The Florida Insurance Advisor

Flood IIIApril 29, 2026

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's subject is mitigating flood damage. In Florida, a lot of thought is given to protecting our properties against wind damage, less consideration is given to damage by water. Standard property insurance policies exclude damage from flood or rising water, and the standard flood insurance policy limits coverage to residential structures to $250,000. Are there actions that you can take to mitigate flood risk? Yes, while it's expensive to build retroactively, raising your house on stilts above the base flood elevation will reduce the risk of flooding. Elevate utilities such as air conditioners, water heaters, and circuit breakers, at least one foot above the flood elevation to prevent significant loss. Improve land grading around your structure so that rainwater is diverted away from buildings. All flood vents are a sump pump to allow the free flow of water through a crawl space or basement. Keep your rain gutters clear and point the downspouts away from the structure. This will keep water from pooling and causing structural damage. Simple actions can protect our properties from damage by wind and water. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slashinsurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. And provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IApril 22, 2026

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today's segment is on flood insurance. Property owners often say, I don't need flood insurance because my property isn't located in a flood zone. If you own property in Florida, it's located in a flood zone. The question is whether it's in a high hazard zone or a low hazard one. It is often mistakenly believed that property not situated directly on the Gulf front or a river bank is not subject to flooding, but the standard flood policy defines a flood as rising water from any source that affects two or more properties. So water accumulation in a low-lying inland area or even the overflow from a clogged drainage ditch can meet that definition. Determining your property's flood zone can be simple. Many elected property appraisers are putting flood zones on their website, or your insurance agent or mortgage company can advise you of your property's flood zone. It's important to remember damage from rising water is not covered by almost all standard property policies. To have coverage for flood damage, you must have a flood policy. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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ExclusionsApril 15, 2026

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's segment is about exclusions. As important as it is to understand what's covered in an insurance policy, it's equally important to understand what is not covered. Things not covered in an insurance policy are eliminated by exclusions or what is colloquially referred to as the fine print. But there are practical reasons insurers write exclusions into their policies. First, the hazard excluded is generally considered to be uninsurable, so military action and nuclear contamination are eliminated from nearly all insurance policies. Next, ensuring the peril would violate public policy. As an example, there's generally no coverage for punitive damages or intentional acts. Finally and most commonly, exposures are excluded from one policy because they are better covered elsewhere. Rising water is covered under a flood policy, coverage for the operation of a motor vehicle is better suited under an automobile policy, business activities are excluded in order to be covered under a commercial policy, and so on. Consult your own policy or ask your agent to better understand the things that are not covered by your particular policy. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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LimitationsApril 8, 2026

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Neves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is limitations. Homeowners condominium and renters policies provide coverage for residential dwellings and the personal contents owned by the policy holder. However, almost all of these policies contain limitations for the coverage of special items, especially when it comes to the peril of theft. For instance, cash kept in the home is usually limited to $200. Most policies also limit theft coverage on antiques, fine art, jewelry collectibles, such as coins and stamps, guns and furs. It's important to review the coverage your policy provides for these special items to make sure they are insured for their proper value. This may require that more expensive items have a recent independent appraisal or bill of sale to document their value. It's often possible to increase these values of these limited items in your policy. As an alternative, these items can be specifically scheduled on your policy or covered on a separate personal articles policy. Review the coverage for these special items with your agent to assure they are properly valued and insured. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Distracted DrivingApril 1, 2026

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's subject is distracted driving. The National Safety Council recognizes April is distracted driver awareness month. This event is intended to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving and encourage motorists to minimize distractions behind the wheel. The Centers for Disease Control describes distracted driving as any activity that diverts a motorist's attention from the road and they categorize them into three types. First are visual distractions, reading text messages or emails, looking at maps or navigation systems or observing nearby activities such as accidents. And the south, we refer to this as rubber necking. Second, manual distractions. These are activities that remove your hands from the steering wheel, such as adjusting the radio, texting, eating, drinking or performing personal grooming tasks. And finally, cognitive distractions such as talking on the phone or chatting with passengers in your car. The best thing you can do to control the cost of insurance is avoid having claims. In our next segment, we'll discuss ways that you can limit distractions and reduce your chances of increasing your insurance cost. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Personal LiabilityMarch 25, 2026

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is personal liability. So much attention is paid to getting property values right on homeowners, condominium, and renters policies. The other important section of these policies is often overlooked, personal liability. Personal liability is a portion of your homeowners, renters, or condominium policy that's designed to pay the legal and medical bills if someone is injured on your property and you are found legally responsible. Since personal liability insurance is designed to protect your assets, the coverage limit should be at least equal to your net worth if not the total value of everything you own. In addition to physical injuries to others, personal liability coverage will also protect you against non-business personal injury claims such as liable, slander, wrongful eviction, or false arrest, as well as the legal defense costs for a covered loss. In a future segment, we'll discuss other coverages included as part of the personal liability coverage section. Check with your agent. The cost of increasing your personal liability limit is usually quite modest. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Property Saving OptionsMarch 18, 2026

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's topic, Property Saving Options. In a previous segment, we referenced the current chaotic and expensive state of the Florida Property Insurance Market. Okay, so what can be done about it? First, shop around, either by contacting an independent insurance agent or broker who will do the shopping for you or get your policy parameters together and call around yourself. If it's within your budget, consider increasing your deductible. Make sure the property is properly valued. It should be insured for the rebuilding cost, excluding the land value and the cost of the foundation. Your agent may have a replacement cost estimator that can help or get input from a building contractor or architect. Some values and home policies are implemented automatically as a percentage of the dwelling value. For instance, the personal contents limit is often included at 70% of the dwelling value. If this limit is too high, some insurers will allow that limit to be reduced, resulting in a premium savings. Consult with your agent about these and other premium savings ideas. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Florida Property InsuranceMarch 11, 2026

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency. In this inaugural segment of the Florida Insurance Advisor, we review the biggest current challenge in the Florida marketplace, property insurance, premiums for all forms of property insurance, commercial buildings, homeowners, condominiums, and apartments are increasing dramatically and it's difficult for most households to keep up. According to the Insurance Trade Journal, National Underwriter, five insurance companies doing business in Florida have become insolvent since 2019. Those insurers handled tens of thousands of policies throughout the state. Their policy holders had to find coverage elsewhere, along with the thousands of new residents moving here each year. This reduced capacity and increased demand is led to a significant rise in insurance cost. In future segments, we'll offer guidance on ways to mitigate losses from flood, fire, wind, and other perils, which should help the policy holders save on insurance premiums. We look forward to providing information about the Florida Insurance Market that you can use to the best advantage of you and your family. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Distracted Driving PreventionMarch 4, 2026

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yavuz with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment, Distracted Driving Prevention. The National Highway Safety Administration reports that more than 2,800 people are killed and more than 400,000 injured in automobile accidents each year that involve a distracted driver. Considering these statistics, it's crucial to take steps to prevent distracted driving. Put away your phone. Silence your phone and put it out of reach to reduce the temptation of using it while driving. Secure your passengers. Make sure children are properly situated in their car seats or seatbelts, and we love our pets but don't allow them to roam freely in your car while driving. Avoid multitasking. Never complete additional tasks such as eating or personal grooming while driving. Finally, stay focused. Concentrate your mind on the road and keep distracting conversations to a minimum. To paraphrase the 1959 song by Paul Evans, keep your mind on your driving, keep your hands on the wheel, keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead, and we'll all be safer on the road. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cyber InsuranceFebruary 25, 2026

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon for the Earl Bacon Agency. Today we're discussing cyber insurance. In previous segments, we've discussed the growing number of cyber incidents affecting small businesses, and yes, there's insurance for that. The first thing to understand is that there's no standard policy for cyber insurance. That makes an incumbent on the business owner and their insurance agent to understand the coverage in place. There are broadly two types of coverage in cyber insurance policies. First, network liability coverage, which covers a business's liability arising out of a data breach involving sensitive customer information. The second coverage is for direct damage to a business's systems, such as recovering corrupted data or making ransomware payments. Most states require businesses to notify customers of a breach involving personally identifiable information that, along with ongoing monitoring and customer communications, is expensive. Protection against cyber incidents is too pronged, establishing a cyber security plan and considering cyber insurance, just in case all those security measures don't work. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cybersecurity FrameworkFebruary 18, 2026

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today we're talking about a cyber security framework. Cybercrimes such as Data Theft and Ransomware are becoming more common and like it or not, business owners must do more to safeguard their systems. Here are some items to consider in developing a cyber security plan. First, identify your businesses most important assets, not only customer information and credit card numbers, but also systems and operational processes. Next, determine what layers of protection are currently in place. What is the response plan and the event of a cyber incident? Should authorities be contacted? Which ones? Who will talk to the press? Customers or suppliers? Is there a plan for business recovery in the event of a cyber incident? Is the current cyber security budget sufficient? It's impossible to be 100% secure from cyber incidents, but reviewing this framework and developing a plan of action can help. Consult with your IT specialist to make sure your online business dealings are as secure as possible and our next segment will discuss insurance coverages that respond to this growing threat. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cyber Risk for Small BusinessesFebruary 12, 2026

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is cyber risk for small businesses. Data breaches and other cyber crimes are way too common, and unfortunately the owners of many small businesses aren't doing much to combat it. Too many rely on usernames and passwords alone to secure their systems. This leaves them vulnerable to cyber attacks that might otherwise be prevented. Multi-factor authentication is now considered the best defense against hackers. With multi-factor authentication, a login attempt is verified by an additional layer of security, such as a code sent by text message or phone call. This is proven so effective, some insurance companies won't offer cyber insurance coverage to businesses that do not have multi-factor authentication. A survey by the Non-Profit Cyber Redius Institute finds that 55% of businesses have not set up multi-factor authentication and many that have don't require employees to use it. In future segments, we'll lay out a framework for analyzing cyber security risks and provide more information on how to ensure against cyber attacks. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Long COVIDFebruary 4, 2026

