Our Views: All quiet on the Gulf front, but still lots of storm repair to do

During a press conference Monday, New Jersey Senate majority leader Terea Ruiz told a joke about her parents to underscore why she thinks car insurance companies shouldn't be allowed to determine someone's premium rate based on their education level. Drivers with low credit and a perfect driving record pay $1,000 more on average in insurance premiums…

The Florida homeowners’ insurance market’s already precarious position will weaken further with the destruction generated by Hurricane Ian, a storm that is potentially the second largest hurricane in terms of insured losses, Fitch Ratings says.

According to the J.D. Power 2022 U.S. “P&C insurers are facing a host of challenges that include rising repair costs as well as supply chain disruptions and shop backlog issues that are driving notably longer cycle times,” said Mark Garrett, director of P&C insurance intelligence at J.D. Power.“ Longer claims create more of a need to manage customer expectations and…

United Way Suncoast determined the needs by relying on information from strategic community partners and observations from its own team members who have helped deliver emergency relief in hard-hit areas such as DeSoto County and Myakka City. "In the immediate aftermath of Ian, we supported emergency relief efforts in our region and in Charlotte, Lee, and…

Dec. 4— Despite the threats of hurricanes, tsunamis, vog, earthquakes— and now another eruption from Mauna Loa— people continue to move to the more affordable areas of Hawaii island, including the Leilani Estates subdivision that was overrun by Kilauea lava in 2018.. The reasons for buying vary among newcomers, retirees and working local families: the allure of…

–Homeowners in Florida and Georgia are not the only ones who could fall victim to post-disaster fraud following Hurricane Ian. The National Insurance Crime Bureau, the insurance industry leading association dedicated to predicting, preventing, and prosecuting insurance crime, is warning consumers across the United States to stay vigilant when purchasing…

But a potential auto coverage crisis is brewing in California that could hurt consumers— all because the insurance commissioner is playing politics rather than doing his job to ensure a robust, balanced insurance marketplace where consumers benefit from plenty of coverage options. Because of the large reduction in driving during the COVID-19 pandemic,…

The two most recent named storms to hit Florida, Ian and Nicole, frame this potential cost in terms that make it startlingly clear. Ian, which first made landfall in Florida Sept. 28, may well become known as the costliest storm in Florida's history. Florida saw at least 146 deaths, with an NBC news analysis pegging 118 of those directly to the storm.

TALLAHASSEE— Newly sworn-in House Speaker Paul Renner on Tuesday, said he wants to establish a Select Committee on Hurricane Resiliency and Recovery to "fortify" the state against future hurricanes in the aftermath of the two major storms that struck the state earlier this year. "Hurricanes Ian and Nicole have devastated parts of our state," Renner, R- Palm Harbor,…

When St. Matthews Church of God and Christ, including its drywall, was damaged by the storm in 2017, it had replacement cost coverage with State Farm Fire and Casualty Company. State Farm denied coverage for the masonry, and the District Court and the Court of Appeals agreed. State Farm Fire and Casualty Company, a 4-3 Supreme Court affirmed.

Martin said Wednesday that he has filed his paperwork with FEMA and that the agency was reviewing his claim. I’ ve been speaking to a lot of different people in a lot of different places, as you can imagine, and FEMA is about the most organized, up-to-date and way ahead of everyone else.”. Following the storm, Martin temporarily stayed with the parents of a friend, but is…

WFLA's Chief Meteorologist Jeff Berardelli and Storm Team 8 Meteorologist Rebecca Barry sat down with Hurricane Specialist John Cangialosi from the National Hurricane Center to recap this season's most severe storms, and what we've learned from them. Storm activity during this year's Atlantic hurricane season was slightly below average with just 14…

Slow and steady best describes our recovery from Hurricane, the Category 4 storm that ravaged Southwest Florida on Sept. 28. It's not happening as fast as some would like, but the progression is evident, with less debris along our roadways, property damage mitigated or repaired and daily routines back to normal for many. Fortunately, Charlotte County did not…

More than a year after the remnants of Hurricane Ida battered New Jersey, including large portions of Manville, FEMA will provide about $10 million to help fortify the borough against future storms, NJ Advance Media has learned. According to FEMA, $60 million— $10 million for New Jersey, $40 million for Louisiana, $5 million for Mississippi and $5 million for…

According to the Associated Press, more than 25 million people could be affected by the storm system that stretches from east Texas to Indiana and Georgia. Central Mississippi, including Jackson, Vicksburg and Yazoo City, face the highest risk for severe weather with "significant and long tracked" tornadoes possible, according to the National Weather Service.

In the two and a half years since PG&E emerged from bankruptcy, survivors of the 2017 North Bay wildfires and other blazes sparked by the utility have found themselves tied to the financial success of the very company that harmed them. Recently, though, PG&E's stock has begun to rebound, allowing the Fire Victim Trust to sell two chunks of 35 million shares in…

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…

The Atlantic Basin season that began June 1 and ends Wednesday included a near-average number of tropical storms and hurricanes, but also a greatly needed pause in landfalls along the Louisiana coastline, providing residents with more time to recover from the last two disastrously intense years. For Louisiana, this year's break in storm activity allowed the…

A quote that Gregory Strasser's sister Janet Link recalls he asked her to share when he died. 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. "At that point, the storm was already starting, and I think he was afraid to do it," Link, 65, said from her New Jersey home. "