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The Florida Legislature is again looking at ending no-fault auto insurance in Florida. Sound familiar? Tweaking no-fault (also known as personal injury protection – PIP) is a frequent topic for legislative debate.

You may recall a fix to fight no-fault fraud came in 2012. Regulators issued a report in 2015 that said the fix appeared to be working. Regardless, it seems the desire to do something about rising auto insurance rates may be driving the desire to abolish no-fault. Florida is one of 12 states with a no-fault law. Proponents say it allows those injured in a car crash to recover costs for medical treatment under their own insurance policy, without needing to determine who is at fault for the accident. Among the proponents are hospitals, which say about one-third of the people they treat for auto injuries only have no-fault coverage. Critics discount that view, saying no-fault duplicates coverage that most people already have with medical insurance.

What will replace no-fault/PIP if the legislation becomes law? A requirement for bodily injury coverage, which applies to injuries you as a driver cause to someone else. This may cost more than no-fault coverage for some people. With this change, the Legislature is also considering raising the compulsory financial responsibility limits. Any time most people hear the word “raising” they think it might cost more money, and it might – but here’s the other side of that:

Florida has the lowest financial responsibility requirement of any U.S. state. That means we set the bar very low for the responsibility drivers have if they cause a car crash with injuries. And, the end result is that too many people are not fully compensated, so while they are trying to recover physically from injuries caused by another, they may also be suffering financially. Raising that bar is about accountability.

A reminder: Insurance of any type (auto, home, health, business) is about protecting your assets. Always, always (always!) make sure you have insurance equal to the total value of the assets you own.

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RENTERS INSURANCE

If you rent, rather than own, your home, have you bought renters insurance?

While your landlord may provide insurance coverage for the structure of your home, as a renter you are responsible for your own belongings. Renters insurance covers the loss or destruction of your possessions if they are damaged by a hurricane or other disaster listed in the policy. A standard renters insurance policy also includes ALE coverage if you are unable to live in your house or apartment due to damage caused by a hurricane.

Flood insurance is also available for renters. However, as for homeowners, the NFIP flood insurance policies for renters do not include ALE coverage.

Don’t wait to review and update your insurance until after you have a loss葉here are few things worse than finding out you did not have the right kind of coverage when you are already filing a claim. So before hurricane season kicks off, make sure you’ve reviewed home or renters insurance policy with this Hurricane Season Insurance Checklist. Call your Insurance Professional if you have any questions. They can provide guidance on how to get the insurance protection that’s best for your needs and budget.

For information on how to make your home more disaster resistant, go to the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS). For information on evacuation, go to the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH).

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The cost of insurance fraud is a cost all policyholders wind up paying. Consider that fraud adds about $34 billion each year to the property/casualty insurance sector’s incurred losses in the U.S. That equates to about 10 percent of the cost of insurance. The victims of this fraud are…..everyone.

Florida CFO Jeff Atwater heads the state’s Bureau of Insurance Fraud, which consists of 117 sworn officers plus support staff. He’s been championing fraud awareness and recently published a newsletter with a story about an Orange County man who paid someone to torch his car. This person filed an insurance claim, got paid, got found out – and got jail time. The newsletter said the arson claim cost the insurance company $10,000, and it may cost the perpetrator up to 20 years in jail.

The state has a fraud tip line: 1-800-378-0445. There is also an online form for reporting fraud. We’re in this fight against fraud together.

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As of this morning, there have been nearly 40,000 insurance claims filed due to damage from Hurricane Matthew. Those numbers will surely rise in the coming days as people continue to find damage to their property related to the storm that hit Florida a mere four days ago.

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation released Matthew claims data on October 12. About 90% of the claims were for residential property damage. So far, there have been 1,800 flood claims reported by people with flood policies through the National Flood Insurance Program, and 28 claims for private flood insurance, which is coverage outside the government program.

Hardest hit county in terms of total claims reported is Volusia. Duval and Brevard counties also reported significant numbers of insurance claims.

Here’s a tip: If you had minor damage from the storm, and it was below the percentage hurricane deductible, it’s still a good idea to let your insurance company know. Florida has a calendar year deductible for hurricane damage. That means damage from one storm counts in the event another hurricane hits in the 6 remaining weeks of Hurricane Season 2016.

Be sure to review our information on settling insurance claims after a disaster to get more insight on the process and the recovery.

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Water damage is one of the most common and costly disasters affecting U.S. residences, accounting for billions of dollars in losses to homeowners and renters annually. However, consumers can protect themselves with the right amount and type of insurance coverage.

Standard homeowners and renters insurance provides coverage for burst pipes, wind driven rain and damage resulting from ice dams on your roof. Some policies cover sewer and drain backups, but many do not; however, you can purchase a sewer backup rider to a homeowners or renters policy for approximately an additional $50 each year, with the policy limits varying depending upon the insurer.

Generally speaking, water that comes from the top down, such as rainfall, is covered by a standard homeowners insurance policy, while water that comes from the bottom up, such as an overflowing river, is covered by a separate flood insurance policy. Flood insurance can be purchased from the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), and from some private insurers.

The average flood insurance policy costs $540 a year, according to the NFIP. For homeowners, the maximum amount of coverage available from the NFIP is $250,000 for damages to the home’s structure, and $100,000 for losses to its contents. There is a 30-day waiting period for a flood insurance policy to go into effect. For those who want coverage beyond the limits offered by an NFIP policy, excess flood insurance is available from a number of private insurance companies.

Properly maintaining a home is one of the best ways to prevent water damage. A homeowner can prevent water seepage by painting water-sealant around the basement, and avert a sewer backup by installing and maintaining a backwater valve which allows sewage to go out, but not come back in.

The Institute for Business & Home Safety offers the following tips:

Inside Your Home

• Inspect hoses and faucets. Check hoses leading to water heaters, dishwashers, washing machines and refrigerator icemakers annually. Replace those with cracks or leaks, and replace them all every five to seven years.

• Inspect showers and tubs. Check the seal and caulking around showers and tubs to make sure they are watertight.

• Shut off the water supply to the washing machine while away on vacation, and never leave the house while the washer or dishwasher is running.

• Know the location of the main water shut off valve in your home. A damaged hose or a burst pipe can send water racing into your home. By knowing where this valve is located and how to shut off the main water supply, you can save yourself time and money.

• Install an emergency pressure release valve in your plumbing system. This will protect against the increased pressure caused by freezing pipes and can help prevent your pipes from bursting.

• Check pipes. Look closely for cracks and leaks and have the pipes repaired immediately.

Outside Your Home

• Caulk and seal windows. Preventive maintenance will guard against water seepage.

• Inspect your roof. Look formissing, damaged, and aging shingles.

• Check your downspouts. Remove debris that may have accumulated in downspouts and rain gutters. Position downspouts so that they direct water away from the house.

• Check sprinklers and irrigations systems. Be sure sprinklers and irrigation systems are not damaging the walls and foundations of the house; turn off and drain outside faucets to protect against frozen pipes.

• Install gutter guards.Gutter guards are the device used to protect the clogging of the roof gutter so that the water from the roof may flow easily and accumulation of water does not take place on the roof but away from the house.