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Monday, April 01 2019

Nearly eight in 10 consumers talk on the phone while driving and more than 30 percent admit to having been in a near-miss crash because they were distracted.

Also, although distracted driving poses potential liability risks for companies, many expect employees to remain connected and do little to discourage such behaviors behind the wheel

Travelers Companies announced these and other results of its 2019 Travelers Risk Index, which surveyed more than 2,000 consumers and executives about distracted driving and the reasons behind it.

The Travelers Risk Index identified common distractions when behind the wheel, including:

  • Typing a text or email (44 percent).
  • Using social media (23 percent).
  • Recording videos or taking photos (22 percent).
  • Shopping online (15 percent).

“It’s startling to see that drivers continue to engage in potentially life-threatening habits,” said Chris Hayes, second vice president of Transportation, Risk Control at Travelers. “Whether driving for work or on personal time, many drivers overlook risks that make our roads more dangerous for all of us.”

Some drivers say it would be difficult to stop such behaviors. Thirteen percent of respondents say they would find it very difficult to stop reading texts or emails while driving, and 11 percent say it would be difficult to stop typing texts or emails while driving. In addition, five percent of respondents say they would find it very difficult to stop shopping online while driving.

Nineteen percent say they would still drive distracted even if it was against the law.

(Recent research out of the School of Public Health at Texas A&M University and published in the American Journal of Public Health — Texting-While-Driving Bans and Motor Vehicle Crash–Related Emergency Department Visits in 16 US States: 2007–2014— suggests that laws against texting may make a difference. The study found that crash-related emergency room visits fell four percent on average from 2007 to 2014 in states that prohibit texting while driving. Crash-related injuries dropped eight percent in states that placed primary bans on texting while driving, the study found.)

Although many smartphones have settings to help drivers stay focused, most drivers do not use these features. Consistent with last year’s index from the insurer, only 12 percent of consumers set their phones to Do Not Disturb while driving. In fact, of those respondents who do not activate the Do Not Disturb feature, 41 percent actively choose not to turn it on, while others simply forget to turn it on or find it inconvenient to do so (35 percent), according to the survey.

Workplace Accountability

The 2019 index also suggests that many workplaces do not consider the full consequences of distracted driving. According to the National Safety Council, the average economic cost of a crash is more than $1 million per death and more than $78,000 per nonfatal disabling injury. However, 12 percent of executives surveyed do not worry about the liability associated with a crash caused by a distracted employee, and most (74 percent) do not consider distracted driving to be of great concern.

The connected culture and mounting workplace expectations may be contributing to distracted driving. While most businesses report being at least somewhat concerned about employees’ use of mobile devices on the road, an overwhelming majority (87 percent) of executives expect workers to be sometimes or frequently reachable outside of the office. Employees feel this pressure, as 20 percent of respondents who admit to replying to work-related messages while driving say they do so because they worry about upsetting their boss. Further, nearly half of those same respondents say they always need to be available or do not want to miss a work-related emergency. Lastly, 17 percent say drive time is when they get a lot of work done.

“The pressure to always be online and connected can be deadly,” added Hayes. “Even though distraction-related crashes occur frequently, some companies continue to expect constant connectivity without considering what’s at stake.”

According to Travelers, three out of four workplaces have implemented distracted driving policies. However, just 18 percent of businesses advise employees to set their phones to Do Not Disturb before driving, and only 40 percent report knowing of an employee who was disciplined for not complying with company policy.

Passive Passengers

According to the survey, having conversations about driving behavior can make a difference. Sixteen percent of consumers say they rarely or never speak up while in a car with a distracted driver, yet more than half (54 percent) say they would likely cease distracted driving behaviors if they were asked to do so.

Some conversations about distracted driving are already happening: Two-thirds of parents have spoken to their children about distracted driving, and the same amount of companies say they have an employee education program about the dangers of distracted driving and how to avoid it.

About the Travelers survey: Hart Research conducted a national online survey of 1,000 consumers, ages 18 to 69, in March 2019. Separately, Hart surveyed 1,050 executives from businesses of all sizes. Both surveys were commissioned by Travelers.

Tuesday, March 12 2019

Flood insurance premiums could rise and property values fall in the most deluge-prone areas under a plan the Trump administration intends to roll out in coming weeks to change the way risk is calculated under the National Flood Insurance Program.

