Hurricane Barry Estimated To Have Caused Between $500-$900M Of Losses

Yet a few weeks ago, her insurance carrier– Lloyd’s of London, known for insuring high-risk properties– told her it was declining to renew her homeowners’ policy. “It prevented them from purchasing a home in California,” Burt said. It’s reaching a point where it’s a daily conversation in my office as to whether insurance rates are going to kill real estate in…

Elizabeth Warren joined on Thursday joined a bipartisan group her Senate colleagues in unveiling new, comprehensive legislation to extend the National Flood Insurance Program for five years, but the legislation includes a series of sweeping reforms to address the waste, abuse and mismanagement plaguing the system that are in direct competition with a…

Jul. 16– Legislation introduced Tuesday in Washington could help prevent horrific highway crashes by requiring big trucks to have automatic braking systems, its backers say. Hank Johnson, D- Georgia, new commercial trucks would be required to have the systems that alert drivers when they are approaching a vehicle, and then automatically slow down the truck if…

Jul. 15– A federal lawsuit says Fayetteville automobile dealer Mike Lallier, who remains accused in South Carolina criminal court of molesting a teenage boy in September 2016, wanted to use his dealership’s liability insurance to cover the costs from a civil lawsuit that a former employee filed in Cumberland County Superior Court. The former employee…

That included about 5,000 in Lafayette Parish and 3,200 in St. Martin Parish. In Lafayette Parish, 2,836 were still in the dark, 306 in Acadia Parish, 702 in St. Landry Parish, 2,133 in St. Martin Parish and 521 in Vermilion Parish. Slemco crews along with out-of-state contractor crews and co-op crews from Oklahoma and Florida are working to restore power as quickly as…

Jul. 11– PANAMA CITY– The air in the heart of Florida’s Panhandle has felt heavy for days, weighed down by Southern humidity and the hazy heat of summer. But Hurricane Michael survivor Octavia Pullum has felt more brewing in that air lately: It’s fear, brought by a storm passing by in the Gulf of Mexico, which she still feels even though it is moving past the…

Jul. 10– According to the data submitted by the reporting insurance companies, insured losses are expected to reach at least $139 million. Across the industry and types of insurance, it appears that just over 60 percent of claims have been closed, with nearly 70 percent of residential property claims closed to date, according to the Missouri Department of…

Jul. 10– Sherrie Mack is one of a group of people cautiously watching news updates, unsure how seriously to take the likely onslaught of a weather system that if it intensifies, will be called Hurricane Barry. Mack, of Port Vincent, is still living in a FEMA trailer on the property that once housed her husband’s childhood home. Most recently, June 6 saw a deluge that…

Called “nuisance” or “sunny day” flooding, tidal inundations most often occur in South Florida during the fall king tide cycle– a function of a slower Gulf Stream current, warmer waters and lunar alignment. Still, 30 record high tide levels were broken at Virginia Key in 2018, according to Brian McNoldy, a senior research associate at the Rosenstiel School of Marine…

Jul. 10– PANAMA CITY– Heavy rainfall expected this week could cause flooding and water damage to homes because of lingering Hurricane Michael damage, emergency officials warned Tuesday. “We have been following this very closely, given the fact that we’re still in recovery,” said Mark Bowen, Bay County’s chief of emergency services. According to the National…

Jul. 9– Small Business Administration loans to tornado victims thus far total $2,291,500, an SBA spokeswoman said Monday. For homeowners and renters, so far, the SBA has approved 51 loans, with at least 316 loan applications still being processed, said Matthew Young, an SBA spokesman. More than 15 confirmed tornadoes struck the Dayton region and parts of West…

Jul. 8– There’s a potential tropical system brewing for Gulf Coast states and it was already bringing heavy rains to South Florida on Monday. Forecasters at the National Hurricane Center are are giving the system, which on Monday amounted to a trough of low pressure moving south over Georgia, an 80 percent chance of becoming a tropical depression in the next five…

Jul. 8– PANAMA CITY– Bay County will receive the final version of its $6.9- billion action plan for Hurricane Michael recovery this week, and not a moment too soon. After six months months of planning, public meetings and review, the Bay County Long-Term Recovery Task Force is set to formally approve the final report at a meeting on Tuesday at the Bay County…

By line of business, commercial auto liability had the largest increase in 2018 written premium, 13.14%, compared to 2017.

