Property and Casualty News

Hurricane Ian battered Florida's gulf coast three months ago, but like McBride, many residents in east Manatee County are still not sure if they have safe drinking water in time for the new year after their wells were contaminated by floodwaters during the Category 4 storm. "Most of everybody got back to the normal strides of life pretty quickly, but there is still…

Beginning Jan. 1, 2023, Californians will benefit from newly created consumer protections as 11 new state laws sponsored by Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara this past legislative session take effect. AB 2238, jointly authored by Assemblymembers Luz Rivas, Eduardo Garcia, and former Assemblymember Cristina Garcia, directs the creation of a statewide…

Child sex abuse survivors have overwhelmingly approved a $121.5 million plan in a crucial step toward resolving the long-running Archdiocese of Santa Fe bankruptcy reorganization, which was aimed at stemming the church's financial losses while atoning for wrongs of the past. Aside from providing monetary payments to nearly 400 abuse claimants, the terms…

Landlords will now have to disclose flood risks to renters under a new New York law. Ida caused between $7.5 and $9 billion in damages across New York, a National Hurricane Center report said. The Natural Resources Defense Council, an environmental advocacy nonprofit, gave New York a failing grade in its tracker of state laws across the country.

The Better Business Bureau warns that flooding problems can lead to attempting to pawn off flood-damaged vehicles as standard secondhand cars. The vehicles can show up at auto auctions, used car dealerships and in classified ads. Unsuspecting consumers, particularly those living in regions of the country unaffected by hurricanes or flooding, often are…

Roland Samimy, Key Biscayne's Chief Resiliency and Sustainability Officer. The City of Cape Canaveral recently praised the efforts of the Cocoa Beach Surfrider Club for its efforts going back two decades in planting and preserving sea oats along the Cocoa Beach-Cape Canaveral beaches. While everybody's beaches are falling, Cocoa Beach is actually gaining…

As I put pen to paper, the Christmas forecast is for a huge storm. Some are calling in Great Lakes Hurricane, others a bomb cyclone and still others a regular old blizzard. My preferred term for it is not printable in this family-friendly publication.

John Bel Edwards and lawmakers intend to wait until April to fund an incentive program meant to attract more property insurance companies back to Louisiana. Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, R- Metairie, said last week that he expects the program to cost the state at least $45 million. Edwards' Commissioner of Administration Jay Dardenne and Senate…

On Dec. 30 last year, thousands of Coloradans were forced to flee as they watched the Marshall fire set ablaze nearly 1,100 homes and businesses and kill two people. Today, almost exactly one year later, our community has been forever redefined. To say that navigating the aftermath of the state's most destructive wildfire has been humbling would be an…

And the California Department of Insurance, which oversees insurance companies and rates, has taken steps to lessen the possibility of insurance companies abandoning property owners either through direct cancelation or premium increases. No cancelation due to Fairview Fire. The Hill areas that will have a one-year protection from fire insurance…

California’ s new proposed Fire Hazard Severity Zone map, which analyzes only the land that Cal Fire is responsible for and is mainly used for insurance purposes, is based on long-term data and created to last a decade or more. “A lot has happened since 2007,” Cal Fire said in a release announcing the update.“ Using the best available science with academic researchers…

California’ s new proposed Fire Hazard Severity Zone map, which analyzes only the land that Cal Fire is responsible for and is mainly used for insurance purposes, is based on long-term data and created to last a decade or more. Around 98% of California was in drought conditions this week, according to the US Drought Monitor, as the state remains in the grips of a…

For Oregon and the nation, 2022 was a historic year for legislation and funding to combat climate change. State agencies in Oregon pursued billions in federal funding to grow electric vehicle charging infrastructure, turn the region into a green hydrogen hub and experiment with offshore wind power. The state’ s Global Warming Commission reported that Oregon…

Most Lake Area residents know Pat's of Henderson is one of the area's iconic go-to restaurants for special occasions, including date night. Whether it's the food, the hospitality or the atmosphere that keeps regulars going back for more is hard to say. The three are blended as inextricably and as necessarily as the Cajun Holy Trinity.

As I put pen to paper, the Christmas forecast is for a huge storm. Some are calling it a Great Lakes Hurricane, others a bomb cyclone and still others a regular old blizzard. My preferred term for it is not printable in this family-friendly publication.

In Ohio, the price of an average annual homeowner policy increased 10.6% to $1,004, Policygenius, an online insurance marketplace, said in a report in July. While driving has yet to return to the levels it was before the pandemic started, accidents have started to climb again and fatal accidents in Ohio are at 20- year highs, according to the report.

Maison Insurance Co. was supposed to pay for the damage to their home in LaPlace, but the insurer went belly-up and was taken over by the state. Mason said she and her husband were anxious to do what it took to keep their new insurance policy with Allied Trust, so they shelled out at least $35,000 from their own savings for urgent repairs. The once-obscure…

With the total continuing to climb, estimated insured losses from Hurricane Ian have neared $12.6 billion, according to newly posted data on the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation website. It was followed by Charlotte County, with 100,052 claims, and Sarasota County, with 68,173 claims. "Since the federal disaster declaration for Hurricane Ian, DeSoto…

I am so proud of the efforts of my colleagues from all departments, many of whom were working to restore services and reopen facilities even as they were repairing their own homes and navigating FEMA and insurance claims. The Office of Emergency Management and Fire& EMS Department performed lifesaving work before and after the storm. The Community Services…

But the owner of the storm-damaged Anglin’ s Fishing Pier in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea is turning away sightseers and anglers from the iconic tourist attraction because of a nearly 90- foot gap caused by Hurricane Nicole in early November. This pier is the heartbeat of Lauderdale-by-the-Sea. But a contractor he hired said at a town code compliance hearing this…