Instead of simply focusing on whether a home is inside or outside of the 100-year flood plain, the Federal Emergency Management Agency plans to use private-sector data to calculate the real flood threat for each home and set costs based on that data, according to people familiar with the effort and a briefing document obtained by Bloomberg.

Samantha Medlock, North America head of capital, science and policy at insurance broker Willis Towers Watson Plc, said the change “could be the first major advancement to improve understanding of flood risk since the creation of the NFIP itself.”

The change could also hurt communities with the greatest flood risk. The new policy “is certainly an issue of concern and one we are actively tracking and engaged on,” Liz Thompson, spokeswoman for the National Association of Home Builders, said in an email.

The overwhelming majority of American households with flood coverage receive their policies through the National Flood Insurance Program, which covered about 5 million policyholders in 2017. Despite the growing risk of flooding due to climate change, the number of policies under the program has fallen about 10 percent from its peak in 2009.

Flood insurance will get fresh attention this week from Congress. On Wednesday, the House Committee on Financial Services is set to hold a hearing on reauthorizing the NFIP.

Lawmakers have struggled to reform the program. In 2012, Congress passed changes that would impose premiums that reflected the full risk for homes, only to back down two years later in the face of intense public opposition.

FEMA, asked to comment on its plans, offered a statement by David Maurstad, deputy associate administrator for insurance and mitigation, who said the new system “will help customers better understand their flood risk and provide them with more accurate rates based on their unique risk.”

The initiative, which FEMA calls Risk Rating 2.0, comes as climate change places growing pressure on the publicly subsidized flood insurance program. Claims often outpace premiums, saddling the program with a debt that topped $30 billion in 2017. The models that determine those rates ignore certain kinds of flooding, such as intense rainfall. And many Americans at risk of flooding nonetheless don’t buy insurance.

Transparent Costs

The new system is designed to address some of those problems. The agency plans to pair its existing mapping data with “commercial catastrophe models,” as well as the “geographic and structural characteristics” of the home, according to a briefing document presented by FEMA to private flood insurance representatives in October and obtained by Bloomberg.

The goal, according to that document, is more transparent and understandable costs, which will in turn spur more people to get flood protection.

“Policies that are easier to sell and buy = more insurance coverage,” the document says.

The document offers the example of two homes in a 100-year flood plain. The first home, at the edge of that zone, faces low risk of flooding from inland flooding or storm surge; the second faces higher risk from both. Under the current system, each home pays the same premium; with the changes, the first home’s premiums would fall by 57 percent, while premiums for the second home would more than double.

Customer Risk

The same document, dated Oct. 17 2018, said that FEMA would first introduce the new risk rating system for states along the Gulf Coast and Southern Atlantic, from Texas to North Carolina. New rates would begin to take effect in 2020.

A FEMA spokeswoman said parts of the document were no longer accurate, but declined to say which ones.

“Our new system will determine a customer’s flood risk by incorporating multiple, logical rating variables –- like different types of flood, the distance a building is from the coast or another water source, or the cost to rebuild a home,” Maurstad said.

The agency said it didn’t yet know what the effect of the new system would be on premiums. But rates are likely to go up in neighborhoods with the greatest exposure to flood risks, which could hurt property values in those areas, according to Michael Berman, a former chairman of the Mortgage Bankers Association who worked on housing issues for the Obama administration and has been briefed on the plan.

Important Initiative

Still, Berman said the initiative was an important one. “Anything that they can do to improve people’s understanding of flood risk compared to binary 100-year flood plain is good for consumers and good for investors in the long run, even if it raises premiums,” he said.

Increasing the cost of flood insurance tends to depress home values for two reasons, according to Asaf Bernstein, an economist at the University of Colorado at Boulder whose research includes asset pricing and household finance. Not only do higher premiums raise the cost of owning a home; they also act as a warning to potential buyers about the likelihood that a house will flood.

R. J. Lehmann, director of insurance policy at the R Street Institute, which advocates for market-based solutions to climate change, said that even if FEMA’s new approach caused home values to fall in some areas, the shift was necessary.

Updated Look

“Adapting to climate change is never going to be a cost-free exercise,” Lehmann said in a phone interview. “We absolutely need a more granular and more updated look at what flood risk is.”

A spokesman for the National Association of Realtors, Wesley Shaw, declined to comment on what the change could mean for homes values in areas with the greatest flood risk.

“We need to wait and see what FEMA comes out with before we can evaluate the market impact,” Shaw said by email. “We welcome FEMA’s efforts to modernize and improve the fairness of its ratings methods.”

