What can Citizen's do to improve claims handling?

In an ongoing effort to improve Citizens' policyholder and applicant services, Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink announced appointees to the legislatively-created Task Force on Citizens Property Insurance Claims Handling and Resolution.  The first meeting took place Monday, May 21st at the Citizens Claims Center in Jacksonville.

How are Florida industry officials responding to Gov. Crist's criticism?

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has not been gentle in his criticsm of insurers, so how are industry officials responding? Well the answer is, it depends on who you talk to.  Here are two very different responses according to Steve Tuckey of the National Underwriter:
Cecil Pearce, American Insurance Association vice president says he understands the pressure Florida's elected officials are under to ameliorate the effects of high insurance prices on residents, "and we want to work cooperatively with the governor and other elected officials on a long-term solution that all parties can support Robert P. Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute was less diplomatic; he says "The governor's feistiness seems to have morphed into an unwarranted cockiness that he will soon regret." While the governor is bashing insurance companies, "Mother Nature is prepared to deliver a financial comeuppance to the state."

National Catastrophe Fund Gains Congressional Support ... But Is It Enough?

Since 1992 Florida's representatives in Congress have been seeking a national catastrophe insurance fund. This year, though, there is hope the idea may be gaining support. The concept has evolved to the point that it may be more acceptable to states that aren't disaster prone. And Hurricane Katrina's devastation on Louisiana and Mississippi, combined with insurance problems in other coastal states, has made people realize disasters aren't just a Florida problem. Read more...

Fla. Plaintiffs Settle with State Farm on Hurricane Damaged Screen Enclosures

A Broward County Court has approved a class action settlement on behalf of more than 12,000 State Farm Insurance policyholders in Florida who will receive 100 percent of the damages they requested in a $6.8 million settlement of claims filed last year in which they alleged the insurer refused to pay replacement costs of screen enclosures damaged by Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, attorneys for the plaintiffs announced. Read more....

About the Merlin Law Group

Since 1985, the Merlin Law Group has exclusively focused on Insurance Claim Presentation & Litigation, Insurance Coverage and Claim Disputes, and Insurance Bad Faith for both residential and commercial property insurance policyholders.     The firm's goal is to ensure that insurance policyholders are treated fairly and adequately by insurance companies when they suffer a loss. It helps to level the playing field for policyholders when faced with teams of adjusters and attorneys protecting the interests of insurance companies and no one to protect their own.