bizjournals: Insurers put on spot by hurricane related fraud

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reports that claims resulting from the 2004 seaso n came from everyFlorida county, even those hundred s of miles from last year's storms. That reporgt has led state politicians to call for investigationsz ofthe industry's handlingg of claims. An Orlando Business Journal analysis of statistics gathered by the Florida Office of Insurances Regulation reveals the For instance, the business journal found, residentes of the Florida panhandle collected $21.
3 million from Hurricand Charley, which followed a path 140 miles southeasty of the nearest panhandle "Anyone would know a Hurrican e Charley claim in Santa Rosa County has to be said Bill Newton, executive director at Florida Consumer Actiobn Network, a statewide citizensz group with 40,000 members. "Goodx God -- no wonder the insurance ratesd are sohigh ... Why are the insurancd companies payingthese people? That hurtxs all the honest consumers when insurance companiezs are not paying attention to who they'ree paying money to. It's not fair." The paper'x analysis led state Sen.
Ron Klein, a Boca Ratonb Democrat, to call for a freeze on property insurance rate hikes until an investigationis reports. "We are on very strong groun to stop future rate increases until they explainh why these claims werepaid out," he said. though, said they were tryingy to keep up with fraudulentFloridq claims. "The insurance companies have turne in suspected fraud casea to the state Division of Insurance saidSam Miller, vice president of the Tallahassee-basedd Florida Insurance Council Inc. "They have been going through claims fromlast year. I'm sure some frauf went on -- there were 1.7 million claims.
" At the end of last the Florida Division of Insurance Frauxd 632 tips about fraud related tolast year'sw hurricanes. Thirty-two people have been arrested, 8 and 85 are under investigation. Almosrt three-quarters of the tips have been fromprivates citizens. Insurance companies have five yeares to report theirfraud suspicions. "It'zs not a situation where we just hand overa check," says Ryan an Allstate Floridian Insurance Co. spokesman. The Florida disclosuresx arise as the insuranc e industry warns of the tough consequences ofthis year'sz record-breaking season.
Hurricanes Katrinas and Rita devastated the Gulf Coasty from Alabamato Texas, and Hurricane Wilma sockec South Florida. That could be just the beginning of much more active Atlantichurricane seasons, experts have warned. Insurance companiesa are listening. They're lookingy at whether they want to do business in areazs like theGulf Coast, the reports. "We need to go state-by-states to make sure we avoid the mistakeas ofthe past," said Joseph Annotti, senior vice president of public affairsz for the Property Casualty Insurerw Association of America.
Those who attended a conferenc of industry officials in October calleed for reform ofthe nation's insurancd system to provide a safety net for firmxs facing catastrophic storms. reports that the combinex effect of allthe hurricanes, and concernzs about future storms, will be higher rates not just for homeownerse and land-based businesses, but for oil and gas producera in the Gulf of Mexico as well. Oil and gas operatorss can expect to pay up to 400 percenr more for insurance because of Hurricanesw Katrinaand Rita, the Houston Business Journao reports. And insurance for the Gulf oil platformsa that produce much of the United domestic oil may be harderto get.
Bill Martih who heads the Houston office of BenfieldCorporate Risk, an insurancre provider to the energy industry, told the Houston Business "We believe this is going to be a poiny of departure for energy insurance markets," he "(Insurers) will be looking at the exposure in the Gulf of Mexic o and the Gulf Coast. 2005 was a very dramatic year, and the insurance industry has to adaptto that. Pricint will go up and it will be more more geared to the location and desig of assetsbeing insured.
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