FEMA said the way the law is written on flood insurance gives it the authority to change the way it sets rates without action from Congress. The agency said it hadn’t yet decided when the new rates would take effect, and how quickly.

“We will take an agile approach to share information transparently about the release of this new system with all stakeholders,” Maurstad said.

Tuesday, March 05 2019

Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis has announced a new initiative aimed at reducing fraud in the state.

According to a statement from the Florida Department of Financial Services, the “Fraud Free Florida” initiative will work to better coordinate collective investigative efforts to protect Florida’s large population, especially seniors, from “scam artists.”

“Florida currently ranks first in fraud and second in identity theft nationwide. In 2017, identity theft cost Americans nearly $905 million,” Patronis said. “This is unacceptable, and we must use innovative ways to stay two steps ahead of criminals who want to take your identity, steal money from families who need it, and prey on vulnerable Floridians.”

Fraud Free Florida will bring together statewide law enforcement officials, local state attorneys, private sector stakeholders, and members of CFO Patronis’ fraud investigative teams. The goal will be to help Florida stay ahead of new scams and take on fraud already taking place in the state including: fraud at unscrupulous opioid treatment centers, public assistance fraud, identity theft, and cybersecurity issues.

Patronis noted fraud is especially rampant after every hurricane, when “millions of dollars are stolen as crooks prey on Florida families in their time of need to make a quick buck.”

Fraud Free Florida is part of DFS’ Division of Investigative and Forensic Services (DIFS), which includes the Disaster Fraud Action Strike Team (DFAST) aimed at curbing hurricane-related insurance fraud, as well as the Division of Public Assistance Fraud. DIFS is a statewide law enforcement agency dedicated to rooting out fraud and investigating financial crimes. DFS said Fraud Free Florida will help agencies better collaborate on fraud cases and identify needed law changes.

“I look forward to creating a lasting impact as we go after these criminals and expose scam artists who aim to cheat the system and target hardworking Floridians,” Patronis said.

People can learn more and report fraud and scams at FraudFreeFlorida.com.

Monday, January 28 2019

Manipulating a cellphone was a contributing factor in more than 800 crash deaths on U.S. roads during 2017 amid a marked increase in the percentage of drivers observed interacting with cellphones, new research by the insurance institute for highway safety (IIHS) indicates. The estimated number of deaths, however, still represents a fraction of the overall crash death toll.

Virginia drivers observed in a 2018 IIHS roadside survey were 57 percent more likely to be manipulating a cellphone than drivers in a 2014 survey. The percentage of drivers observed manipulating a phone rose from 2.3 percent in 2014 to 3.4 percent in 2018.

At the same time, drivers were less likely to be seen simply holding a cellphone or talking on a hand-held phone than in the prior survey. The finding is consistent with research indicating that drivers are talking on hand-held phones less and fiddling with them more often than in recent years.

In 2018, 3.7 percent of drivers in Northern Virginia were observed talking on a hand-held cellphone, compared with 4.1 percent of drivers in 2014, while 2.8 percent of drivers in 2018 were seen holding a cellphone, compared with 4.9 percent in the prior survey.

The problem of distracted driving, especially cellphone use, continues to raise concerns. A 2018 national survey by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that 64 percent of respondents consider distracted driving a much bigger problem today than it was three years ago.

Estimating Crash Risk

About 37,000 people died in motor vehicle crashes in 2017, the most recent year of data available. Assuming the prevalence of phone manipulation nationwide rose as it did in Northern Virginia to 3.4 percent, and assuming, based on the latest research, that fatal crash risk is 66 percent higher when manipulating a phone, then more than 800 of the estimated crash deaths in 2017 could be attributed to phone manipulation.

This estimate is based on work by IIHS and other researchers describing how the estimated risk and prevalence of phone use can be combined to estimate the number of crash deaths that could be attributed to phone use in a given year (see Status Report special issue: phoning while driving, Feb. 27, 2010). The 66 percent increase in fatal crash risk associated with manipulating a cellphone relative to driving when other secondary behaviors were present is a finding of a 2018 study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.

“The latest data suggest that drivers are using their phones in riskier ways,” says David Kidd, who co-authored the study and is a senior research scientist with HLDI. “The observed shift in phone use is concerning because studies consistently link manipulating a cellphone while driving to increased crash risk.”

