Latest Homeowners Headlines

All the headlines from our Homeowners Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Sinkhole or Settling? Fla. Insurance Committee Attempting to Find a Definition

Apr 1 2005 // House Insurance Committee members meeting in Tallahassee, Fla. are attempting to hammer out a bill to better define sinkholes, a common problem in many counties in which entire highways, neighborhoods and houses are...

Fla. CFO Seeks to Clarify Reported Confusion with Storm Claims, Outlines Options to Help Consumers

Mar 30 2005 // Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher on Wednesday raised concerns with confusing policy language and recommended solutions for helping consumers navigate through their homeowners insurance policies and...

Fla. Bills Propose Standardize Policies, Rating Territories; Might Lower CAT Cap

Mar 28 2005 // Standard insurance policies, standard rating territories and lowering the cap from $4.5 million to $4 million on the amount of insured losses that a company has to sustain before drawing money from the Catastrophe Fund are...

Fla. Legislators Hammering Out Property Insurance Regulations, Changes

Mar 25 2005 // Major changes in Florida’s property insurance system are being mulled over by Florida lawmakers after the House and Senate have both been wrestling with the topic and have now hammered out changes to tighten up the...

Mich. DOI Study Finds Competition Doesn’t Equal Affordability; Insurers Say Losses Driving Rates

Mar 24 2005 // Michigan’s Office of Financial and Insurance Services last week released the results of its long-awaited study of competitiveness in the state’s insurance market. While the report found competition under the...

AIA OPPOSES WASH. BILL LIMITING UNDERWRITING BASED ON DOG BREED:

Mar 21 2005 // If a Washington measure becomes law, responsible pet owners who take care of their animals will face higher insurance costs to subsidize rates for others with dogs more likely to bite, according to the American Insurance...

GARAMENDI WILL FIGHT AGAINST ABUSES IN HOMEOWNER INDUSTRY:

Mar 21 2005 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi issued the following statement in response to the recent Court of Appeal’s ruling on the state’s authority to regulate homeowners’ insurance: “The...

Victims Ask for Help at Town Hall Meetings; Gallagher to Propose ‘Standard’ Policies

Mar 21 2005 // Tom Gallagher, Florida’s CEO and House Insurance Committee Chair Rep. Dennis A. Ross, R-Lakeland, listened intently to an array of hurricane-related complaints – from families with nowhere to live to homeowners...

Legislation Aimed at Protecting Okla. Homeowners Clears State Senate

Mar 18 2005 // A measure to ensure that Oklahoma homeowners do not receive a cancellation notice of their insurance after filing a claim and a bill to enable consumers to get defects with their newly built home repaired swiftly have...

N.C. Commission, Rate Bureau Reach Compromise; Agree on 2.2 Percent Average Policy Increase

Mar 18 2005 // A compromise agreement approving a 2.2 percent average statewide homeowners premium increase has been reached between the North Carolina Insurance Commission and the North Carolina Rate Bureau. The Bureau, an independent...

Washington Bill Asks Insurers to Consider Dogs’ Deeds, not their Breeds

Mar 18 2005 // The only problem Dee Robison has with her favorite Doberman pinscher, Darby, is that the 90-pound pooch gets a little jealous when she turns her attention toward the television. “He’ll just stand there with his...

TDI Orders Homeowners Insurers to File Rates

Mar 17 2005 // The Texas Department of Insurance announced that record low loss ratios reported by Texas homeowners insurers in 2004 has prompted the department to order some of the state’s largest homeowners insurance groups to...

Fla. Homeowner Files Lawsuit, Asks Allstate to Pay $10,000 for Mold Damage

Mar 14 2005 // A Florida homeowner has filed a lawsuit against Allstate Insurance to collect $10,000, accusing the company of failing to pay for mold damage after Hurricane Charley. The lawsuit brought by homeowner Luann Guy of Cape...

Calif. Authorities Warn of Getting Soaked by Fraudulent Contractors Following Storms

Mar 10 2005 // As the damage from the recent California storms is tallied, a new peril threatens homeowners — con artists posing as contractors and public adjusters. These criminals come out of the woodwork after disasters, preying...

Ala. Homeowners Concerned About Possibility of Losing Hurricane Coverage

Mar 10 2005 // Rumors that several insurance companies plan to drop hurricane coverage in Mobile, Ala. has consumers abuzz and requests being made to the Alabama Legislature to do something to prevent homeowners from losing their...

Fla. Homeowner Arrested for False Hurricane Claim

Mar 9 2005 // A Cocoa Beach, Fla. homeowner is facing a felony charge for filing a false insurance claim allegedly claiming that renovation work to his home was the result of hurricane damage. Robert Milliken of 744 S. Orlando Ave. #...

AIA Opposes Washington Bill Limiting Underwriting Based on Dog Breed

Mar 8 2005 // If a Washington measure becomes law, responsible pet owners who take care of their animals will face higher insurance costs to subsidize rates for others with dogs more likely to bite, according to the American Insurance...

Travelers Assists Employers Offering Auto, Home Insurance Benefit from Multiple Carriers

Mar 7 2005 // Travelers is making it easier for companies with more than 5,000 employees to offer a choice of providers for auto and homeowners insurance through payroll deduction. A member of St. Paul Travelers, Travelers has dedicated...

Mich. Homeowners Premiums Below National Average

Mar 7 2005 // Homeowners insurance in Michigan is apparently a good buy. The $470 average premium for Michigan homeowners insurance is below the national average of $538. According to a study by the National Association of Insurance...

Calif. Commissioner Vows to Continue Fight Against ‘Use it and Lose it’ Abuses in Homeowner Industry

Mar 2 2005 // California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi issued the following statement in response to the recent Court of Appeal’s ruling on the state’s authority to regulate homeowners’ insurance: “The...