When a Builders Care construction team arrived at Lequita Ward’s West 13th Street home last week, she was jubilant. Finally, Tuesday the cavalry appeared in the form of Builders Care, the Northeast Florida Builders Association’s charitable arm. The Federal Emergency Management Agency registered about 118,000 damage claims from Irma in Duval and Nassau…

If FEMA approves the request, local governments, state agencies and certain private, non-profit organizations in Columbiana, Greene, Mahoning, Mercer and Montgomery counties would be eligible for federal funds for eligible storm-related response and recovery efforts, including debris removal, emergency protective measures, and damaged infrastructure.

Jul. 4– Serenity Ranch owner Clint Nimmo said the flood was like a scene out of a horror movie. Jessica Meadows, Serenity Ranch staff member and Nimmo’s fiancée, woke up around 8 a.m. Saturday, June 1, to make breakfast. Outside their window, their ranch in Levasy was starting to flood.

On Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board held its last formal press briefing on the crash, in which 10 people were killed when the small plane veered into an airport hangar. The plane, a twin-engine Beechcraft BE-350 King Air, was flying a private party of people to St. Petersburg, Florida. A cockpit recording captured two hours of audio from the plane…

Jul. 2– The New York Archdiocese has sued its insurance companies to demand legal protection and coverage as it braces for exposure it will face once sex abuse victims begin filing lawsuits next month under New York’s Child Victims Act. The complaint by the archdiocese, filed last week in Manhattan Supreme Court, lists more than two dozen insurers as defendants,…

Rental property ownership can be a rewarding path to financial freedom. However, whether the property is a vacation rental property that has tenants only renting for short periods of time, or an apartment building with year-round lessees, managing an investment property can also be intimidating. Without prudent safeguards in place to shield against…

Jul. 1– While most of the physical repairs have been made, many Craven County farmers are still struggling to recover ground lost to Hurricane Florence. According to Mike Carroll, Craven County Extension Agent, large-scale family farms producing grains, cotton, peanuts, sweet potatoes and tobacco have repaired most farm buildings and equipment from wind or…

“Under the standard insurance policy, there’s most likely a pretty significant gap in coverage,” said Lucian McMahon, senior research specialist for the Insurance Information Institute. The five companies are Blue Duck, Slidr, Spin, VeoRide and Zagster. The two largest scooter companies in the U.S.- Bird and Lime- generally place the responsibility for accidents…

A hailstorm that ripped through southwest Minnesota last week left thousands of acres of corn and soybeans damaged or destroyed– in many cases too late in the season for farmers to replant their crops. “We had a corn and bean field down to dirt again,” said George Sill, a farmer southwest of Madelia.“ You couldn’ t hardly tell it had been planted there.”.

–The ideal summer may be full of blue skies, sunny days and family vacations, but as the Farmers Insurance ® Seasonal Smarts Digests remind us, summer can also bring plenty of stormy weather with homeowners and drivers across the country facing the potential for seasonal hurricanes, flooding and tornadoes. The good news is that by following a few practical…

Jun. 26– Damages from spring floods, while qualifying the county for recovery aid, are well below thresholds to qualify individual homeowners in the county for federal assistance, emergency management officials advised. Emergency Management Director Adam Weishaar and Road and Bridge superintendent Don Brittain updated the county commission Tuesday…

The visits are taking place in Garfield, Alfalfa, Canadian, Cherokee, Craig, Creek, Delaware, Kay, Kingfisher, Le Flore, Logan, Mayes, Muskogee, Noble, Nowata, Okmulgee, Osage, Ottawa, Pawnee, Payne, Pottawatomie, Rogers, Sequoyah, Tulsa, Wagoner, Washington and Woods counties, all of them approved for FEMA individual assistance for the severe storms, straight-line winds,…

Jun. 25– One of the nation’s biggest car insurance companies ranks Charlotte drivers among the least safe in the U.S.. Allstate Insurance Co., in annual rankings, placed Charlotte a dismal 153rd- safest among 200 cities in 2019, matching the city’s 2018 ranking. Charlotte drivers score poorly on both, Allstate says.