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today we're talking about Long COVID. Insurance companies are used to dealing with the unexpected, but trying to determine the long-term effects of the COVID pandemic may be especially challenging. The more than 1 million deaths resulting from COVID in the U.S. occurred to those who had other underlying health conditions. How will this alter the future mortality and disability profile of our population? On the other hand, many people put off preventative treatments. How will this affect the future severity of existing illnesses and what about the lingering symptoms of long COVID? Before the pandemic, if an employee came down with a cold or flu, it rarely resulted in an insurance claim. However, in response to COVID, if a health care worker was diagnosed with COVID, it was presumed that they got it at work, resulting in claims for lost wages and medical treatments. It's not yet known how COVID will impact the future of insurance rates, but these unanswered questions reveal what insurance companies are up against and sorting out this latest wave of unexpected events. This is possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Insurance as a Weapon in UkraineJanuary 28, 2026

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today we're talking about insurance as a weapon in Ukraine. To slow aggression in Ukraine, the European Union agreed to embargo shipments of crude oil from Russia. This United effort has succeeded in reducing Russian exports of crude oil from around 5 million barrels a day to approximately 4 million barrels a day. While helpful, the European embargo has largely linked in supply lines by redirecting shipments of Russian oil to India and Asia according to the energy consulting firm Wood McKinsey. Having more of an impact is the withdrawal of European insurers from providing coverage for ships carrying Russian oil. Russia relies heavily on European ships to carry their crude oil to market and those ships rely on turn on insurance companies to defer their risks. Without insurance companies available to cover these ships and their cargo, shipments of Russian crude oil will continue to decline as there will simply not be the capacity to deliver it. Insurance is an international market and it can have an impact both good and bad on international interactions. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Reinsurance LegislationJanuary 21, 2026

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Reinsurance Legislation. In our last segment, we discussed how global catastrophe losses are disrupting the reinsurance market in Florida. In addition to increased catastrophe losses worldwide, Florida is viewed by many insurers as a location with excessive litigation. This year, the Florida legislature took action to mitigate these issues. In addition to strengthening the Florida Building Code, the legislature established a $2 billion Reinsurance Relief Fund in which insurers can enroll. Once enrolled, the companies must file revised rates to provide relief to their policyholders. In addition, $150 million was appropriated to provide grants to Florida homeowners for hurricane retrofitting, which should reduce premiums for those who participate. Florida's property insurance market has been in turmoil since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The average homeowner's premium is now more than $4,200. While these legislative changes won't bring immediate relief, it's hoped they will bring some stability to our insurance market.

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ReinsuranceJanuary 14, 2026

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Reinsurance. Most of us buy insurance to protect our assets, cars, homes, and other valuable property. Less well-known is that insurance companies also buy insurance to protect themselves against catastrophic claims experience. That's called Reinsurance. This allows the risk of catastrophic loss to be spread throughout a global financial marketplace, but disruptions in that market can come from claims not directly related to Florida. Florida's last major hurricane was Michael in 2018, but global catastrophic losses exceeded the average in each of the past five years. This caused reinsurance premiums for coverage in Florida to increase as much as 25% this year. Those increased costs are being passed on to Florida policyholders as increased premiums. The Florida legislature took action this year to provide some relief from the restrictions in the reinsurance market, but in the short term, higher property insurance premiums are likely to be one more cost of living in paradise. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Insurance Credit ScoresJanuary 7, 2026

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Insurance Credit Scores. When applying for home or auto insurance, many factors are taken into account during the underwriting process, the age, construction, and location of your home, or in the case of automobile insurance you're driving history, the Macon model of your vehicle, even your zip code. But there's one other important factor of which most people are unaware. Your credit score. Most insurers use some sort of credit-based insurance score to determine if they will accept a prospective customer and if they do what rates to charge them. Every insurance company has different parameters and your credit-based insurance score is not exactly the same thing as your credit score for banking purposes, but a good credit score can help you get insurance and pay lower rates. Factors that affect your insurance score include payment history, outstanding debt, and the type of debt you incur. Check your credit score periodically and make every effort to maintain a good credit score. It helps with both banking and insurance. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at www.wfsu.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Car Insurance RatesDecember 31, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is car insurance rates. If the instability in our property insurance market wasn't causing enough heartburn around the state, another issue rears its ugly head. Car insurance rates are on the rise. In 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic, many people began working from home and large gatherings were cancelled. The result, most folks just weren't driving as much. That reduction was noticed by automobile insurers and many discounted their rates concurrent with their reduced exposure. Now, offices are reopening and people are traveling again and automobile accidents have increased. Rising repair costs and shortages of technicians, which extends the time to complete repairs, all add up to increased rates. Premium increases vary from state to state, but on average, rates are up about 9% since the beginning of this year. The increased cost of fuel and greater expense hasn't yet deterred us from being out on the road and the summer driving season is just getting started. Not much can be done here except being more careful on the road. Emergency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Named Storm and Wind DeductiblesDecember 24, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is NameStorm and Wind Deductibles. In policies issued by Admit it Ensure, the hurricane deductible is mandatory. But what if your policy is not with an admit it Ensure? There are two types of windstorm deductibles, NameStorm and Wind and Hale. With a Wind and Hale deductible, any type of wind or hail damage to an insured structure triggers the higher wind deductible limit. Those can range from 1% to 10% of the structure's insured value. The amounts vary depending on the structure's age, construction, and location. To trigger a hurricane deductible, a storm must be declared a hurricane by the National Hurricane Center. But for the NameStorm deductible to be applied, a storm need not reach hurricane strength. A tropical depression receiving a name can trigger the higher deductible and those higher deductibles can remain in place until 72 hours after watches and warnings expire. Consult your policy and talk to your agent to assure you understand the Florida wind deductibles and how they are applied.

