS the POLICIES as well as the underwriting guidelines! No wonder buyer's eyes glaze over when they receive their insuring agreements! It has become very complicated, to say the least! No longer a simple little book, for sure.
3) The previous writer was correct: more flood insurance is sold in Florida than in any other state in the nation and it is absolutely due to the efforts of Bob Ross and David Thompson and the FAIA. And the new flood waiver from FAIA has folks sign off on both basic AND EXCESS flood for the BUILDING AND CONTENTS as the max in the NFIP is respectively $250,000/$100,000. I am a little worried about folks who DID buy flood insurance, generally a Preferred Risk policy, and then let it lapse. Will some attorney figure out a way to sue me because I didn't PAY the renewal premium for them?
4) The "oh, you're not in a special flood hazard zone, you don't need flood insurance" mentality of real estate agents, mortgage brokers, et al, certainly works against the buyers' interests in the long run. However, RE agents and mortgage brokers are ALWAYS looking to close a sale as inexpensively as possible and as soon as possible. If you don't believe me, check out how the sub-prime market is doing just now! They take their money and run and I'm left, after a cat, picking up the pieces. Sic the attorneys on those guys. That would be a refreshing change!
5) Aren't you glad you didn't mention Charlie Crist? And the demise of PIP?