TomPaine.com - Katrina's Gulf
to help low- and moderate-income people, the two states are now planning to direct most of that money to help people whose homes are outside federally

House plan would charge some homeowners more for insurance (ABC Action News)
TALLAHASSEE - House lawmakers followed their Senate colleagues Thursday in approving a plan to charge owners of vacation and second homes more for hurricane coverage from the state's insurer of last resort.

States Calculate Global Warming Pricetag
on business and homeowners. Other lines of insurance are also vulnerable, like health when heat-related respiratory diseases and mosquito-borne diseases

The Washington Times, America's Newspaper
Cards Online Homeowners Insurance Hotels Auto Insurance Mortgage Loans Dish Network Deals Donate car Trade Show Displays Moving

House plan would charge some homeowners more for insurance (WPMI 15)
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - A plan by a House committee would charge second and vacation homeowners insured by Citizens Property Insurance up to twice as much as year-round Floridians.

Insurance fund seeks a premium increase (Tallahassee Democrat)
Florida's insurance fund for insurance companies, broke because of the past two years of storms, is seeking a premium increase from homeowners, an attempt to gird itself against 2006.

ABC News: Business Index
Paperwork Homeowners Insurance? Who Needs What? Tax Time is Near -- Time to Go Electronic Better Medicine May Mean More Insurance Costs Good Question:

The American Spectator
levees in N.O. area will protect residents from a Category 3 hurricane. But that computer models indicate even weaker storms could find chinks in

Doug Reilly's Weblog
pretty certain I have not used in this century, and probably not the last decade of the last century. That is the point of insurance, you share risks.

Farm Bureau gets OK to Hike Homeowners Rates in La. (Insurance Journal)
Roughly 70,000 homeowners in areas hard hit by Hurricane Rita will face insurance hikes of 49 percent that were approved by Louisiana state regulators. The increase affects Louisiana Farm Bureau p

Piggly Wiggly joins growth in Carolina Forest
Myrtle Beach Online - Piggly Wiggly has announced it is building a store on a large cleared tract along U.S. 501 at Carolina Forest Boulevard that is scheduled to open June 28 at 200 Oakheart Road in Forest Square. The store will include a sushi bar, call-ahead pizza

Multi-State Class Actions Could Infringe on State Regulators
Insurance News Net - INDIANAPOLIS (March 10, 2006) - The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies (NAMIC) has joined other members of the insurance industry in filing an Amici Curiae brief involving a multi-state class action appeal currently before the

Links to other sources of news and commentary
Online Journal - WASHINGTON - The Dubai-owned company that promised to surrender its U.S. port operations has no immediate plans to sell its U.S. subsidiary's interests at Miami's seaport, a senior executive wrote Monday in a private e-mail to business associates

Air insurers continue coverage
Cincinnati Enquirer - Despite the possibility of strikes marring spring travel on bankrupt Delta Air Lines and its Erlanger-based subsidiary Comair, most travel insurers continue to write policies that would reimburse travelers if their plans are disrupted by strikes

Protect your home from natural decay
Myrtle Beach Online - From ancient China and ancient Rome to the present, the building point is the same: Wood doesn't last unless it is properly protected. So, if you want your home to last anywhere nearly as long as the Colosseum in Rome or the Forbidden City in Beijing

Hinsdale Family Still Looking For Home After Floods
WMUR Channel - HINSDALE, N.H. -- Five months after floods turned their lives upside down, a Hinsdale family is still trying to find a place to call home. The Kirkwoods' home was in the path of a mudslide when rains flooded areas of southwestern New Hampshire. The

Assessments to fix storm-damaged condos make life a little rough
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel - Gerry Berg points around her condominium as if she were doing inventory on a home improvement project: Here is where the closet will be, this is the bathroom tile that chipped off, there's the heavy wooden bureau that needs a coat of varnish. What's

Buying home, sweet home
News Register - Home ownership is a commonly held dream in this country, but one that can turn into a nightmare if the expenses turn out to be higher than anticipated. To help homeowners avoid pitfalls, the Housing Authority of Yamhill County is offering a daylong

