Regulation/Legislation

Four trade groups representing large insurers have sent a letter to the House Financial Services Committee opposing changes to legislation creating a Federal Insurance Office.

Here we are at the end of another year together. Looking back, these past twelve months fall somewhere between an annus horribilis and an annus mirabilis, with a decided slant to the horribilis side.

The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (Cat Fund) is likely to increase its assessments early next year because it is still paying off claims associated with the eight hurricanes that struck Florida back in 2004 and 2005.

I know I made some lousy choices that damaged my credit, but why does that affect my insurance rates? I just don't think my credit score is any measure of what kind of driver I am.

Dim the lights, turn on the projector, and cue the voiceover: "In a world gone mad, when everything was crumbling around them, one industry stood strong -- INSURANCE!"

When it comes to insurance in Florida, the focus for most of the last three years has been largely on the volatile nature of the state's property insurance market. But 2009 may have marked a turning point.