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Hurricane Deductible ExamplesDecember 17, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Neves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Hurricane deductible examples. We've encouraged Florida policyholders to understand their hurricane deductible. These deductibles are occasionally misapplied, so a few examples might help. A storm forms in the Gulf. It's declared a hurricane and comes on shore causing damage to property. It's clear cut your hurricane deductible applies in this case. A different storm forms. Hurricane watches and warnings go up around Florida, but the storm never reaches Hurricane strength. It drifts on shore as a tropical storm and causes damage. The hurricane deductible does not apply in this case because the storm was never declared a hurricane. A third storm forms and is declared a hurricane, but it weakens to a tropical storm before making landfall. Does the hurricane deductible apply here? Yes, even though the storm weakened prior to making landfall, it was declared a hurricane and the hurricane deductible applies until 72 hours after all watches and warnings are removed. We hope these examples are helpful. More information on applying hurricane deductibles can be found at myfloracfo.com. The opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Triggering the Hurricane DeductibleDecember 10, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's subject is triggering the hurricane deductible. Previously, we discussed the hurricane deductible contained in most Florida home policies. Today, we outlined when the hurricane deductible is triggered and how long it lasts. The hurricane deductible begins when the National Hurricane Center designates a hurricane watch or warning in any part of Florida. That can mean a hurricane threatening the Florida Keys can cause wind damage to a condominium in Panama City to be subject to its policies hurricane deductible. The hurricane deductible lasts as long as hurricane conditions exist anywhere in Florida and it ceases 72 hours after the hurricane watches and warnings in Florida expire. The National Weather Service calculates the average forward movement of a hurricane at about 15 miles an hour. In 72 hours, a storm could be in New England, but wind damage to your home is still subject to the hurricane deductible. It's important to know how your hurricane deductible applies. Consult your agent or get more information from the Division of Consumer Services at MyFloridaCFO.com. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Hurricane DeductibleDecember 3, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Hurricane Deductible. Property policies in Florida often contain specific deductibles related to wind damage. For homes covered by an admitted insurer, the Hurricane Deductible is mandated by statute. It's a percentage of the insured value of the dwelling, usually 2, 5 or 10 percent. Another deductible will be referenced with the designation AOP. This refers to all other perils, perils such as fire, vandalism, or lightning, something other than a hurricane. How does this work? If your home is damaged by fire and your all other perils deductible is $1,000, you must pay the first $1,000 of the loss before the insurance company pays anything. But if your home is insured for $300,000 and your policy carries a 2 percent hurricane deductible, damaged by a hurricane would carry a deductible of $6,000, 2 percent of the $300,000 insured limit. It's important to know the amount of your hurricane deductible and how it is triggered. Consult your agent or get more information from the Division of Consumer Services at MyFloridaCFO.com. As a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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DeductiblesNovember 26, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nevez with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is deductibles. Heading into the heart of hurricane season seems like a good time to discuss deductibles. The most common deductible is called a flat deductible. It's a fixed amount, usually 500 or $1,000, although they can be higher. It's the amount a policyholder pays out of pocket for an insured loss before the insurance company takes responsibility for the remainder. The more of a loss the policyholder is willing to absorb through the higher deductibles, the lower the premium is through credit supplied by the insurer. On Florida property policies, there are special deductibles related to damage caused by wind and hail. Those deductibles are usually a percentage of the insured property value and there are three types. Wind and hail, named storm and hurricane. The hurricane deductible is most beneficial to the policyholder. We'll discuss the details of each of these deductibles in future segments. For now, be sure you know what type of special wind deductible is included in your policy and how it is triggered. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Loss AssessmentNovember 19, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is about loss assessment. Loss Assessment Coverage is an endorsement added to your home or condo policy that helps protect you if you live in a shared community like a condominium or homeowner's association, where you could be responsible for a portion of a loss in a common area. Members of homeowners or condominium associations pay fees to pay for certain amenities in a shared community. Among these is a community association policy referred to as the master policy. The master policy covers damages to common property or injuries that occur in common areas. When the master policy is not sufficient to pay for a loss, individual unit owners may be assessed for the shortfall. Coverage for this eventuality can be added to your home or condo policy by purchasing loss assessment coverage. It may be difficult to determine exactly what type of coverage the association has in place on its master policy. For this reason, the Florida Insurance Advisor recommends getting the highest limits available for loss assessments. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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VloggingNovember 12, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's segment is on vlogging. As if texting and driving wasn't enough of a hazard, insurers have a new worry. Their customers recording themselves while behind the wheel. This video blogging on the GO trend has been popularized by TikTok influencers and most often consists of the video blogger or vlogger, as it's called, addressing their followers via a camera mounted in the vehicle. April was designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month and a researcher is now speaking out about this dangerous trend. Dr. Paul Achtley, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida, who's been studying Distracted Driving for 20 years, reports in National Underwriter magazine, the research is absolutely clear. When your brain is engaged in a phone call, even a hands-free one, the risk of an automobile accident increases. The Florida Insurance Advisor is all in favor of fun and games. After all, most of our state is based on people visiting and having a good time. But let's save the video conferencing for outside a moving vehicle. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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BoatsNovember 5, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nyevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Boats. Water, water, everywhere. In Florida, we're blessed with beautiful beaches, languid lakes, and rolling rivers, and where water is plentiful. Pleasure Boats soon follow. It may come as a pleasant surprise to find that the liability rising from the ownership or operation of smaller watercraft is included in the personal liability section of your home, condo, or renters policy. In-board Boats of less than 50 horsepower, out-board-powered Boats less than 25 horsepower, or sailboats smaller than 26 feet may not require a separate boat policy. Keep in mind this is only for liability coverage. Indri to others or damage to their property for which you were found legally responsible. If you want coverage for the physical damage to the watercraft itself, you'll likely need a separate boat policy. If the boat is pledged as collateral for a loan, the lender will almost assuredly require a coverage for the damage to the boat itself. Consult your agent and make sure you have the right coverage before setting out on the water. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. The company provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IIIOctober 29, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's subject is mitigating flood damage. In Florida, a lot of thought is given to protecting our properties against wind damage, less consideration is given to damage by water. Standard property insurance policies exclude damage from flood or rising water, and the standard flood insurance policy limits coverage to residential structures to $250,000. Are there actions that you can take to mitigate flood risk? Yes, while it's expensive to build retroactively, raising your house on stilts above the base flood elevation will reduce the risk of flooding. Elevate utilities such as air conditioners, water heaters, and circuit breakers, at least one foot above the flood elevation to prevent significant loss. Improve land grading around your structure so that rainwater is diverted away from buildings. All flood vents are a sump pump to allow the free flow of water through a crawl space or basement. Keep your rain gutters clear and point the downspouts away from the structure. This will keep water from pooling and causing structural damage. Simple actions can protect our properties from damage by wind and water. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slashinsurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. And provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IIOctober 22, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is flood. Every property in Florida is located in a flood zone, but not all flood zones have an equal exposure to flooding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency identifies flood zones with alphabetic designations, A and V zones are considered high-risk, while zones designated B, C or X are lower-risk areas. Premiums for flood insurance are less expensive in the low or moderate hazard areas. Historically, getting accurate quotes for flood insurance was challenging. It required obtaining an elevation certificate that verified the height of the lowest floor of a structure above the base flood elevation. This was done by a surveyor or engineer. The higher the floor of a structure is above the base flood elevation, the lower the cost of ensuring it against flood damage. That's one reason many structures in high hazard flood areas are built on stilts. Elevation certificates are no longer required to rate flood insurance, so one barrier in determining the cost to providing flood protection has been removed. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IOctober 15, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today's segment is on flood insurance. Property owners often say, I don't need flood insurance because my property isn't located in a flood zone. If you own property in Florida, it's located in a flood zone. The question is whether it's in a high hazard zone or a low hazard one. It is often mistakenly believed that property not situated directly on the Gulf front or a river bank is not subject to flooding, but the standard flood policy defines a flood as rising water from any source that affects two or more properties. So water accumulation in a low-lying inland area or even the overflow from a clogged drainage ditch can meet that definition. Determining your property's flood zone can be simple. Many elected property appraisers are putting flood zones on their website, or your insurance agent or mortgage company can advise you of your property's flood zone. It's important to remember damage from rising water is not covered by almost all standard property policies. To have coverage for flood damage, you must have a flood policy. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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ExclusionsOctober 8, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's segment is about exclusions. As important as it is to understand what's covered in an insurance policy, it's equally important to understand what is not covered. Things not covered in an insurance policy are eliminated by exclusions or what is colloquially referred to as the fine print. But there are practical reasons insurers write exclusions into their policies. First, the hazard excluded is generally considered to be uninsurable, so military action and nuclear contamination are eliminated from nearly all insurance policies. Next, ensuring the peril would violate public policy. As an example, there's generally no coverage for punitive damages or intentional acts. Finally and most commonly, exposures are excluded from one policy because they are better covered elsewhere. Rising water is covered under a flood policy, coverage for the operation of a motor vehicle is better suited under an automobile policy, business activities are excluded in order to be covered under a commercial policy, and so on. Consult your own policy or ask your agent to better understand the things that are not covered by your particular policy. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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LimitationsOctober 1, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Neves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is limitations. Homeowners condominium and renters policies provide coverage for residential dwellings and the personal contents owned by the policy holder. However, almost all of these policies contain limitations for the coverage of special items, especially when it comes to the peril of theft. For instance, cash kept in the home is usually limited to $200. Most policies also limit theft coverage on antiques, fine art, jewelry collectibles, such as coins and stamps, guns and furs. It's important to review the coverage your policy provides for these special items to make sure they are insured for their proper value. This may require that more expensive items have a recent independent appraisal or bill of sale to document their value. It's often possible to increase these values of these limited items in your policy. As an alternative, these items can be specifically scheduled on your policy or covered on a separate personal articles policy. Review the coverage for these special items with your agent to assure they are properly valued and insured. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Personal LiabilitySeptember 24, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is personal liability. So much attention is paid to getting property values right on homeowners, condominium, and renters policies. The other important section of these policies is often overlooked, personal liability. Personal liability is a portion of your homeowners, renters, or condominium policy that's designed to pay the legal and medical bills if someone is injured on your property and you are found legally responsible. Since personal liability insurance is designed to protect your assets, the coverage limit should be at least equal to your net worth if not the total value of everything you own. In addition to physical injuries to others, personal liability coverage will also protect you against non-business personal injury claims such as liable, slander, wrongful eviction, or false arrest, as well as the legal defense costs for a covered loss. In a future segment, we'll discuss other coverages included as part of the personal liability coverage section. Check with your agent. The cost of increasing your personal liability limit is usually quite modest. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Property Saving OptionsSeptember 17, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's topic, Property Saving Options. In a previous segment, we referenced the current chaotic and expensive state of the Florida Property Insurance Market. Okay, so what can be done about it? First, shop around, either by contacting an independent insurance agent or broker who will do the shopping for you or get your policy parameters together and call around yourself. If it's within your budget, consider increasing your deductible. Make sure the property is properly valued. It should be insured for the rebuilding cost, excluding the land value and the cost of the foundation. Your agent may have a replacement cost estimator that can help or get input from a building contractor or architect. Some values and home policies are implemented automatically as a percentage of the dwelling value. For instance, the personal contents limit is often included at 70% of the dwelling value. If this limit is too high, some insurers will allow that limit to be reduced, resulting in a premium savings. Consult with your agent about these and other premium savings ideas. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Florida Property InsuranceSeptember 10, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency. In this inaugural segment of the Florida Insurance Advisor, we review the biggest current challenge in the Florida marketplace, property insurance, premiums for all forms of property insurance, commercial buildings, homeowners, condominiums, and apartments are increasing dramatically and it's difficult for most households to keep up. According to the Insurance Trade Journal, National Underwriter, five insurance companies doing business in Florida have become insolvent since 2019. Those insurers handled tens of thousands of policies throughout the state. Their policy holders had to find coverage elsewhere, along with the thousands of new residents moving here each year. This reduced capacity and increased demand is led to a significant rise in insurance cost. In future segments, we'll offer guidance on ways to mitigate losses from flood, fire, wind, and other perils, which should help the policy holders save on insurance premiums. We look forward to providing information about the Florida Insurance Market that you can use to the best advantage of you and your family. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Distracted Driving PreventionSeptember 3, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yavuz with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment, Distracted Driving Prevention. The National Highway Safety Administration reports that more than 2,800 people are killed and more than 400,000 injured in automobile accidents each year that involve a distracted driver. Considering these statistics, it's crucial to take steps to prevent distracted driving. Put away your phone. Silence your phone and put it out of reach to reduce the temptation of using it while driving. Secure your passengers. Make sure children are properly situated in their car seats or seatbelts, and we love our pets but don't allow them to roam freely in your car while driving. Avoid multitasking. Never complete additional tasks such as eating or personal grooming while driving. Finally, stay focused. Concentrate your mind on the road and keep distracting conversations to a minimum. To paraphrase the 1959 song by Paul Evans, keep your mind on your driving, keep your hands on the wheel, keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead, and we'll all be safer on the road. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cyber InsuranceAugust 27, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon for the Earl Bacon Agency. Today we're discussing cyber insurance. In previous segments, we've discussed the growing number of cyber incidents affecting small businesses, and yes, there's insurance for that. The first thing to understand is that there's no standard policy for cyber insurance. That makes an incumbent on the business owner and their insurance agent to understand the coverage in place. There are broadly two types of coverage in cyber insurance policies. First, network liability coverage, which covers a business's liability arising out of a data breach involving sensitive customer information. The second coverage is for direct damage to a business's systems, such as recovering corrupted data or making ransomware payments. Most states require businesses to notify customers of a breach involving personally identifiable information that, along with ongoing monitoring and customer communications, is expensive. Protection against cyber incidents is too pronged, establishing a cyber security plan and considering cyber insurance, just in case all those security measures don't work. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cybersecurity FrameworkAugust 20, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today we're talking about a cyber security framework. Cybercrimes such as Data Theft and Ransomware are becoming more common and like it or not, business owners must do more to safeguard their systems. Here are some items to consider in developing a cyber security plan. First, identify your businesses most important assets, not only customer information and credit card numbers, but also systems and operational processes. Next, determine what layers of protection are currently in place. What is the response plan and the event of a cyber incident? Should authorities be contacted? Which ones? Who will talk to the press? Customers or suppliers? Is there a plan for business recovery in the event of a cyber incident? Is the current cyber security budget sufficient? It's impossible to be 100% secure from cyber incidents, but reviewing this framework and developing a plan of action can help. Consult with your IT specialist to make sure your online business dealings are as secure as possible and our next segment will discuss insurance coverages that respond to this growing threat. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cyber Risk for Small BusinessesAugust 13, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is cyber risk for small businesses. Data breaches and other cyber crimes are way too common, and unfortunately the owners of many small businesses aren't doing much to combat it. Too many rely on usernames and passwords alone to secure their systems. This leaves them vulnerable to cyber attacks that might otherwise be prevented. Multi-factor authentication is now considered the best defense against hackers. With multi-factor authentication, a login attempt is verified by an additional layer of security, such as a code sent by text message or phone call. This is proven so effective, some insurance companies won't offer cyber insurance coverage to businesses that do not have multi-factor authentication. A survey by the Non-Profit Cyber Redius Institute finds that 55% of businesses have not set up multi-factor authentication and many that have don't require employees to use it. In future segments, we'll lay out a framework for analyzing cyber security risks and provide more information on how to ensure against cyber attacks. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Long COVIDAugust 6, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today we're talking about Long COVID. Insurance companies are used to dealing with the unexpected, but trying to determine the long-term effects of the COVID pandemic may be especially challenging. The more than 1 million deaths resulting from COVID in the U.S. occurred to those who had other underlying health conditions. How will this alter the future mortality and disability profile of our population? On the other hand, many people put off preventative treatments. How will this affect the future severity of existing illnesses and what about the lingering symptoms of long COVID? Before the pandemic, if an employee came down with a cold or flu, it rarely resulted in an insurance claim. However, in response to COVID, if a health care worker was diagnosed with COVID, it was presumed that they got it at work, resulting in claims for lost wages and medical treatments. It's not yet known how COVID will impact the future of insurance rates, but these unanswered questions reveal what insurance companies are up against and sorting out this latest wave of unexpected events. This is possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Insurance as a Weapon in UkraineJuly 30, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today we're talking about insurance as a weapon in Ukraine. To slow aggression in Ukraine, the European Union agreed to embargo shipments of crude oil from Russia. This United effort has succeeded in reducing Russian exports of crude oil from around 5 million barrels a day to approximately 4 million barrels a day. While helpful, the European embargo has largely linked in supply lines by redirecting shipments of Russian oil to India and Asia according to the energy consulting firm Wood McKinsey. Having more of an impact is the withdrawal of European insurers from providing coverage for ships carrying Russian oil. Russia relies heavily on European ships to carry their crude oil to market and those ships rely on turn on insurance companies to defer their risks. Without insurance companies available to cover these ships and their cargo, shipments of Russian crude oil will continue to decline as there will simply not be the capacity to deliver it. Insurance is an international market and it can have an impact both good and bad on international interactions. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Reinsurance LegislationJuly 23, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Reinsurance Legislation. In our last segment, we discussed how global catastrophe losses are disrupting the reinsurance market in Florida. In addition to increased catastrophe losses worldwide, Florida is viewed by many insurers as a location with excessive litigation. This year, the Florida legislature took action to mitigate these issues. In addition to strengthening the Florida Building Code, the legislature established a $2 billion Reinsurance Relief Fund in which insurers can enroll. Once enrolled, the companies must file revised rates to provide relief to their policyholders. In addition, $150 million was appropriated to provide grants to Florida homeowners for hurricane retrofitting, which should reduce premiums for those who participate. Florida's property insurance market has been in turmoil since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The average homeowner's premium is now more than $4,200. While these legislative changes won't bring immediate relief, it's hoped they will bring some stability to our insurance market.