Homeowners Insurance? Who Needs What?
ABC News - Answer: Before you can figure out what you need, you need to know what you have. That requires that you actually look at your policy to determine what it covers. "For many, it's paid via the mortgage company, so some people don't even open the

Insurance Pushing People From Homes
Ledger - LARGO -- Cindy DeFelice made sure she didn't get in over her head. When she moved to the area from Cincinnati two years ago, she bought a house she could afford: a cute little 1,200-square-foot home with pink shutters and a grapefruit tree in the

Prudential Financial Settles 2001 Home Insurance
Beurs.nl - WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Prudential Financial Inc. (PRU) settled a lawsuit filed in 2001 that had alleged discriminatory home insurance practices. The Newark, N.J., insurer said in its annual report filed Tuesday with the Securities and Exchange

Burnt mower for sale in Scottsboro
WAFF - The mower's owner says he knows no one will actually buy it. He says he's not trying to make a buck. He's trying to make a point. "November 12th, I was mulching leaves. I'd been mulching for about 10 or 15 minutes when all the sudden the mower just

Hinsdale Family Still Looking For Home After Floods
WMUR Channel - HINSDALE, N.H. -- Five months after floods turned their lives upside down, a Hinsdale family is still trying to find a place to call home. The Kirkwoods' home was in the path of a mudslide when rains flooded areas of southwestern New Hampshire. The

Rents heading upward, says landlord leader
Sarasota Herald Tribune - Southwest Florida's lowest-income residents are starting to see sharp increases in their monthly rent bills, and the upward spike is likely to continue for some time. The increases can be blamed on the growing shortage of affordable housing caused by

Bush set to outline agenda for final legislative session
Bradenton Herald - TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Jeb Bush gives his final State of the State address Tuesday, and is expected to highlight tax breaks and education improvements over his two terms while laying out an agenda for items he still wants to see accomplished. Bush

Do credit scores affects insurance premiums?
Investors Business Daily - Q: I enjoyed your piece about insurance that appeared in the Los Angeles Times. When I was in Utah over the holidays, my brother-in-law mentioned that he saved money when Allstate based his rate on his credit rating. I asked about it here in

Saving for our stormy seasons
St. Petersburg Times - WASHINGTON - As the state's crisis over home insurance looms, Florida's congressional delegation Wednesday sought to help homeowners put cash aside before disaster strikes. At a meeting on Capitol Hill with Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin

Fire district officials explain need for more tax revenue
Naples Daily News - The Golden Gate Fire and Rescue District isn t sure how much longer it can continue running an efficient district with the money and the residents coming in. Fire commissioners met Wednesday night to hear the recommendations from Fire Chief Don

What others would say in the State of the State
Gainesville Sun - hat some key constituencies in Florida would call for if they were writing Gov. Jeb Bush's State of the State address: - Senior citizen lobby would like to see better coordination among the different elements of the spectrum of care for the elderly

Senate Democrats want hearing on insurance rates
Pensacola News Journal - Senate Democrats on Wednesday called for a public hearing of Sen. Ron Klein's "insurance defense" bill to make rate hikes tougher to get and prevent policy cancellations. "In the 14 years since Hurricane Andrews, the insurance industry has pretty

Fire district officials explain need for more tax revenue
Naples Daily News - The Golden Gate Fire and Rescue District isn t sure how much longer it can continue running an efficient district with the money and the residents coming in. Fire commissioners met Wednesday night to hear the recommendations from Fire Chief Don

In The Aftermath of Midwest Tornadoes, Insurance Claims Filing Begins
Insurance News Net - NEW YORK, March 14, 2006 - Victims of the severe storms and tornadoes that swept through the Midwest over the weekend are struggling to put the pieces of their lives back in place and are beginning the claims filing process. Hundreds of homes and

Logic still lacking in compromise tax plan
Meridian Star - The first question that it raises in my mind is, Why do we accept bad compromises instead of good legislation? This current "compromise" is just as bad as the original. Lt. Gov. Amy Tuck and her ilk would have us believe that this is the best we can