Cellphone use affects how drivers scan and process information from the roadway. Drivers generally take their eyes off the road to dial, send texts and browse the web on a hand-held phone — all activities that fall under the rubric of manipulating the phone. Drivers engaged in cellphone conversations tend to concentrate their gaze toward the center of the roadway, but their attention still may be diverted from driving and make it difficult for them to process what they are looking at.

Tracking Trends in Distraction

Procedures for the 2018 update followed those used in 2014 (see “Distracting behaviors are common at red lights, less so at roundabouts,” March 31, 2015). IIHS stationed observers at 12 locations across four Northern Virginia communities, on straight stretches of roads, at signalized intersections and at roundabouts in March 2018. Observers noted nearly 12,000 drivers in the 2018 survey and more than 14,000 drivers in 2014 during the morning, afternoon or early evening on weekdays. Researchers noted if drivers were engaging in one or more of 12 visible secondary behaviors while moving or stopped at red lights.

About 23 percent of drivers were engaged in one or more distracting activities:

  • Talking on hand-held cellphone
  • Manipulating hand-held cellphone (excludes looking at phone in mount)
  • Simply holding hand-held cellphone (i.e. not obviously manipulating or talking)
  • Wearing Bluetooth earpiece or headset with mic
  • Wearing headphones or ear buds
  • Manipulating in-vehicle system (touching radio, climate control, touchscreen display or other controls; excludes operating stalks or buttons on steering wheel)
  • Manipulating or holding mobile electronic device other than cellphone
  • Talking or singing
  • Eating or drinking
  • Smoking
  • Grooming
  • Other (reaching for object, reading print material, adjusting sun visor, putting on glasses, holding another object)

“When people talk about distracted driving, most often cellphones are the focus, but drivers are distracted by other secondary behaviors more often than cellphones,” Kidd points out. “Things as simple as drinking coffee or talking to your kids can take your attention away from the road.”

About 14 percent of drivers were engaged in nonphone-related secondary behaviors in 2014 and 2018, which exceeded the proportion of drivers seen using phones in both years. Relative to 2014, drivers were more likely to be observed manipulating an in-vehicle system, grooming themselves, or manipulating or holding an electronic device other than a phone after researchers adjusted for community, perceived driver gender and age, time of day and roadway situation.

Drivers in 2018 were less likely to be talking or singing while driving alone, smoking, or wearing headphones or earbuds. The prevalence of eating or drinking, talking or singing with a passenger present, wearing a Bluetooth device, or engaging in some other visible secondary behavior wasn’t significantly different between 2014 and 2018.

“We didn’t find evidence of an increase in distracted driving overall between the 2014 and 2018 roadside surveys,” Kidd says. “For cellphone-related distraction in general, we expect a continued shift in the way people interact with the devices as the technology evolves.”

The percentage of crash deaths related to distraction in recent years has hovered at about 8–10 percent of all crash deaths, data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show. During the past three years, distraction-affected crash deaths have trended downward. The number of fatalities in distraction-affected crashes fell 9.3 percent from 3,490 in 2016 to 3,166 in 2017, representing 8.5 percent of total fatalities for the year. In 2015, 3,526 people were killed in distraction-affected crashes.

Fatality data likely underestimate the number of deaths caused by distracted drivers. Despite efforts to determine cellphone use by drivers in crashes, such data continue to be difficult to collect as they largely depend on people truthfully telling law enforcement officers what they were doing or voluntarily handing over their phones for inspection.

Wednesday, January 16 2019

Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis began following up on a campaign promise to make the environment a priority by signing an order last week seeking to tackle Florida’s problems with blue-green algae in its rivers and red tide off its coast.

DeSantis signed the order in Bonita Springs in southwest Florida, one of the areas where slimy algae have coated waterways because of pollutants flowing downstream from Lake Okeechobee.

“I pledged I would take action, and today we are taking action,” DeSantis said. “What we’ve done is really, really strong … I think this is something that can unite all Floridians.”

DeSantis said he will seek $2.5 billion over the next four years for Everglades restoration and water resources. The order not only touches on algae problems, but rising sea levels and the ongoing battle with Georgia over water diverted for Atlanta’s use instead of flowing downstream to Apalachicola Bay. The reduction of fresh water entering the bay has hurt the region’s oyster industry.

He didn’t say where the money would come from, and his office didn’t immediately respond when asked about the funding. Late in the day, DeSantis demanded the resignations of all nine members of the South Florida Water Management District, which oversees the Everglades area. The board in November extended a lease with sugar farmers for land needed for a reservoir that is key to water purification efforts, angering DeSantis.