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ReinsuranceJuly 16, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Reinsurance. Most of us buy insurance to protect our assets, cars, homes, and other valuable property. Less well-known is that insurance companies also buy insurance to protect themselves against catastrophic claims experience. That's called Reinsurance. This allows the risk of catastrophic loss to be spread throughout a global financial marketplace, but disruptions in that market can come from claims not directly related to Florida. Florida's last major hurricane was Michael in 2018, but global catastrophic losses exceeded the average in each of the past five years. This caused reinsurance premiums for coverage in Florida to increase as much as 25% this year. Those increased costs are being passed on to Florida policyholders as increased premiums. The Florida legislature took action this year to provide some relief from the restrictions in the reinsurance market, but in the short term, higher property insurance premiums are likely to be one more cost of living in paradise. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Insurance Credit ScoresJuly 9, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Insurance Credit Scores. When applying for home or auto insurance, many factors are taken into account during the underwriting process, the age, construction, and location of your home, or in the case of automobile insurance you're driving history, the Macon model of your vehicle, even your zip code. But there's one other important factor of which most people are unaware. Your credit score. Most insurers use some sort of credit-based insurance score to determine if they will accept a prospective customer and if they do what rates to charge them. Every insurance company has different parameters and your credit-based insurance score is not exactly the same thing as your credit score for banking purposes, but a good credit score can help you get insurance and pay lower rates. Factors that affect your insurance score include payment history, outstanding debt, and the type of debt you incur. Check your credit score periodically and make every effort to maintain a good credit score. It helps with both banking and insurance. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at www.wfsu.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Car Insurance RatesJuly 2, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is car insurance rates. If the instability in our property insurance market wasn't causing enough heartburn around the state, another issue rears its ugly head. Car insurance rates are on the rise. In 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic, many people began working from home and large gatherings were cancelled. The result, most folks just weren't driving as much. That reduction was noticed by automobile insurers and many discounted their rates concurrent with their reduced exposure. Now, offices are reopening and people are traveling again and automobile accidents have increased. Rising repair costs and shortages of technicians, which extends the time to complete repairs, all add up to increased rates. Premium increases vary from state to state, but on average, rates are up about 9% since the beginning of this year. The increased cost of fuel and greater expense hasn't yet deterred us from being out on the road and the summer driving season is just getting started. Not much can be done here except being more careful on the road. Emergency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Named Storm and Wind DeductiblesJune 25, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is NameStorm and Wind Deductibles. In policies issued by Admit it Ensure, the hurricane deductible is mandatory. But what if your policy is not with an admit it Ensure? There are two types of windstorm deductibles, NameStorm and Wind and Hale. With a Wind and Hale deductible, any type of wind or hail damage to an insured structure triggers the higher wind deductible limit. Those can range from 1% to 10% of the structure's insured value. The amounts vary depending on the structure's age, construction, and location. To trigger a hurricane deductible, a storm must be declared a hurricane by the National Hurricane Center. But for the NameStorm deductible to be applied, a storm need not reach hurricane strength. A tropical depression receiving a name can trigger the higher deductible and those higher deductibles can remain in place until 72 hours after watches and warnings expire. Consult your policy and talk to your agent to assure you understand the Florida wind deductibles and how they are applied.