As hurricane season nears, finding affordable rates can be difficult
Pensacola News Journal - For more detailed information and tips on how to obtain the best rates, including frequently asked questions about insurance, contact Florida Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher at: www.fldfs.com. To contact the Department of Financial Services by

City Council rejects pleas to approve apartments
Reading Eagle - City Council said it was sending a message to owners of rental properties Wednesday night when it denied four requests to approve existing apartments in single-family homes. There needs to be a message as we encounter these properties, that it is

Buying home, sweet home
News Register - Home ownership is a commonly held dream in this country, but one that can turn into a nightmare if the expenses turn out to be higher than anticipated. To help homeowners avoid pitfalls, the Housing Authority of Yamhill County is offering a daylong

Assessments to fix storm-damaged condos make life a little rough
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel - Gerry Berg points around her condominium as if she were doing inventory on a home improvement project: Here is where the closet will be, this is the bathroom tile that chipped off, there's the heavy wooden bureau that needs a coat of varnish. What's

NY Homeowners Insurance Market: Strong or Weak?
Insurance Journal - Feb 28, 2006 New York's homeowners insurance market is either strong, stable or fragile depending upon whether the speaker is an agent or an insurer.

Well Spent: Travelers' valuables go their own way
Seattle Post Intelligencer - When increased security protocols took over the nation's airports several years ago, consumers were often told to keep their bags unlocked so federal agents could search them, if necessary. Last month, Chris Paar followed those instructions as she

Many products fight ID theft, but none fully prevent it
Investors Business Daily - SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- A slew of products are now available to consumers fearful of identity theft, but none can promise complete immunity from the myriad forms of the crime, ranging from a stolen credit card to new accounts created in your

Legislative leaders to focus on hurricane, education problems
Daily Comet - Florida's legislative leaders said Tuesday they would focus on dealing with problems wrought by hurricanes and contentious education issues in the annual session. But Senate President Tom Lee and House Speaker Allan Bense also have a more pleasant

Major Florida homeowners insurer Poe Financial stops writing new
Palm Beach Post - Poe Financial Group, one of the state's largest insurers, said Monday it is no longer writing new homeowners insurance policies. The decision puts additional pressure on Florida's creaky insurance market, which eight hurricanes have battered during

PCI: NY Homeowners Market Healthy
Insurance Journal - Feb 23, 2006 The New York homeowners insurance market is stable , according to the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI).

Getting homeowners insurance
CNN/Money - Feb 9, 2006 By Gerri Willis, CNN/Money contributing columnist. NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - Insurance isn't protecting homeowners like it used to.

Rising Homeowners' Insurance Rates Could Cool Housing Market
WESH.com, FL - Mar 1, 2006 Existing home sales dropped nearly 20 percent last month from a year ago. At least part of the reason may be the skyrocketing cost of homeowners' insurance.

Proposed insurance reform industry-friendly
Palm Beach Post, FL - Feb 14, 2006 TALLAHASSEE A group of Republican lawmakers stepped into the homeowners insurance fray Monday with a bill heavy on industry-friendly reforms but light on

Michigan Territorial Rating Bill Could Raise Rates for Most
Insurance Journal - Feb 8, 2006 is a need to make territorial distinctions for rating purposes," said Harrold highlighting the differences in automobile and homeowners insurance costs across

Home insurance rates could rise 30% in Louisiana
2TheAdvocate, LA - Feb 20, 2006 percent to 7 percent. Those assessments will be listed on homeowners insurance bills, Donelon said. In addition, most insurance

Life & money savers
Beaumont Enterprise, TX - Mar 4, 2006 In return, they were promised their homeowners' insurance would decrease as the department improved. To cut insurance costs, Browning must earn points.

Rewarding our Friends and Punishing our Enemies
Louisiana Weekly, LA - Mar 5, 2006 Now when it comes to insurance companies, automobile and homeowners insurance, virtually everyone who pays feels the pain caused by these companies raising