One good thing about having so many knowledgeable experts contributing to this blogsite is that my readers (you) can learn, and hear opinions from, someone other than me.  This is one of those times. Bill Wilson is one of the premier insurance educators in America on form, coverage, and technical issues; Founder and director of the Big “I” Virtual University; Retired Assoc. VP of Education and Research from Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America and the author of the following article.  JS believes the more you know, the better off you’ll be. ENJOY! [Read more…] about The Invisible Exclusion!

As rates rise, complaints about rates rise. Agency clients want to know why their rates are so high. And, agency clients want to know what they can do about it.

Some things, like frivolous litigation, can be fixed. Other things, like Hurricanes, cannot.  For Insurance agents looking to explain both, Johnson Strategies reached out to its Expert Contributor on such matters, David Thompson. He drafted the following paper you can use for clients, Home and Auto, who want to know what’s going on and what can be done about it.

Feel free to use David’s article in any way you see fit–send a link to your clients, copy/paste it onto your letterhead, learn from it and/or read it to them over the phone, it doesn’t matter. Hope this makes your life as a Florida agent a little easier during these troubling times.

If you have any questions or comments, see “Leave a Reply” below.

Enjoy!

WHAT FACTORS CAUSE FLORIDA’S HIGH INSURANCE RATES

By David Thompson, AAI, CPCU, CRIS

Whether it’s auto or home insurance, price is a significant consideration with any household budget. This article should help you understand some of the factors involved in insurance pricing and how they can impact your premiums both present and future. [Read more…] about “Why are my Insurance Rates so High?”

Galloping once again to the cliffs of redundancy, there are a whole lot of folks mischaracterizing Florida’s property insurance market reforms.  They know the truth but often don’t speak it.  This article is an excerpt from an article written after the first set of reforms in 2021.  It’s regarding two trial lawyers who often, well… mischaracterize. And, it’s the perfect prelude to my upcoming book “Collapse of an Evil Empire!” which is COMING SOON.

[Read more…] about Some Trial Lawyers Don’t Tell the Truth

Since there are way too many people, mostly trial lawyers, public adjusters, roofers, etc., mischaracterizing the negatives in Florida’s property market as proof recent tort reforms aren’t working, I find it necessary to highlight “some” of what necessitated those reforms in the first place.

This piece from the Scot Strems disbarment saga (an article first published in 2020 titled “Patterns of Deceit.”), is the perfect example. You’ll find it and other stories of consumer abuse from the pre-reform era, in my upcoming book, “Collapse of an Evil Empire!”

Check back here for the book (available soon) and enjoy the following excerpt.      [Read more…] about Who are the Puppet Masters?

Remember when I said over a half dozen times “The End is Near” regarding Scot Strems? Or, when I said, “I promise this is my last word on the Strems saga?” (See Strems—The Final Chapter? )

Well… I was lying through my teeth!  [Read more…] about My Final & Absolute Last Word!

“Those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it.”; a famous quotation oft attributed to Winston Churchill and others who opine on historical achievements.

Last Friday Florida celebrated the monumental passage of badly needed tort reform legislation (HB-837).  Literally decades in the making, it’s a fundamental remake of a ravaged tort system sure to turn the tide on Florida’s status as America’s premier Judicial Hellhole.

These measures address fee multipliers for all insurance lines, modernizing Florida’s “bad faith” law, protecting small businesses from exorbitant over-the-top awards and, the most remarkable (and most important) ….eliminating one-way attorney fees.  [Read more…] about A War That Will Never End!

Now that an unprecedented package of tort reform has finally moved through the legislature and is on its way to the Governor, another piece of equally important reform has just begun its trek. SB-1398 and its’ House companion HB-1185 (by Rep. Giallombardo) are consumer protection initiatives from the CFO’s office—the varied subject matter thankfully includes Public Adjusters (PA’s).   [Read more…] about Needed PA Reforms!

An important initiative takes aim at Assignment of Benefits (AOB) for windshield repairs.  Outlawed in property insurance during December’s special session, AOB for windshields was on the chopping block in the 2021 PIP repeal bill until Governor DeSantis vetoed it.

Now, despite substantial property tort reforms during the last special session (SB-2A), the Governor and legislative leaders are looking for more tort reform outside the property realm. “Windshield Bullies” are in the crosshairs.   [Read more…] about WINDSHIELD BULLIES!

Is it possible out-of-state folks have read my articles on Public Adjusters—articles about the highest PA fees in America being permitted in Florida?

Or is it more likely they don’t read my articles at all and still reached the same conclusion, which is a 20% contingency is an incentive for fraudulent inflation of claims or the creation of claims when they would otherwise not have existed. (See NOTE #1 below)

Either way, some states are beginning to “SEE THE LIGHT.”  [Read more…] about PUBLIC ADJUSTER FEES…2.5%!

A few years back I opined that it seems like the courts spend a disproportional amount of time litigating the obvious.

Case in point. The appraisal clause in most homeowner’s policies is constructed to resolve disputes regarding the amount of a claim.  In “How Interested are the Disinterested?” I said it was “absurd” for Public Adjusters (PA’s) to act as both a “disinterested” appraiser while also being paid a contingency on the same claim.   [Read more…] about Supreme Court Rules…FINALLY!