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Hurricane Deductible ExamplesJune 18, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Neves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Hurricane deductible examples. We've encouraged Florida policyholders to understand their hurricane deductible. These deductibles are occasionally misapplied, so a few examples might help. A storm forms in the Gulf. It's declared a hurricane and comes on shore causing damage to property. It's clear cut your hurricane deductible applies in this case. A different storm forms. Hurricane watches and warnings go up around Florida, but the storm never reaches Hurricane strength. It drifts on shore as a tropical storm and causes damage. The hurricane deductible does not apply in this case because the storm was never declared a hurricane. A third storm forms and is declared a hurricane, but it weakens to a tropical storm before making landfall. Does the hurricane deductible apply here? Yes, even though the storm weakened prior to making landfall, it was declared a hurricane and the hurricane deductible applies until 72 hours after all watches and warnings are removed. We hope these examples are helpful. More information on applying hurricane deductibles can be found at myfloracfo.com. The opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Triggering the Hurricane DeductibleJune 11, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's subject is triggering the hurricane deductible. Previously, we discussed the hurricane deductible contained in most Florida home policies. Today, we outlined when the hurricane deductible is triggered and how long it lasts. The hurricane deductible begins when the National Hurricane Center designates a hurricane watch or warning in any part of Florida. That can mean a hurricane threatening the Florida Keys can cause wind damage to a condominium in Panama City to be subject to its policies hurricane deductible. The hurricane deductible lasts as long as hurricane conditions exist anywhere in Florida and it ceases 72 hours after the hurricane watches and warnings in Florida expire. The National Weather Service calculates the average forward movement of a hurricane at about 15 miles an hour. In 72 hours, a storm could be in New England, but wind damage to your home is still subject to the hurricane deductible. It's important to know how your hurricane deductible applies. Consult your agent or get more information from the Division of Consumer Services at MyFloridaCFO.com. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Hurricane DeductibleJune 4, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Hurricane Deductible. Property policies in Florida often contain specific deductibles related to wind damage. For homes covered by an admitted insurer, the Hurricane Deductible is mandated by statute. It's a percentage of the insured value of the dwelling, usually 2, 5 or 10 percent. Another deductible will be referenced with the designation AOP. This refers to all other perils, perils such as fire, vandalism, or lightning, something other than a hurricane. How does this work? If your home is damaged by fire and your all other perils deductible is $1,000, you must pay the first $1,000 of the loss before the insurance company pays anything. But if your home is insured for $300,000 and your policy carries a 2 percent hurricane deductible, damaged by a hurricane would carry a deductible of $6,000, 2 percent of the $300,000 insured limit. It's important to know the amount of your hurricane deductible and how it is triggered. Consult your agent or get more information from the Division of Consumer Services at MyFloridaCFO.com. As a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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DeductiblesMay 28, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nevez with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is deductibles. Heading into the heart of hurricane season seems like a good time to discuss deductibles. The most common deductible is called a flat deductible. It's a fixed amount, usually 500 or $1,000, although they can be higher. It's the amount a policyholder pays out of pocket for an insured loss before the insurance company takes responsibility for the remainder. The more of a loss the policyholder is willing to absorb through the higher deductibles, the lower the premium is through credit supplied by the insurer. On Florida property policies, there are special deductibles related to damage caused by wind and hail. Those deductibles are usually a percentage of the insured property value and there are three types. Wind and hail, named storm and hurricane. The hurricane deductible is most beneficial to the policyholder. We'll discuss the details of each of these deductibles in future segments. For now, be sure you know what type of special wind deductible is included in your policy and how it is triggered. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Loss AssessmentMay 21, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is about loss assessment. Loss Assessment Coverage is an endorsement added to your home or condo policy that helps protect you if you live in a shared community like a condominium or homeowner's association, where you could be responsible for a portion of a loss in a common area. Members of homeowners or condominium associations pay fees to pay for certain amenities in a shared community. Among these is a community association policy referred to as the master policy. The master policy covers damages to common property or injuries that occur in common areas. When the master policy is not sufficient to pay for a loss, individual unit owners may be assessed for the shortfall. Coverage for this eventuality can be added to your home or condo policy by purchasing loss assessment coverage. It may be difficult to determine exactly what type of coverage the association has in place on its master policy. For this reason, the Florida Insurance Advisor recommends getting the highest limits available for loss assessments. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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VloggingMay 14, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's segment is on vlogging. As if texting and driving wasn't enough of a hazard, insurers have a new worry. Their customers recording themselves while behind the wheel. This video blogging on the GO trend has been popularized by TikTok influencers and most often consists of the video blogger or vlogger, as it's called, addressing their followers via a camera mounted in the vehicle. April was designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month and a researcher is now speaking out about this dangerous trend. Dr. Paul Achtley, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida, who's been studying Distracted Driving for 20 years, reports in National Underwriter magazine, the research is absolutely clear. When your brain is engaged in a phone call, even a hands-free one, the risk of an automobile accident increases. The Florida Insurance Advisor is all in favor of fun and games. After all, most of our state is based on people visiting and having a good time. But let's save the video conferencing for outside a moving vehicle. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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BoatsMay 7, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nyevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Boats. Water, water, everywhere. In Florida, we're blessed with beautiful beaches, languid lakes, and rolling rivers, and where water is plentiful. Pleasure Boats soon follow. It may come as a pleasant surprise to find that the liability rising from the ownership or operation of smaller watercraft is included in the personal liability section of your home, condo, or renters policy. In-board Boats of less than 50 horsepower, out-board-powered Boats less than 25 horsepower, or sailboats smaller than 26 feet may not require a separate boat policy. Keep in mind this is only for liability coverage. Indri to others or damage to their property for which you were found legally responsible. If you want coverage for the physical damage to the watercraft itself, you'll likely need a separate boat policy. If the boat is pledged as collateral for a loan, the lender will almost assuredly require a coverage for the damage to the boat itself. Consult your agent and make sure you have the right coverage before setting out on the water. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. The company provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IIIApril 30, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's subject is mitigating flood damage. In Florida, a lot of thought is given to protecting our properties against wind damage, less consideration is given to damage by water. Standard property insurance policies exclude damage from flood or rising water, and the standard flood insurance policy limits coverage to residential structures to $250,000. Are there actions that you can take to mitigate flood risk? Yes, while it's expensive to build retroactively, raising your house on stilts above the base flood elevation will reduce the risk of flooding. Elevate utilities such as air conditioners, water heaters, and circuit breakers, at least one foot above the flood elevation to prevent significant loss. Improve land grading around your structure so that rainwater is diverted away from buildings. All flood vents are a sump pump to allow the free flow of water through a crawl space or basement. Keep your rain gutters clear and point the downspouts away from the structure. This will keep water from pooling and causing structural damage. Simple actions can protect our properties from damage by wind and water. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slashinsurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. And provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IIApril 23, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is flood. Every property in Florida is located in a flood zone, but not all flood zones have an equal exposure to flooding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency identifies flood zones with alphabetic designations, A and V zones are considered high-risk, while zones designated B, C or X are lower-risk areas. Premiums for flood insurance are less expensive in the low or moderate hazard areas. Historically, getting accurate quotes for flood insurance was challenging. It required obtaining an elevation certificate that verified the height of the lowest floor of a structure above the base flood elevation. This was done by a surveyor or engineer. The higher the floor of a structure is above the base flood elevation, the lower the cost of ensuring it against flood damage. That's one reason many structures in high hazard flood areas are built on stilts. Elevation certificates are no longer required to rate flood insurance, so one barrier in determining the cost to providing flood protection has been removed. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IApril 16, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today's segment is on flood insurance. Property owners often say, I don't need flood insurance because my property isn't located in a flood zone. If you own property in Florida, it's located in a flood zone. The question is whether it's in a high hazard zone or a low hazard one. It is often mistakenly believed that property not situated directly on the Gulf front or a river bank is not subject to flooding, but the standard flood policy defines a flood as rising water from any source that affects two or more properties. So water accumulation in a low-lying inland area or even the overflow from a clogged drainage ditch can meet that definition. Determining your property's flood zone can be simple. Many elected property appraisers are putting flood zones on their website, or your insurance agent or mortgage company can advise you of your property's flood zone. It's important to remember damage from rising water is not covered by almost all standard property policies. To have coverage for flood damage, you must have a flood policy. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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ExclusionsApril 9, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's segment is about exclusions. As important as it is to understand what's covered in an insurance policy, it's equally important to understand what is not covered. Things not covered in an insurance policy are eliminated by exclusions or what is colloquially referred to as the fine print. But there are practical reasons insurers write exclusions into their policies. First, the hazard excluded is generally considered to be uninsurable, so military action and nuclear contamination are eliminated from nearly all insurance policies. Next, ensuring the peril would violate public policy. As an example, there's generally no coverage for punitive damages or intentional acts. Finally and most commonly, exposures are excluded from one policy because they are better covered elsewhere. Rising water is covered under a flood policy, coverage for the operation of a motor vehicle is better suited under an automobile policy, business activities are excluded in order to be covered under a commercial policy, and so on. Consult your own policy or ask your agent to better understand the things that are not covered by your particular policy. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Distracted DrivingApril 2, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's subject is distracted driving. The National Safety Council recognizes April is distracted driver awareness month. This event is intended to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving and encourage motorists to minimize distractions behind the wheel. The Centers for Disease Control describes distracted driving as any activity that diverts a motorist's attention from the road and they categorize them into three types. First are visual distractions, reading text messages or emails, looking at maps or navigation systems or observing nearby activities such as accidents. And the south, we refer to this as rubber necking. Second, manual distractions. These are activities that remove your hands from the steering wheel, such as adjusting the radio, texting, eating, drinking or performing personal grooming tasks. And finally, cognitive distractions such as talking on the phone or chatting with passengers in your car. The best thing you can do to control the cost of insurance is avoid having claims. In our next segment, we'll discuss ways that you can limit distractions and reduce your chances of increasing your insurance cost. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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LimitationsMarch 26, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Neves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is limitations. Homeowners condominium and renters policies provide coverage for residential dwellings and the personal contents owned by the policy holder. However, almost all of these policies contain limitations for the coverage of special items, especially when it comes to the peril of theft. For instance, cash kept in the home is usually limited to $200. Most policies also limit theft coverage on antiques, fine art, jewelry collectibles, such as coins and stamps, guns and furs. It's important to review the coverage your policy provides for these special items to make sure they are insured for their proper value. This may require that more expensive items have a recent independent appraisal or bill of sale to document their value. It's often possible to increase these values of these limited items in your policy. As an alternative, these items can be specifically scheduled on your policy or covered on a separate personal articles policy. Review the coverage for these special items with your agent to assure they are properly valued and insured. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Personal LiabilityMarch 19, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is personal liability. So much attention is paid to getting property values right on homeowners, condominium, and renters policies. The other important section of these policies is often overlooked, personal liability. Personal liability is a portion of your homeowners, renters, or condominium policy that's designed to pay the legal and medical bills if someone is injured on your property and you are found legally responsible. Since personal liability insurance is designed to protect your assets, the coverage limit should be at least equal to your net worth if not the total value of everything you own. In addition to physical injuries to others, personal liability coverage will also protect you against non-business personal injury claims such as liable, slander, wrongful eviction, or false arrest, as well as the legal defense costs for a covered loss. In a future segment, we'll discuss other coverages included as part of the personal liability coverage section. Check with your agent. The cost of increasing your personal liability limit is usually quite modest. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Property Saving OptionsMarch 12, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's topic, Property Saving Options. In a previous segment, we referenced the current chaotic and expensive state of the Florida Property Insurance Market. Okay, so what can be done about it? First, shop around, either by contacting an independent insurance agent or broker who will do the shopping for you or get your policy parameters together and call around yourself. If it's within your budget, consider increasing your deductible. Make sure the property is properly valued. It should be insured for the rebuilding cost, excluding the land value and the cost of the foundation. Your agent may have a replacement cost estimator that can help or get input from a building contractor or architect. Some values and home policies are implemented automatically as a percentage of the dwelling value. For instance, the personal contents limit is often included at 70% of the dwelling value. If this limit is too high, some insurers will allow that limit to be reduced, resulting in a premium savings. Consult with your agent about these and other premium savings ideas. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Florida Property InsuranceMarch 5, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency. In this inaugural segment of the Florida Insurance Advisor, we review the biggest current challenge in the Florida marketplace, property insurance, premiums for all forms of property insurance, commercial buildings, homeowners, condominiums, and apartments are increasing dramatically and it's difficult for most households to keep up. According to the Insurance Trade Journal, National Underwriter, five insurance companies doing business in Florida have become insolvent since 2019. Those insurers handled tens of thousands of policies throughout the state. Their policy holders had to find coverage elsewhere, along with the thousands of new residents moving here each year. This reduced capacity and increased demand is led to a significant rise in insurance cost. In future segments, we'll offer guidance on ways to mitigate losses from flood, fire, wind, and other perils, which should help the policy holders save on insurance premiums. We look forward to providing information about the Florida Insurance Market that you can use to the best advantage of you and your family. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Distracted Driving PreventionFebruary 26, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yavuz with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment, Distracted Driving Prevention. The National Highway Safety Administration reports that more than 2,800 people are killed and more than 400,000 injured in automobile accidents each year that involve a distracted driver. Considering these statistics, it's crucial to take steps to prevent distracted driving. Put away your phone. Silence your phone and put it out of reach to reduce the temptation of using it while driving. Secure your passengers. Make sure children are properly situated in their car seats or seatbelts, and we love our pets but don't allow them to roam freely in your car while driving. Avoid multitasking. Never complete additional tasks such as eating or personal grooming while driving. Finally, stay focused. Concentrate your mind on the road and keep distracting conversations to a minimum. To paraphrase the 1959 song by Paul Evans, keep your mind on your driving, keep your hands on the wheel, keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead, and we'll all be safer on the road. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cyber InsuranceFebruary 19, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon for the Earl Bacon Agency. Today we're discussing cyber insurance. In previous segments, we've discussed the growing number of cyber incidents affecting small businesses, and yes, there's insurance for that. The first thing to understand is that there's no standard policy for cyber insurance. That makes an incumbent on the business owner and their insurance agent to understand the coverage in place. There are broadly two types of coverage in cyber insurance policies. First, network liability coverage, which covers a business's liability arising out of a data breach involving sensitive customer information. The second coverage is for direct damage to a business's systems, such as recovering corrupted data or making ransomware payments. Most states require businesses to notify customers of a breach involving personally identifiable information that, along with ongoing monitoring and customer communications, is expensive. Protection against cyber incidents is too pronged, establishing a cyber security plan and considering cyber insurance, just in case all those security measures don't work. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cybersecurity FrameworkFebruary 12, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today we're talking about a cyber security framework. Cybercrimes such as Data Theft and Ransomware are becoming more common and like it or not, business owners must do more to safeguard their systems. Here are some items to consider in developing a cyber security plan. First, identify your businesses most important assets, not only customer information and credit card numbers, but also systems and operational processes. Next, determine what layers of protection are currently in place. What is the response plan and the event of a cyber incident? Should authorities be contacted? Which ones? Who will talk to the press? Customers or suppliers? Is there a plan for business recovery in the event of a cyber incident? Is the current cyber security budget sufficient? It's impossible to be 100% secure from cyber incidents, but reviewing this framework and developing a plan of action can help. Consult with your IT specialist to make sure your online business dealings are as secure as possible and our next segment will discuss insurance coverages that respond to this growing threat. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cyber Risk for Small BusinessesFebruary 5, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is cyber risk for small businesses. Data breaches and other cyber crimes are way too common, and unfortunately the owners of many small businesses aren't doing much to combat it. Too many rely on usernames and passwords alone to secure their systems. This leaves them vulnerable to cyber attacks that might otherwise be prevented. Multi-factor authentication is now considered the best defense against hackers. With multi-factor authentication, a login attempt is verified by an additional layer of security, such as a code sent by text message or phone call. This is proven so effective, some insurance companies won't offer cyber insurance coverage to businesses that do not have multi-factor authentication. A survey by the Non-Profit Cyber Redius Institute finds that 55% of businesses have not set up multi-factor authentication and many that have don't require employees to use it. In future segments, we'll lay out a framework for analyzing cyber security risks and provide more information on how to ensure against cyber attacks. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Long COVIDJanuary 29, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today we're talking about Long COVID. Insurance companies are used to dealing with the unexpected, but trying to determine the long-term effects of the COVID pandemic may be especially challenging. The more than 1 million deaths resulting from COVID in the U.S. occurred to those who had other underlying health conditions. How will this alter the future mortality and disability profile of our population? On the other hand, many people put off preventative treatments. How will this affect the future severity of existing illnesses and what about the lingering symptoms of long COVID? Before the pandemic, if an employee came down with a cold or flu, it rarely resulted in an insurance claim. However, in response to COVID, if a health care worker was diagnosed with COVID, it was presumed that they got it at work, resulting in claims for lost wages and medical treatments. It's not yet known how COVID will impact the future of insurance rates, but these unanswered questions reveal what insurance companies are up against and sorting out this latest wave of unexpected events. This is possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Insurance as a Weapon in UkraineJanuary 22, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today we're talking about insurance as a weapon in Ukraine. To slow aggression in Ukraine, the European Union agreed to embargo shipments of crude oil from Russia. This United effort has succeeded in reducing Russian exports of crude oil from around 5 million barrels a day to approximately 4 million barrels a day. While helpful, the European embargo has largely linked in supply lines by redirecting shipments of Russian oil to India and Asia according to the energy consulting firm Wood McKinsey. Having more of an impact is the withdrawal of European insurers from providing coverage for ships carrying Russian oil. Russia relies heavily on European ships to carry their crude oil to market and those ships rely on turn on insurance companies to defer their risks. Without insurance companies available to cover these ships and their cargo, shipments of Russian crude oil will continue to decline as there will simply not be the capacity to deliver it. Insurance is an international market and it can have an impact both good and bad on international interactions. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Reinsurance LegislationJanuary 15, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Reinsurance Legislation. In our last segment, we discussed how global catastrophe losses are disrupting the reinsurance market in Florida. In addition to increased catastrophe losses worldwide, Florida is viewed by many insurers as a location with excessive litigation. This year, the Florida legislature took action to mitigate these issues. In addition to strengthening the Florida Building Code, the legislature established a $2 billion Reinsurance Relief Fund in which insurers can enroll. Once enrolled, the companies must file revised rates to provide relief to their policyholders. In addition, $150 million was appropriated to provide grants to Florida homeowners for hurricane retrofitting, which should reduce premiums for those who participate. Florida's property insurance market has been in turmoil since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The average homeowner's premium is now more than $4,200. While these legislative changes won't bring immediate relief, it's hoped they will bring some stability to our insurance market.

