Windstorm Insurance Update
July 20, 2006
The Walton County Chamber of Commerce Board of Director's has joined the Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce in issuing a Position Statement regarding the "Windstorm Insurance Crisis". (Please see attached for the entire text). The Board of Director's has also endorsed the recent Executive Order from Governor Jeb Bush creating a "Property and Casualty Insurance Reform Committee."
The Chamber will continue to be a strong advocate and voice for area business owners who are unable to obtain commercial property insurance. Until there is a resolution to this problem, we will be passing on all related information to our membership.
"CFO Gallagher's Consumer Services Division and Insurance Commissioner McCarty's office are working together to find out how large this problem is in Florida. To assist us, if you could please direct all of your constituents that call who are trying to find commercial insurance to call the Florida Market Assistance Program (FMAP) at 800-524-9023. FMAP DOES NOT PROVIDE INSURANCE QUOTES OR LISTS OF AGENTS OR COMPANIES WHO ARE WRITING INSURANCE, but an agent from their area will contact them in 5 business days letting them know if they can get any kind of coverage. Even if they can't find coverage, it's important for these people to be registered with FMAP, because FMAP will notify the Office of Insurance Regulation and document the problem of availability in the area…"
"-NEWS FROM THE FLORIDA OFFICE OF INSURANCE REGULATION-
FLORIDA OFFICE OF INSURANCE REGULATION TO SOLICIT FEEDBACK FROM BUSINESSES ON INSURANCE DIFFICULTIES
TALLAHASSEE (July 11, 2006) - The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (Office) today announced it will be conducting an on-line survey to gauge the problems businesses in the state are encountering accessing commercial insurance coverage. The Office said it has heard from businesses and policymakers from around the state regarding problems with the availability and cost of commercial insurance coverage.
"There is little doubt we have problems in this area of our market that mirror or exceed those we are wrestling with in residential insurance," said Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty. "We need to find out which businesses are having difficulty, where they are located and what exactly are the challenges they are facing. Armed with that information we hope to develop some targeted remedies to provide relief to the segments of our business community which are having difficulty."
The on-line survey will consist of 10 questions dealing with the type of business which is responding, 10 questions about the specific insurance difficulty the business is encountering and an area for individual feedback. Any business can respond by going to
https://apps.fldfs.com/Survey/default.aspx?qid=49&pre=CP.
Most of the questions can be answered by pointing and clicking on drop-down menus. The name of the business or owner does not have to be provided but an email address will be needed so a password can be sent which is required to complete the survey. Directions are printed on the bottom of the page.
Additionally, the survey will be forwarded to chambers of commerce across Florida and it also will be provided to associations and federations representing business interests throughout the state.
Business owners and managers can fill out the survey until July 24th at midnight. When the survey results are compiled they will be displayed on the Office of Insurance Regulation website at
http://www.floir.com/.
# # #
Directions: Click on the survey link (above), to arrive at a screen that will request a user name and password. Creating an account is simple. Click the "Create An Account" link on the left side of the screen. Provide your name (first and last), email address, choose a users name and password (the password must be 8-10 characters long), then click "Create Account". You will immediately receive an email with a link and instructions to activate the account. Once the account has been activated, log in and complete the survey. "
Walton County Chamber of Commerce
63 S Centre Trail
Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459
Phone: 850.267.0683
Fax: 850-267-0603
www.waltoncountychamber.com
info@waltoncountychamber.com