Michael Parson, R- Missouri, issued the following news release:. Governor Mike Kehoe requested that President Donald Trump issue a major disaster declaration to assist residents and businesses in 41 Missouri counties that have been hard hit by flooding, tornadoes, and severe storms beginning on April 29 and continuing throughout the spring.

The North Carolina Department of Insurance issued the following news release, dated June 21:. This hurricane season, Commissioner Causey is so adamant residents are aware of the differences in policy coverage that, for the first time, he is offering free continuing education course credits for insurance agents who attend the conference ” Flood Insurance:…

Jun. 23– Detectives from the California Department of Insurance last week arrested four men in connection with an auto insurance fraud ring that allegedly collected $22,000 by filing false insurance claims. The ring consisted of owners and associates of Habib Auto Sales, Ocean Auto Sales and Rusul Auto Sales who purchased already-damaged vehicles from…

Bernie Sanders, former Vice President Joe Biden, New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and New York Mayor Bill de Blasio have all embraced the Green New Deal, the aspirational attempt to move to a low-carbon economy put forward by Rep. For an issue that received fewer than six minutes of total attention in the 2016 debates between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump,…

WASHINGTON The soggy spring has spurred members of Ohio’s U.S. House delegation to ask the federal government for more help for the many Ohio farmers who have been devastated by the flooding. “As you consider the eligibility criteria for the $3,005,442,000 appropriated by Congress to assist farmers, we ask that you keep in mind the countless Ohio families and…

Jun. 19– Citizens Property Insurance Corp. customers in Broward and Palm Beach counties will pay higher rates if the company’s Board of Governors approves Wednesday. In Broward, 29,215 customers would see an average 9.6 percent increase– from $3,057 to $3,351. In Palm Beach County, 10,907 policyholders would see a 4 percent average increase– from $2,901 to…

“We are working to get it posted for a vote in the full Senate and to the governor before July 1,” when the current law expires, Brown said. Assemblymen Vince Mazzeo and John Armato, both D-Atlantic; and DiAnne Gove and Brian Rumpf, both R-Ocean, Atlantic, Burlington, are co-sponsors of identical legislation in the Assembly. Vin Gopal, D-Monmouth; Linda Greenstein,…

Alera Group, a national employee benefits, property& casualty, risk management and wealth management firm, appointed Mark Englert as national Property& Casualty Practice Leader. Englert will be responsible for continuing Alera Group’s path toward building world-class property& casualty solutions. “We are very excited about the new depth and breadth that…

Jun. 17– When the tornado picked up Mary Ellen Smith’s mobile home, Adria Sims said it felt like hitting the top of a hill on a roller coaster– a sudden, unsettling sense of weightlessness. Andrew White, meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Indianapolis, said the tornado started west of Ellettsville and carved a 3.7- mile path north of the town, with a…

Gov. Greg Abbott has signed a $1.6 billion storm and flood resilience plan nearly two years after Hurricane Harvey battered Texas. Abbott signed the bill Thursday in Houston, where the Category 4 hurricane dumped more than 50 inches of rain. Abbott says a storm cleanup and readiness package passed by the Legislature will mitigate damage from the next catastrophic storm.

Today, Congressmen John Garamendi announced that his bipartisan Flood Insurance for Farmers Act of 2019 was passed by the House Financial Services Committee, unanimously as part of a larger bill reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program through the end of fiscal year 2024.. The Flood Insurance for Farmers Act of 2019, which Garamendi introduced…

Jun. 12– LANSING– Unlimited medical coverage isn’t going away for those who want it and its cost may drop beyond the 10% reduction Michigan’s new auto insurance law requires, says the executive director of the Michigan Catastrophic Claims Association. For the first time since 1973, the law gives Michigan motorists choices about what level of health-related…

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Federal Emergency Management Agency issued the following news release:. “This data demonstrates FEMA’s commitment to build a culture of preparedness by providing insights to our stakeholders that can help close the nation’s insurance gap, said Dr. Daniel Kaniewski, FEMA’s Deputy Administrator for Resilience. “