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ReinsuranceJanuary 8, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Reinsurance. Most of us buy insurance to protect our assets, cars, homes, and other valuable property. Less well-known is that insurance companies also buy insurance to protect themselves against catastrophic claims experience. That's called Reinsurance. This allows the risk of catastrophic loss to be spread throughout a global financial marketplace, but disruptions in that market can come from claims not directly related to Florida. Florida's last major hurricane was Michael in 2018, but global catastrophic losses exceeded the average in each of the past five years. This caused reinsurance premiums for coverage in Florida to increase as much as 25% this year. Those increased costs are being passed on to Florida policyholders as increased premiums. The Florida legislature took action this year to provide some relief from the restrictions in the reinsurance market, but in the short term, higher property insurance premiums are likely to be one more cost of living in paradise. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Insurance Credit ScoresJanuary 1, 2025

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Insurance Credit Scores. When applying for home or auto insurance, many factors are taken into account during the underwriting process, the age, construction, and location of your home, or in the case of automobile insurance you're driving history, the Macon model of your vehicle, even your zip code. But there's one other important factor of which most people are unaware. Your credit score. Most insurers use some sort of credit-based insurance score to determine if they will accept a prospective customer and if they do what rates to charge them. Every insurance company has different parameters and your credit-based insurance score is not exactly the same thing as your credit score for banking purposes, but a good credit score can help you get insurance and pay lower rates. Factors that affect your insurance score include payment history, outstanding debt, and the type of debt you incur. Check your credit score periodically and make every effort to maintain a good credit score. It helps with both banking and insurance. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at www.wfsu.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Car Insurance RatesDecember 25, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is car insurance rates. If the instability in our property insurance market wasn't causing enough heartburn around the state, another issue rears its ugly head. Car insurance rates are on the rise. In 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic, many people began working from home and large gatherings were cancelled. The result, most folks just weren't driving as much. That reduction was noticed by automobile insurers and many discounted their rates concurrent with their reduced exposure. Now, offices are reopening and people are traveling again and automobile accidents have increased. Rising repair costs and shortages of technicians, which extends the time to complete repairs, all add up to increased rates. Premium increases vary from state to state, but on average, rates are up about 9% since the beginning of this year. The increased cost of fuel and greater expense hasn't yet deterred us from being out on the road and the summer driving season is just getting started. Not much can be done here except being more careful on the road. Emergency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Named Storm and Wind DeductiblesDecember 18, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is NameStorm and Wind Deductibles. In policies issued by Admit it Ensure, the hurricane deductible is mandatory. But what if your policy is not with an admit it Ensure? There are two types of windstorm deductibles, NameStorm and Wind and Hale. With a Wind and Hale deductible, any type of wind or hail damage to an insured structure triggers the higher wind deductible limit. Those can range from 1% to 10% of the structure's insured value. The amounts vary depending on the structure's age, construction, and location. To trigger a hurricane deductible, a storm must be declared a hurricane by the National Hurricane Center. But for the NameStorm deductible to be applied, a storm need not reach hurricane strength. A tropical depression receiving a name can trigger the higher deductible and those higher deductibles can remain in place until 72 hours after watches and warnings expire. Consult your policy and talk to your agent to assure you understand the Florida wind deductibles and how they are applied.

