Articles by William Rabb

Rabb is Southeast Editor for Insurance Journal. He is a long-time newspaper man in the Deep South; also covered workers' comp insurance issues for a trade publication for a few years.

Is Industry Prepared? Hail, Convective Storms, Population Now Driving Billions in Losses

Hurricanes in the East. Wildfires in the West. Those are the big disasters that grab the headlines and are driving property insurance costs and cancellations, to a large degree, right? Yes, but insurers also are seeing a huge increase in …

Progressive Drops Some Agents, Non-Renews 100,000 HO and DP Policies in Florida

Almost two years after Progressive Insurance announced it would stop renewing some homeowners policies in Florida, Flo and crew have dropped another 100,000 HO and landlord policies in the state. The insurance giant and Florida regulators said Progressive had struck …

Temporary Fix Keeps National Flood Insurance Operating but Only Until Nov. 17

Real estate interests and insurance companies that administer National Flood Insurance Program policies are heaving a sigh of relief after Congress approved a last-minute deal to temporarily fund the federal government, keeping the NFIP in business – but only until …

Education Is Key to Success for Wiglesworth-Rindom Insurance Agency

Florida insurance agents have been through the wringer in the last five years, with repeated rate increases for properties across the board, carriers pulling out of the market, and continual complaints from insureds about premiums. But that hasn’t stopped Wiglesworth-Rindom …

Agents, Insureds Said Surprised by Nationwide’s 10,000 Nonrenewals in NC

In February, Nationwide Mutual Insurance filed notice with the North Carolina Department of Insurance that it would non-renew some 10,525 homeowner policies in the state due in large part to the growing risk from climate change and hurricanes. The move …

Looming Government Shutdown Would Halt NFIP Flood Policies, Disrupting Home Sales

A U.S. government shutdown, perhaps as soon as Saturday night, will force the National Flood Insurance Program to suspend issuing of new policies, potentially causing a major disruption for home buyers. The National Home Builders Association said that an estimated …

Could Appeal Decision in Florida Roof Case Lead to More Expert Witness Challenges?

Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co. will have to go back to court to show how an insured’s roof expert was in error when he used questionable data and failed to inspect the claimed damage before a south Florida home …

NC Commissioner, Firefighters Question New Law Making Fire Marshal a Separate Office

North Carolina’s Republican supermajority in the legislature has thrown a curveball to the state’s insurance commissioner and fire marshal, a position that until recently has mostly stayed above partisan politics. A late change to the state’s $30 billion budget, approved …

South Carolina Bars, Eateries Closing Down for Lack of Affordable Liability Coverage

Wanted in South Carolina: $1 million in liquor liability coverage at an affordable premium to prevent closure of establishment. That’s the type of advertisement one can imagine bars and bistros across the Palmetto State running this fall, as the full …

New Florida Immigration Law Could Worsen Property Insurance Costs

If Florida insureds and insurers haven’t been pummeled enough by rising costs in recent years, they could soon see another factor that could hit them in the pocketbook. Florida’s tough new immigration law that took effect July 1, requiring more …