While critics often said DeSantis’ predecessor, U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, ignored science and rising sea levels, DeSantis addressed it on his second full day in office. He is creating an Office of Resiliency tasked with protecting coastal communities and wildlife from sea level rise.

“As we’ve seen things like increased flooding (and) rising waters, we want to make sure that Florida is doing what it needs to do to protect its communities,” DeSantis said.

The order also directs the Department of Environmental Protection, Department of Health and the tourism agency Visit Florida to work together to address algae problems. He is creating the Blue-Green Algae Task Force and the Office of Environmental Accountability and Transparency and a new position called chief science officer. It wasn’t immediately clear whether the new offices and position would be under the umbrella of another agency and when and how they’d be filled.

One of the priorities will be to reduce nutrients flowing into Lake Okeechobee and to treat them before they flow downstream, where algae feeds off the pollutants.

Senate Democratic Leader Audrey Gibson had several questions about the DeSantis order.

“Will he turn to the Trump Administration? Or will he be seeking help from the Legislature? Can our state budget handle this increase? Is the plan to cut into other programs to raise the needed funds? Will Floridians lose services in one area to offset the costs for water cleanup?” Gibson said in a press release.

She did, however, praise the intent behind the order.

“We share the urgency for cleaning up our water and our environment; it’s been a top priority of ours for many years. The policies of the past administration have taken a terrible toll on our natural resources, to say nothing of the impact on our marine life,” Gibson said. “But an executive order has to have more than just lofty goals, or admirable pursuits. It has to have the details we need to judge whether these goals are doable.”

Friday, January 04 2019

A Florida roofing company owner was arrested last month after allegedly attempting to defraud multiple homeowners out of more than $49,000 and working without workers’ compensation insurance, according to a statement from Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis.

Terry Wayne LaCoste, owner of Terry W. LaCoste Weathertight Systems, Inc. and David E. Gilliland, Inc., was arrested after the Bureau of Workers’ Compensation Fraud received a tip from the Pinellas County Consumer Protection, Clearwater Police Department and the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office regarding complaints against LaCoste.

Investigations revealed that LaCoste allegedly victimized a total of six homeowners by making them pay deposits up-front for roofing work. LaCoste either never started on the job or never finished the contracted work. In total, the victims had a financial loss of $49,447 combined.

The investigation also revealed that LaCoste was working without the proper workers’ compensation insurance coverage.

LaCoste was arrested on Dec. 18 and transported to the Pinellas County Jail without incident. He faces charges of organized scheme to defraud, theft/misappropriation of construction funds, and working without workers’ compensation insurance coverage. If convicted on all charges, LaCoste faces up to 15 years in prison.

“Fraud like this also steals work from honest businesses and drives up insurance rates for everyone,” Patronis said. “Remember to always verify before you buy and ensure that the contractor you’re hiring is reputable and has the proper insurance coverage before allowing them to start work on your property.”

Thursday, August 23 2018

Please welcome the newest member of our staff Michelle Cordova. Michelle was born in Naples and she graduated from Naples High School. She has been in the insurance industry since 2009 most recently with Carr & Associates LLC. Michelle specializes in auto, home, condo, renters, flood, umbrella, boat and RV insurance. We are happy that Michelle decide to join our team. Welcome MIchelle!

Tuesday, August 14 2018

Last year’s intense hurricane season has motivated most Florida residents to prepare for hurricanes that could hit the state this year, according to a recent survey by the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI). The results showed a higher percentage of preparedness among Floridians than other hurricane-prone states, but more than 60 percent still say they have not purchased flood insurance.

Nearly two-thirds (64 percent) of residents in Florida say they have taken precautions in advance of the 2018 hurricane season, according to a new poll conducted online by SurveyMonkey on behalf of PCI. More than half of the 654 Florida respondents of the poll, taken between July 9-23, said last year’s hurricanes prompted them to take precautions. Nearly 38 percent reported that their property suffered damage due to last year’s storms.

Among the other hurricane-prone states surveyed in this poll, including Texas, North Carolina, and Louisiana, Floridians reported being the most prepared. Overall poll results of 1,831 residents across Texas, North Carolina, Louisiana, and Florida found 56 percent have not taken any precautions this year in advance of hurricane season. Only 35 percent said that last year’s storms prompted them to take any precautions this year.

