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Hurricanes Ian, Nicole warn Florida to take climate change impacts more seriously

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Hurricanes Ian and Nicole put enormous stress on Florida’ s resiliency efforts to address the impacts of climate change and the fragile property insurance market. Losses from Nicole, a less powerful storm than Ian, were put at $790 million, according to CoreLogic, a property information and analytics firm. If Hurricane Ian had continued on its initial path…

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A new report finds communities along the Charles River will experience an appreciable increase in flooding within the next 50 years. Using these existing rainfall predictions, a Charles River Watershed Association report modeled the impact of future storms on 20 towns along the river and found many places where flooding could damage key infrastructure,…

As another sign of its explosive growth, the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has topped 1.1 million policies. The increases, which apply to what are known as "personal lines" policies, were approved by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation in June. Citizens initially asked for larger rate increases, but the Office of Insurance Regulation…

Kathy Hochul on Monday directed the Department of Financial Services to issue temporary adjuster permits to qualified out-of-state independent insurance adjusters, in order to expedite insurance claims in light of the winter storm impacting the Buffalo and Watertown areas. Insurers are encouraged to make any necessary applications on the Department…

Gregory Strasser never fixed his busted cellphone, so his sister's daily telephone calls from New Jersey were to the landline in his Fort Myers Shores home. Worried about his declining health, his sister, Janet Link, tried to convince him to evacuate to a shelter. "At that point, the storm was already starting, and I think he was afraid to do it," Link, 65, said from her New…

More than half the money approved through the Small Business Administration, which oversees disaster loans, went to Lee County, one of the hardest hit by the historic storm. The second-highest went to Charlotte followed by Sarasota, Volusia and Collier. Lee County, especially Fort Myers Beach and its other barrier islands, bore the brunt of Ian's assault on…

DAYTONA BEACH SHORES— Two dozen oceanfront condominiums and hotels in Daytona Beach Shores were evacuated both before and immediately after Tropical Storm Nicole hit the area on Nov. 10. One week later, roughly half remain vacant. "It is possible," said Daytona Beach Shores City Manager Kurt Swartzlander, before adding it's too soon to know.

A Canadian couple was surprised to learn last summer that their Lake County investment properties had been sold. “They have notarized documents… and they’ re all fake,” said Xiao Zhuo Jia, the couple’ s adult son who helped unravel the mess.“ In this case, you can see the signature: you can tell what letters they’ re writing and it does not match my parents’ name.”.

OUR POSITION: Home owners must beware of unlicensed and unscrupulous contractors who will take advantage of those badly in need of hurricane repairs. Unlicensed contractors continue to be a problem as Florida communities rebuild after damage inflicted by Hurricanes Ian and Nicole. There have been recent arrests of unlicensed contractors in North Port and…

More than half the money approved through the Small Business Administration, which oversees disaster loans, went to Lee County, one of the hardest hit by the historic storm. The second-highest went to Charlotte followed by Sarasota, Volusia and Collier. Lee County, especially Fort Myers Beach and its other barrier islands, bore the brunt of Ian's assault on…

State lawmakers created one rule that insurers had to follow if they wanted to take over risky policies carried by the state-run insurer of last resort, Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp.. The private companies needed a letter grade of B+ or better from the leading rating firm A.M. Best— or its equivalent. Each also had an A rating from Demotech instead of…

Technological advances by insurers and proactive risk prevention by policyholders have the potential to reduce the damage caused by U.S. wildfires, stated a report released today by the Insurance Information Institute (Triple-I) in collaboration with Capgemini.

TAMPA, Fla.— The Florida Public Service Commission approved four plans submitted by power companies allowing roughly $22 billion for efforts to "harden" the state power grid over the next 10 years. On Thursday, commissioners will vote on just how much Florida power bills will go up. Florida Power& Light, Duke Energy Florida, the Florida Public Utilities Company, and…

More than half the money approved through the Small Business Administration, which oversees disaster loans, went to Lee County, one of the hardest hit by the historic storm. The second-highest went to Charlotte followed by Sarasota, Volusia and Collier. Lee County, especially Fort Myers Beach and its other barrier islands, bore the brunt of Ian's assault on…

Kevin Bourland, 50, was cited for operating a motor vehicle without insurance and failure to maintain control after he lost control of his truck while driving in snowy conditions and it went down a steep embankment. Police responded to a report of a one-vehicle crash just after 11:30 a.m. Tuesday on the 2400 block of Airport Road, according to the Grant County…