Insurance Journal » Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund

Florida Catastrophe Fund Financially Stronger on Eve of Hurricane Season

Fri, 17 May 2013 14:52:44 +0000

Florida is heading into a new storm season with some good news for once. The state-created fund that backs up private insurers in Florida is in the best financial shape it has been in years — maybe the best since …

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Florida Hurricane Cat Fund Reform in Jeopardy

Michael Adams — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 13:45:09 +0000

Plans to reform Florida’s state-backed reinsurance facility with proponents scaling back their proposals. The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund has been the subject of legislative reform efforts for several years as its financial advisors have consistently warned the fund could not …

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Florida Cat Fund Looks to Issue $2 Billion in Pre-Event Bonds

Michael Adams — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 13:39:12 +0000

Florida’s state-run property reinsurance facility is preparing to issue $2 billion in revenue bonds to ensure it has enough money on hand to quickly pay insurers’ claims in the event of a major hurricane. The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund has …

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Is This Right Time to Restructure Florida CAT Fund?

Michael Adams — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 12:50:57 +0000

A move to restructure Florida’s state-run property reinsurance facility by lowering its financial obligation to insurers is facing an uphill legislative battle as both lawmakers and members of the industry find themselves in conflict over the plan. Florida Hurricane Catastrophe …

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S&P Rates Florida Cat Fund Bonds ‘AA-’

Thu, 14 Mar 2013 14:11:00 +0000

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its “AA-” rating to Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF), Florida’s $2 billion revenue bonds series 2013A. The outlook is stable, according to the ratings firm. S&P said the bond proceeds are to provide …

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Florida Lawmakers Unveil Property Reform Proposals

Michael Adams — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 17:21:39 +0000

Florida lawmakers’ first draft of a property reform emphasizes depopulating and diverting policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-backed property insurer that has 1.3 million policyholders. The proposal also seeks to reduce the financial responsibility of the state’s catastrophe …

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Florida Senate to Unveil Property Insurance Reforms

Michael Adams — Thu, 31 Jan 2013 20:57:01 +0000

Florida lawmakers are planning next week to release a draft version of a property insurance reform bill. The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee has taken the lead on property insurance reform this year and so far has listened to more …

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Florida Looks to Restructure Its Hurricane Fund; Federal Option Proposed

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 14:44:31 +0000

Florida lawmakers are poised to consider restructuring the state-run property reinsurance facility by possibly lowering its mandatory annual capacity by billions due to concerns that one major storm could exhaust its resources and leave insurers without further coverage. The Florida …

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Florida Hurricane Fund in Better Shape But Could Still Be Short on Cash

Michael Adams — Thu, 11 Oct 2012 13:31:41 +0000

Florida’s state-run reinsurance facility still faces a potential $1.5 billion gap to fulfill its maximum mandatory obligation, although it appears poised to be in better financial condition for the 2013 hurricane season than previously thought. With just six weeks left …

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Does Rick Scott Support the ‘Beach House Bailout?’

Ray Lehmann — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 14:07:16 +0000

Much of Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s tenure in office has been consumed with confronting the mistakes his predecessor made in the property insurance market. Charlie Crist left office having stuffed the two state-run entities — the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund …

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Florida Hurricane Fund May Come Up Short If Big Storm Hits: Panel

Mon, 14 May 2012 07:00:51 +0000

Florida may not have enough money to pay off hurricane insurance claims if a big storm hits this year. An advisory panel last Thursday concluded that the state may fall nearly $2 billion short of the total needed to cover …

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Florida Governor Vetoes Cat Fund Tax-Credit Plan

Michael Adams — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 13:04:23 +0000

Florida Governor Rick Scott has chastised state lawmakers for failing to fully consider a controversial plan to use state premium tax credits to help shore-up the state’s homeowners’ reinsurance fund before attaching it to the state budget. Scott used his …

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Florida Tax-Credit Plan to Shore Up Cat Fund Raises Questions

Michael Adams — Thu, 22 Mar 2012 16:30:33 +0000

A Florida plan to sell insurers and financial institutions state premium tax credits to help fund the state’s homeowners’ reinsurance facility is raising concerns among some officials. The Florida Insurance Tax Pre-Payment Program was a late addition to the state’s …

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Insurance Exec Blasts Florida Inaction on Hurricane Fund, Citizens

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 11:05:30 +0000

Florida lawmakers have put taxpayers at risk by not reforming the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund or Citizen’s Property Insurance Corp. in advance of the 2012 hurricane season, an insurance executive has warned. Bradley Kading, president and executive director of the …

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Florida Lawmakers Still Balk at Raising Homeowners’ Premiums for Cat Fund

Brent Kallestad — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 13:51:28 +0000

State lawmakers have gambled with their constituents’ money for years when it comes to dealing with Florida’s property insurance issues. But now, many top industry analysts suggest, the odds may be turning against them after six years without a hurricane …

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4 Executives Found Not Guilty in Florida Hurricane Fund Fraud Case

Michael Adams — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:24:02 +0000

Four insurance executives of a now defunct Florida property insurer have been found not guilty of defrauding the state’s reinsurance facility of over $20 million in a case stemming from hurricane losses dating back to 2004. Judge Robert Lewis of …

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Floridians Would Pay More to Shore-Up Cat Fund: Survey

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:05:10 +0000

A new survey finds that 70 percent of Floridians fear being assessed hundreds or thousands of dollars in “hurricane taxes” because the state’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund may run out of money to pay insurance claims. The telephone survey of 805 …

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Florida Hurricane Fund Has $3.2 Billion Shortfall

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 13:22:30 +0000

Florida’s hurricane fund is confronting a potential $3.2 billion shortfall, financial experts said in a new estimate of the money available to the pool intended to help insurers make disaster payments. The fund was created after Hurricane Andrew devastated South …

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Florida Charities, Businesses Call for End to Hurricane Premium Taxes

Andrew G. Simpson — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 16:10:31 +0000

A coalition of Florida charitable and business groups is pressing the state to eliminate assessments charged all policyholders to subsidize the state-backed insurance provider and hurricane claims fund. In a letter to Gov. Rick Scott, the groups called on him …

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