Legislators roll back Citizens premiums, insure non-homestead properties
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Jan. 23, 2006 – Charged with the daunting task of reducing homeowners insurance premiums for millions of Florida property owners, the Florida Legislature last night passed a 167-page bill that could lower premiums between 5 percent and 40 percent and provide other insurance relief to millions of property owners. Gov. Charlie Crist is expected to sign the legislation today.
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Nationwide canceling property insurance again as it offers slight drop in rates
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – March 8, 2007 – After submitting a rate decline proposal to Florida’s government, Nationwide resumed issuing notices to many homeowners that their policies would not be renewed.
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Windstorm Mitigation Study Committee publishes final report
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – March 7, 2007 – The Windstorm Mitigation Study Committee published its final report on the first day of the 2007 legislative session, analyzing mitigation efforts in Florida, including the My Safe Florida Home program, and detailing its recommendations for hardening homes in Florida.
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Insurance companies exempt from U.S. antitrust regulations
WASHINGTON – Feb. 16, 2007 – True or false: U.S. antitrust laws apply to Realtors but not the insurance industry. Answer: True. Federal oversight does not apply to insurers’ anti-competitive conduct, such as price-fixing, agreements not to pay and market allocations.
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Florida House proposes range of special session bills to cut insurance costs
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Jan. 11, 2007 – The Florida House of Representatives unveiled its insurance reforms yesterday. It’s too soon to predict which initiatives will survive, much less find agreement between the House and Senate, but Florida Association of Realtors®’ (FAR) Vice President of Public Policy John Sebree says the House’s proposals go “far beyond where we thought they would go in an effort to cut rates for consumers.”
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Florida Consumer Advocate to tackle property and health insurance
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Feb. 15, 2007 – Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink yesterday announced the name of Florida’s new Insurance Consumer Advocate – former Comptroller Bob Milligan. Milligan will formally assume his new role in time for the legislative session, starting March 6, 2007.
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NAR urges Congress to coordinate natural disaster preparedness plan
WASHINGTON – Feb. 7, 2007 – The National Association of Realtors® (NAR), in a recent statement submitted to the House Financial Services Committee, commended the committee for focusing on federal response to Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and for renewing an important discussion on national natural disaster preparedness.
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Vanguard Fire & Casualty Company ordered into receivership
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Jan. 22, 2007 – Vanguard Fire & Casualty Company, a property insurer for about 75,000 homeowners in Florida, was ordered into receivership by a Leon County judge and will be overseen by the Florida Department of Financial Services.
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Crist lists insurance reform priorities for special session
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Jan. 12, 2006 – Thursday was a busy day in the insurance reform arena as Gov. Charlie Crist applauded legislative leaders for the commitment they’re already making to "providing immediate relief" to property owners struggling with the high costs of insurance.
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Thousands of homeowners want out of Florida
Thousands of homeowners want out of Florida
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2006 Top 10 Stories
With 2007 around the corner, it's time to reflect on the major real estate events shaping the industry in Florida this year. Here are FAR's picks for the Top 10 Real Estate News Stories of 2006.
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My Safe Florida home surpasses inspection program goals
The My Safe Florida Home pilot program ended yesterday along with hurricane season, and it achieved its announced goal to conduct 12,000 inspections. Florida’s chief financial officer says that the program is on track to complete another 40,000 inspections in the coming months.
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Crist could decide whether to call a special session
Will Gov. Jeb Bush call a special session of the Florida Legislature in December to deal with property insurance issues? It depends on whom you ask and when you ask the question. Yesterday, the answer seemed to be “maybe.” Gov. Bush said there now appears to be a consensus but he’ll defer the decision to incoming Gov. Charlie Crist.
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Proposal for federal protection
Allstate and State Farm, the nation's two biggest insurance firms, are pushing for legislation that would offer the same kind of program for natural disasters such as hurricanes
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Get a Clue
You can avoid nasty surprises by encouraging your homebuyers to review a home's CLUE report, an acronym for ChoicePoint Asset Co.’s Comprehensive Loss Underwriting Exchange history. |
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