Florida is the most hurricane-prone state in the United States, with 40 percent of all United States hurricanes hitting the state, according to the National Oceanic Atomospheric Administration (NOAA). Since 1851, there have been 118 direct hurricane hits in Florida.

“While we’ve not had much activity this hurricane season in the Atlantic basin, the threat of a storm quickly developing is still a possibility. Historically, August and September are active months for hurricanes and as we saw last year with Hurricane Irma it only takes one storm to cause massive amounts of property damage,” said Logan McFaddin, PCI’s Florida regional manager.

The poll included various categories to gauge hurricane readiness, including:

Flood Insurance

  • 63 percent of Floridians do not have flood insurance despite 71 percent saying it’s necessary to help in recovery efforts following a natural disaster
  • 13 percent of residents do not know if their existing homeowners or renters insurance policy covers flood damage

Emergency Plans

  • 68 percent of Florida residents are familiar with their local municipality, county, or state evacuation plan, with the same percentage saying they have developed an emergency plan and shared it with their household
  • 54 percent in Florida have an emergency bag, which includes necessities such as medication, non-perishable food, and water
  • More than half (51 percent) have not conducted a home inventory in the event that property and/or possessions are destroyed, damaged, or lost in a disaster

Financial Preparations

  • 71 percent of Floridians have readily available cash or savings to meet short term expenses that may arise following a natural disaster
  • 69 percent report that they have stored important financial papers and documents in a safe deposit box or online for easy access

Contractor Fraud & Abuse

PCI said following a severe storm it is common for “crooked” contractors to try and take advantage of consumers needing repairs. In Florida, abuse related to water damage and assignment of benefits claims has been a particular problem and the insurance industry and regulators are working to educate policyholders on this escalating abuse.

  • 80 percent are at least somewhat familiar with the signs of contractor fraud and abuse
  • Yet, 14 percent said they would pay upfront for the rebuilding or repair costs if it meant getting their property fixed more quickly and 18 percent aren’t sure if they would
  • 8 percent of residents said they would accept an unsolicited offer from someone to make repairs to their home

Monday, August 06 2018

Atlantic storm watchers are going to have a hard time seeing the ocean, never mind any tropical systems, as another Saharan swirl of dust from Africa is moving west.

The dust, a marker for dry air, has spread out across the Atlantic and “that is really tamping down on the thunderstorm activity that we would typically see at this time of year,” said Jeff Masters, co-founder of Weather Underground in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

The usual recipe for tropical storms and hurricanes requires thunderstorms, moist air and warm ocean temperatures. You won’t find those ingredients now in the Atlantic region stretching from the Caribbean to Cabo Verde, off the coast of Africa.

That’s where a lot of the tropical action typically gets started this time of year, and then about two weeks later the Atlantic often will enter into its most frenetic phase.

For now though there aren’t many signs the basin is even stirring and until things change “you are not going to get much developing,” Masters said.

Tuesday, July 31 2018

Congress avoided a lapse in the federal flood insurance program when the Senate today voted 86-12 to extend authorization for the program by four months to Nov. 30.

The National Flood Insurance Program would have expired at the end of today had the Senate not acted.

The House also voted last week to temporarily reauthorize the program.

President Trump is expected to sign the reauthorization before the program lapses.

The reauthorization does not include any reforms to the program.

Despite years of debate and proposals to reform the program, reforms have stalled. Instead, Congress has passed six short-term extensions of the program. Lawmakers also let the program lapse in 2017 and 2018.

The House passed legislation with reforms more than a year ago; the Senate has yet to do so.

Some in the insurance industry are concerned that Congress may again let the program lapse after this latest renewal and continue to postpone reforms.

“A lapse in the NFIP during the height of hurricane season could impact the ability of the program to promptly pay claims if there is a major flooding event, delay recovery efforts related to the catastrophic 2017 storm season and disrupt real estate markets across the country,” said Jennifer Webb, federal affairs counsel for the Big “I” independent agents association. She said the Big “I” supports a “long-term extension of a modernized NFIP” that would increase flood insurance buyers in both the NFIP and in the private insurance market.

“Congress has avoided disaster by passing this extension of the National Flood Insurance Program, but simply kicking the can down the road is not a solution,” said Jimi Grandi, senior vice president, Government Affairs, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. “The problems with the NFIP are well known, and a four-month extension amid the politics of the midterm elections does not inspire much hope for meaningful reform that would provide needed stability for the NFIP and the millions of policyholders who rely on the program,”

There are 5.2 million NFIP policies in force.


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