Jun. 11– LANSING– Michigan motorists will be required to buy significantly more liability coverage under the new auto insurance law, and there are no assurances those extra costs will not offset reductions the law requires in the personal injury protection portion of motorists’ premiums, according to a top insurance industry executive. Whitmer said she would…

The Democratic-led U.S. House this week passed a $19 billion disaster-aid package that will bring critically needed relief to areas walloped by natural disasters, including Puerto Rico, still reeling after being devastated by Hurricane Maria in 2017, and the Florida Panhandle, ravaged by Hurricane Michael a year ago. The House’s 354-58 vote came about two…

President Donald Trump has signed a long-delayed $19.1 billion disaster aid bill aimed at helping communities across the country bounce back from hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and fires. Trump says the aid, which will benefit states including Georgia and Florida, is: “So important for our GREAT American farmers and ranchers.” The bill languished for months due to disputes over Trump’s demand for more border funding as well as additional aid for Puerto Rico, which Trump opposed

Joined by the Small Business Administration, FEMA will tour Montgomery, Greene, Auglaize and Mercer counties for a preliminary damage assessment, according to the Ohio EMA. FEMA will continue assessments in Montgomery and Greene counties on Thursday and then will also start in Darke and Miami Thursday. The federal assistance Ohio could possibly qualify for…

WASHINGTON- The National Flood Insurance Program that millions of people rely on has gotten another temporary extension, as members of Congress renew efforts to work out a long-term proposal. The extension through the end of September was tucked into a $19 billion disaster-aid package the U.S. House approved in a 354-58 vote Monday evening.

Along with the estimated $4 billion cost to restore Tyndall Air Force Base, the Task Force estimates raise the overall financial hit from the Category 5 hurricane to more than $10 billion. “We are speaking as one community with one voice,” he said of the Task Force, whose members represent the county, its seven cities and the Bay Public School District.

A long-delayed $19.1 billion disaster aid bill sailed through the House on Monday and headed to President Donald Trump for his expected signature. The bill’s passage came after months of infighting, misjudgment and a feud between Trump and congressional Democrats. Lawmakers gave the measure final congressional approval by 354-58 in the House’s first significant action after returning from a 10-day recess.

June 03– Jun. 3– President Donald Trump has declared a major disaster in three Oklahoma counties that have been devastated by flooding, tornadoes and other severe storms. The declaration allows federal assistance for Muskogee, Tulsa and Wagoner counties, which have experienced record-breaking flooding and intense tornadoes since May 7.

Ron DeSantis signed a package of property insurance reforms intended to reduce the number of lawsuits by repair contractors that convince homeowners to sign over benefits of their insurance claims, including the rights to invoice and sue their insurers. The lawsuits added untold millions of dollars to insurers’ cost of doing business, which the insurers…

May 30– May 30– WASHINGTON– The National Flood Insurance Program received a temporary reprieve on Thursday– just one day before it was set to expire and after two previous attempts were thwarted. Congress is on a week-long recess, but the U.S. House had attempted to pass the NFIP reauthorization in a procedural move that would not require a vote if no members…

May 30– May 30– Record rainfall across the central plains for the month of May has brought flooding to northern and north central Oklahoma, washing out roads and bridges, flooding homes, damaging crops and endangering pets and livestock. As of May 29, the Oklahoma Mesonet had recorded a 30- day accumulation of 19.2 inches of rain at Stillwater, more than half the…

Some property owners who accepted a buyout from the federal government because their homes are prone to regular flooding say they’ve grown frustrated with the long wait times to get their checks. An Associated Press analysis of federal data shows the government has spent more than $5 billion over the past three decades on its flood buyout program, and the costs have been rising over the past decade. This spring’s Midwest flooding is likely to add even more homes to the buyout queue.

An Indiana town was heavily damaged by storms, including reports of two tornados. WRTV-TV reports that Madison County Emergency Management spokesman Todd Harmeson said Tuesday morning that, “We do not know at this time if this was a tornado, straight-line winds or what the cause was” of damage in Pendleton.