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Hurricane Deductible ExamplesDecember 11, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Neves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Hurricane deductible examples. We've encouraged Florida policyholders to understand their hurricane deductible. These deductibles are occasionally misapplied, so a few examples might help. A storm forms in the Gulf. It's declared a hurricane and comes on shore causing damage to property. It's clear cut your hurricane deductible applies in this case. A different storm forms. Hurricane watches and warnings go up around Florida, but the storm never reaches Hurricane strength. It drifts on shore as a tropical storm and causes damage. The hurricane deductible does not apply in this case because the storm was never declared a hurricane. A third storm forms and is declared a hurricane, but it weakens to a tropical storm before making landfall. Does the hurricane deductible apply here? Yes, even though the storm weakened prior to making landfall, it was declared a hurricane and the hurricane deductible applies until 72 hours after all watches and warnings are removed. We hope these examples are helpful. More information on applying hurricane deductibles can be found at myfloracfo.com. The opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Triggering the Hurricane DeductibleDecember 4, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's subject is triggering the hurricane deductible. Previously, we discussed the hurricane deductible contained in most Florida home policies. Today, we outlined when the hurricane deductible is triggered and how long it lasts. The hurricane deductible begins when the National Hurricane Center designates a hurricane watch or warning in any part of Florida. That can mean a hurricane threatening the Florida Keys can cause wind damage to a condominium in Panama City to be subject to its policies hurricane deductible. The hurricane deductible lasts as long as hurricane conditions exist anywhere in Florida and it ceases 72 hours after the hurricane watches and warnings in Florida expire. The National Weather Service calculates the average forward movement of a hurricane at about 15 miles an hour. In 72 hours, a storm could be in New England, but wind damage to your home is still subject to the hurricane deductible. It's important to know how your hurricane deductible applies. Consult your agent or get more information from the Division of Consumer Services at MyFloridaCFO.com. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Hurricane DeductibleNovember 27, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Hurricane Deductible. Property policies in Florida often contain specific deductibles related to wind damage. For homes covered by an admitted insurer, the Hurricane Deductible is mandated by statute. It's a percentage of the insured value of the dwelling, usually 2, 5 or 10 percent. Another deductible will be referenced with the designation AOP. This refers to all other perils, perils such as fire, vandalism, or lightning, something other than a hurricane. How does this work? If your home is damaged by fire and your all other perils deductible is $1,000, you must pay the first $1,000 of the loss before the insurance company pays anything. But if your home is insured for $300,000 and your policy carries a 2 percent hurricane deductible, damaged by a hurricane would carry a deductible of $6,000, 2 percent of the $300,000 insured limit. It's important to know the amount of your hurricane deductible and how it is triggered. Consult your agent or get more information from the Division of Consumer Services at MyFloridaCFO.com. As a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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DeductiblesNovember 20, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nevez with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is deductibles. Heading into the heart of hurricane season seems like a good time to discuss deductibles. The most common deductible is called a flat deductible. It's a fixed amount, usually 500 or $1,000, although they can be higher. It's the amount a policyholder pays out of pocket for an insured loss before the insurance company takes responsibility for the remainder. The more of a loss the policyholder is willing to absorb through the higher deductibles, the lower the premium is through credit supplied by the insurer. On Florida property policies, there are special deductibles related to damage caused by wind and hail. Those deductibles are usually a percentage of the insured property value and there are three types. Wind and hail, named storm and hurricane. The hurricane deductible is most beneficial to the policyholder. We'll discuss the details of each of these deductibles in future segments. For now, be sure you know what type of special wind deductible is included in your policy and how it is triggered. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Loss AssessmentNovember 13, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is about loss assessment. Loss Assessment Coverage is an endorsement added to your home or condo policy that helps protect you if you live in a shared community like a condominium or homeowner's association, where you could be responsible for a portion of a loss in a common area. Members of homeowners or condominium associations pay fees to pay for certain amenities in a shared community. Among these is a community association policy referred to as the master policy. The master policy covers damages to common property or injuries that occur in common areas. When the master policy is not sufficient to pay for a loss, individual unit owners may be assessed for the shortfall. Coverage for this eventuality can be added to your home or condo policy by purchasing loss assessment coverage. It may be difficult to determine exactly what type of coverage the association has in place on its master policy. For this reason, the Florida Insurance Advisor recommends getting the highest limits available for loss assessments. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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VloggingNovember 6, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's segment is on vlogging. As if texting and driving wasn't enough of a hazard, insurers have a new worry. Their customers recording themselves while behind the wheel. This video blogging on the GO trend has been popularized by TikTok influencers and most often consists of the video blogger or vlogger, as it's called, addressing their followers via a camera mounted in the vehicle. April was designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month and a researcher is now speaking out about this dangerous trend. Dr. Paul Achtley, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida, who's been studying Distracted Driving for 20 years, reports in National Underwriter magazine, the research is absolutely clear. When your brain is engaged in a phone call, even a hands-free one, the risk of an automobile accident increases. The Florida Insurance Advisor is all in favor of fun and games. After all, most of our state is based on people visiting and having a good time. But let's save the video conferencing for outside a moving vehicle. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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BoatsOctober 30, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nyevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Boats. Water, water, everywhere. In Florida, we're blessed with beautiful beaches, languid lakes, and rolling rivers, and where water is plentiful. Pleasure Boats soon follow. It may come as a pleasant surprise to find that the liability rising from the ownership or operation of smaller watercraft is included in the personal liability section of your home, condo, or renters policy. In-board Boats of less than 50 horsepower, out-board-powered Boats less than 25 horsepower, or sailboats smaller than 26 feet may not require a separate boat policy. Keep in mind this is only for liability coverage. Indri to others or damage to their property for which you were found legally responsible. If you want coverage for the physical damage to the watercraft itself, you'll likely need a separate boat policy. If the boat is pledged as collateral for a loan, the lender will almost assuredly require a coverage for the damage to the boat itself. Consult your agent and make sure you have the right coverage before setting out on the water. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. The company provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IIIOctober 23, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's subject is mitigating flood damage. In Florida, a lot of thought is given to protecting our properties against wind damage, less consideration is given to damage by water. Standard property insurance policies exclude damage from flood or rising water, and the standard flood insurance policy limits coverage to residential structures to $250,000. Are there actions that you can take to mitigate flood risk? Yes, while it's expensive to build retroactively, raising your house on stilts above the base flood elevation will reduce the risk of flooding. Elevate utilities such as air conditioners, water heaters, and circuit breakers, at least one foot above the flood elevation to prevent significant loss. Improve land grading around your structure so that rainwater is diverted away from buildings. All flood vents are a sump pump to allow the free flow of water through a crawl space or basement. Keep your rain gutters clear and point the downspouts away from the structure. This will keep water from pooling and causing structural damage. Simple actions can protect our properties from damage by wind and water. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slashinsurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. And provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IIOctober 16, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is flood. Every property in Florida is located in a flood zone, but not all flood zones have an equal exposure to flooding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency identifies flood zones with alphabetic designations, A and V zones are considered high-risk, while zones designated B, C or X are lower-risk areas. Premiums for flood insurance are less expensive in the low or moderate hazard areas. Historically, getting accurate quotes for flood insurance was challenging. It required obtaining an elevation certificate that verified the height of the lowest floor of a structure above the base flood elevation. This was done by a surveyor or engineer. The higher the floor of a structure is above the base flood elevation, the lower the cost of ensuring it against flood damage. That's one reason many structures in high hazard flood areas are built on stilts. Elevation certificates are no longer required to rate flood insurance, so one barrier in determining the cost to providing flood protection has been removed. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IOctober 9, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today's segment is on flood insurance. Property owners often say, I don't need flood insurance because my property isn't located in a flood zone. If you own property in Florida, it's located in a flood zone. The question is whether it's in a high hazard zone or a low hazard one. It is often mistakenly believed that property not situated directly on the Gulf front or a river bank is not subject to flooding, but the standard flood policy defines a flood as rising water from any source that affects two or more properties. So water accumulation in a low-lying inland area or even the overflow from a clogged drainage ditch can meet that definition. Determining your property's flood zone can be simple. Many elected property appraisers are putting flood zones on their website, or your insurance agent or mortgage company can advise you of your property's flood zone. It's important to remember damage from rising water is not covered by almost all standard property policies. To have coverage for flood damage, you must have a flood policy. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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ExclusionsOctober 2, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's segment is about exclusions. As important as it is to understand what's covered in an insurance policy, it's equally important to understand what is not covered. Things not covered in an insurance policy are eliminated by exclusions or what is colloquially referred to as the fine print. But there are practical reasons insurers write exclusions into their policies. First, the hazard excluded is generally considered to be uninsurable, so military action and nuclear contamination are eliminated from nearly all insurance policies. Next, ensuring the peril would violate public policy. As an example, there's generally no coverage for punitive damages or intentional acts. Finally and most commonly, exposures are excluded from one policy because they are better covered elsewhere. Rising water is covered under a flood policy, coverage for the operation of a motor vehicle is better suited under an automobile policy, business activities are excluded in order to be covered under a commercial policy, and so on. Consult your own policy or ask your agent to better understand the things that are not covered by your particular policy. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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LimitationsSeptember 25, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Neves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is limitations. Homeowners condominium and renters policies provide coverage for residential dwellings and the personal contents owned by the policy holder. However, almost all of these policies contain limitations for the coverage of special items, especially when it comes to the peril of theft. For instance, cash kept in the home is usually limited to $200. Most policies also limit theft coverage on antiques, fine art, jewelry collectibles, such as coins and stamps, guns and furs. It's important to review the coverage your policy provides for these special items to make sure they are insured for their proper value. This may require that more expensive items have a recent independent appraisal or bill of sale to document their value. It's often possible to increase these values of these limited items in your policy. As an alternative, these items can be specifically scheduled on your policy or covered on a separate personal articles policy. Review the coverage for these special items with your agent to assure they are properly valued and insured. