William Rabb

With multiple hurricanes rocking Florida and other parts of the Southeast this year, claims professionals have said they are seeing a trend toward “soft fraud,” with more policyholders attempting to include older or unrelated damage in recent storm claims, and failing to report previous losses on a property.

Despite continued uncertainty over the future of federal tax rules on micro-captive insurance companies, the instruments seem to be increasingly popular for small businesses, especially in Florida, where rates for traditional commercial insurance have soared in recent years.

Regulators, insurance companies and attorneys at the Florida Chamber of Commerce Annual Insurance Summit this week sent a clear message to lawmakers about tinkering with Florida's property insurance law, two years after major legislative reforms were adopted:

When hurricanes hit coastal areas, property insurers often breathe a sigh of relief when much of the damage appears to be the result of storm surge and flooding – losses that aren't covered by most homeowners' policies.

At the Florida Chamber of Commerce Insurance Summit last week, the state's emergency management director announced a multi-million-dollar program that many homeowners, lawmakers and insurers have long hoped for: New grants and low-interest loans that will help elevate homes above flood levels – an action that could reduce insurance claims and litigation as storms and flooding increase in the years to come.

Florida lawmakers established the Birth-Related Neurological Injury fund in 1988 to provide a no-fault remedy for parents of children with certain injuries incurred at birth, with an aim toward reducing the soaring cost of medical malpractice claims.

Courts across the country have overwhelmingly ruled in favor of insurance carriers in claims disputes following the government-ordered closures of

In May of 2022, as Florida lawmakers debated solutions to the Florida property insurance crisis, a number of Democrats in the state Senate argued that it wasn't litigation and roof claims that had led to so many insurer insolvencies: It was insurers diverting premium and profits to their managing general agencies.

It's a question that has cropped up in state courts only on rare occasions: If the owner or officer of a subcontractor firm opts out of workers' compensation coverage for himself, can he then sue the general contractor for negligence when he's injured on the job?

Two Kentucky Supreme Court rulings handed down last week emphasize how important it can be to have clearly worded insurance policies, including exclusions and excess and escape clauses, particularly in high-dollar commercial coverage.