Blog: hurricane

With weather forecasters calling for a worse-than-average 2010 Atlantic basin hurricane season, the Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) is advising property owners on the most effective ways to protect their homes and businesses from hurricane damage. IBHS is also trying to dispel some common myths about hurricane preparedness. Forecasters predict 15 named storms…

A Miami condominium association is suing its insurer, QBE Insurance Corp., and its Florida general managing agent, for more than $500 million in damages, claiming bad faith and deception in handling hurricane claims. Daniel S. Rosenbaum, the managing partner of Katzman Garfinkel Rosenbaum, LLP, in West Palm Beach, said his firm obtained a judgment against…

In a 9-0 decision, the Mississippi Supreme Court has ruled that so-called “all-risk” home insurance policies may cover wind damage from hurricanes, even in situations where the loss is later exacerbated by water from storm surge. The state high court decision found that language in a policy may exclude storm damage when it is caused…

Alexis Villios: So much lingering damage “we’re terrified if there’s a hurricane” Boynton Beach resident Alexis Villios didn’t realize at first how much Hurricane Wilma damaged his house. In the weeks after Wilma, he didn’t even file a claim, figuring he’d pay out of pocket to hire a contractor. About a year and a half…

Will your insurance company be there for you in the aftermath of a disaster, when you most need it? The answer might be no. When Consumer Reports National Research Center surveyed readers about their homeowners insurance claims in the last few years, half of those who had filed claims related to Hurricane Katrina reported problems.…

Allstate Floridian Insurance Co. and Allstate Floridian Indemnity Co., property insurance subsidiaries of Allstate Insurance Co., have changed their names to Castle Key Insurance Co. and Castle Key Indemnity Co., respectively. Mike Sheely, Allstate field vice president for Florida, said the change should be “seamless” for customers. Allstate said the name changes were made in…

DAYTONA BEACH — For the second time in less than a year, a jury on Tuesday found that state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. should pay owners of a local condominium for damages sustained during Hurricane Frances in 2004. Owners of the 18-story, 124-unit Inlet Condominium in New Smyrna Beach were awarded $3.3 million for damages…

The 2009 Atlantic hurricane season will produce 11 tropical storms, of which six will become hurricanes, WSI Corp predicted Monday. The Andover, Massachusetts, private forecaster reduced its forecast from the one it issued in December, when it said the six-month season starting on June 1 would see 13 tropical storms, including seven hurricanes. The lower…

A Louisiana judge has ordered Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to pay $92.8 million to 18,573 policyholders in the state whose claims from damage caused by Hurricane Katrina were not adjusted on time. The state-sponsored insurer of last resort is expected to appeal the judgment by Jefferson Parish Judge Henry Sullivan, according to the Times-Picayune…

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…