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Personal LiabilitySeptember 18, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is personal liability. So much attention is paid to getting property values right on homeowners, condominium, and renters policies. The other important section of these policies is often overlooked, personal liability. Personal liability is a portion of your homeowners, renters, or condominium policy that's designed to pay the legal and medical bills if someone is injured on your property and you are found legally responsible. Since personal liability insurance is designed to protect your assets, the coverage limit should be at least equal to your net worth if not the total value of everything you own. In addition to physical injuries to others, personal liability coverage will also protect you against non-business personal injury claims such as liable, slander, wrongful eviction, or false arrest, as well as the legal defense costs for a covered loss. In a future segment, we'll discuss other coverages included as part of the personal liability coverage section. Check with your agent. The cost of increasing your personal liability limit is usually quite modest. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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VloggingSeptember 11, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's segment is on vlogging. As if texting and driving wasn't enough of a hazard, insurers have a new worry. Their customers recording themselves while behind the wheel. This video blogging on the GO trend has been popularized by TikTok influencers and most often consists of the video blogger or vlogger, as it's called, addressing their followers via a camera mounted in the vehicle. April was designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month and a researcher is now speaking out about this dangerous trend. Dr. Paul Achtley, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida, who's been studying Distracted Driving for 20 years, reports in National Underwriter magazine, the research is absolutely clear. When your brain is engaged in a phone call, even a hands-free one, the risk of an automobile accident increases. The Florida Insurance Advisor is all in favor of fun and games. After all, most of our state is based on people visiting and having a good time. But let's save the video conferencing for outside a moving vehicle. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Distracted Driving PreventionSeptember 4, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yavuz with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment, Distracted Driving Prevention. The National Highway Safety Administration reports that more than 2,800 people are killed and more than 400,000 injured in automobile accidents each year that involve a distracted driver. Considering these statistics, it's crucial to take steps to prevent distracted driving. Put away your phone. Silence your phone and put it out of reach to reduce the temptation of using it while driving. Secure your passengers. Make sure children are properly situated in their car seats or seatbelts, and we love our pets but don't allow them to roam freely in your car while driving. Avoid multitasking. Never complete additional tasks such as eating or personal grooming while driving. Finally, stay focused. Concentrate your mind on the road and keep distracting conversations to a minimum. To paraphrase the 1959 song by Paul Evans, keep your mind on your driving, keep your hands on the wheel, keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead, and we'll all be safer on the road. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Property Saving OptionsAugust 28, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's topic, Property Saving Options. In a previous segment, we referenced the current chaotic and expensive state of the Florida Property Insurance Market. Okay, so what can be done about it? First, shop around, either by contacting an independent insurance agent or broker who will do the shopping for you or get your policy parameters together and call around yourself. If it's within your budget, consider increasing your deductible. Make sure the property is properly valued. It should be insured for the rebuilding cost, excluding the land value and the cost of the foundation. Your agent may have a replacement cost estimator that can help or get input from a building contractor or architect. Some values and home policies are implemented automatically as a percentage of the dwelling value. For instance, the personal contents limit is often included at 70% of the dwelling value. If this limit is too high, some insurers will allow that limit to be reduced, resulting in a premium savings. Consult with your agent about these and other premium savings ideas. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Florida Property InsuranceAugust 21, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency. In this inaugural segment of the Florida Insurance Advisor, we review the biggest current challenge in the Florida marketplace, property insurance, premiums for all forms of property insurance, commercial buildings, homeowners, condominiums, and apartments are increasing dramatically and it's difficult for most households to keep up. According to the Insurance Trade Journal, National Underwriter, five insurance companies doing business in Florida have become insolvent since 2019. Those insurers handled tens of thousands of policies throughout the state. Their policy holders had to find coverage elsewhere, along with the thousands of new residents moving here each year. This reduced capacity and increased demand is led to a significant rise in insurance cost. In future segments, we'll offer guidance on ways to mitigate losses from flood, fire, wind, and other perils, which should help the policy holders save on insurance premiums. We look forward to providing information about the Florida Insurance Market that you can use to the best advantage of you and your family. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cyber InsuranceAugust 14, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon for the Earl Bacon Agency. Today we're discussing cyber insurance. In previous segments, we've discussed the growing number of cyber incidents affecting small businesses, and yes, there's insurance for that. The first thing to understand is that there's no standard policy for cyber insurance. That makes an incumbent on the business owner and their insurance agent to understand the coverage in place. There are broadly two types of coverage in cyber insurance policies. First, network liability coverage, which covers a business's liability arising out of a data breach involving sensitive customer information. The second coverage is for direct damage to a business's systems, such as recovering corrupted data or making ransomware payments. Most states require businesses to notify customers of a breach involving personally identifiable information that, along with ongoing monitoring and customer communications, is expensive. Protection against cyber incidents is too pronged, establishing a cyber security plan and considering cyber insurance, just in case all those security measures don't work. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cybersecurity FrameworkAugust 7, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today we're talking about a cyber security framework. Cybercrimes such as Data Theft and Ransomware are becoming more common and like it or not, business owners must do more to safeguard their systems. Here are some items to consider in developing a cyber security plan. First, identify your businesses most important assets, not only customer information and credit card numbers, but also systems and operational processes. Next, determine what layers of protection are currently in place. What is the response plan and the event of a cyber incident? Should authorities be contacted? Which ones? Who will talk to the press? Customers or suppliers? Is there a plan for business recovery in the event of a cyber incident? Is the current cyber security budget sufficient? It's impossible to be 100% secure from cyber incidents, but reviewing this framework and developing a plan of action can help. Consult with your IT specialist to make sure your online business dealings are as secure as possible and our next segment will discuss insurance coverages that respond to this growing threat. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cyber Risk for Small BusinessesJuly 31, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is cyber risk for small businesses. Data breaches and other cyber crimes are way too common, and unfortunately the owners of many small businesses aren't doing much to combat it. Too many rely on usernames and passwords alone to secure their systems. This leaves them vulnerable to cyber attacks that might otherwise be prevented. Multi-factor authentication is now considered the best defense against hackers. With multi-factor authentication, a login attempt is verified by an additional layer of security, such as a code sent by text message or phone call. This is proven so effective, some insurance companies won't offer cyber insurance coverage to businesses that do not have multi-factor authentication. A survey by the Non-Profit Cyber Redius Institute finds that 55% of businesses have not set up multi-factor authentication and many that have don't require employees to use it. In future segments, we'll lay out a framework for analyzing cyber security risks and provide more information on how to ensure against cyber attacks. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Long COVIDJuly 24, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today we're talking about Long COVID. Insurance companies are used to dealing with the unexpected, but trying to determine the long-term effects of the COVID pandemic may be especially challenging. The more than 1 million deaths resulting from COVID in the U.S. occurred to those who had other underlying health conditions. How will this alter the future mortality and disability profile of our population? On the other hand, many people put off preventative treatments. How will this affect the future severity of existing illnesses and what about the lingering symptoms of long COVID? Before the pandemic, if an employee came down with a cold or flu, it rarely resulted in an insurance claim. However, in response to COVID, if a health care worker was diagnosed with COVID, it was presumed that they got it at work, resulting in claims for lost wages and medical treatments. It's not yet known how COVID will impact the future of insurance rates, but these unanswered questions reveal what insurance companies are up against and sorting out this latest wave of unexpected events. This is possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Insurance as a Weapon in UkraineJuly 17, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today we're talking about insurance as a weapon in Ukraine. To slow aggression in Ukraine, the European Union agreed to embargo shipments of crude oil from Russia. This United effort has succeeded in reducing Russian exports of crude oil from around 5 million barrels a day to approximately 4 million barrels a day. While helpful, the European embargo has largely linked in supply lines by redirecting shipments of Russian oil to India and Asia according to the energy consulting firm Wood McKinsey. Having more of an impact is the withdrawal of European insurers from providing coverage for ships carrying Russian oil. Russia relies heavily on European ships to carry their crude oil to market and those ships rely on turn on insurance companies to defer their risks. Without insurance companies available to cover these ships and their cargo, shipments of Russian crude oil will continue to decline as there will simply not be the capacity to deliver it. Insurance is an international market and it can have an impact both good and bad on international interactions. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Reinsurance LegislationJuly 10, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Reinsurance Legislation. In our last segment, we discussed how global catastrophe losses are disrupting the reinsurance market in Florida. In addition to increased catastrophe losses worldwide, Florida is viewed by many insurers as a location with excessive litigation. This year, the Florida legislature took action to mitigate these issues. In addition to strengthening the Florida Building Code, the legislature established a $2 billion Reinsurance Relief Fund in which insurers can enroll. Once enrolled, the companies must file revised rates to provide relief to their policyholders. In addition, $150 million was appropriated to provide grants to Florida homeowners for hurricane retrofitting, which should reduce premiums for those who participate. Florida's property insurance market has been in turmoil since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The average homeowner's premium is now more than $4,200. While these legislative changes won't bring immediate relief, it's hoped they will bring some stability to our insurance market.

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ReinsuranceJuly 3, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Reinsurance. Most of us buy insurance to protect our assets, cars, homes, and other valuable property. Less well-known is that insurance companies also buy insurance to protect themselves against catastrophic claims experience. That's called Reinsurance. This allows the risk of catastrophic loss to be spread throughout a global financial marketplace, but disruptions in that market can come from claims not directly related to Florida. Florida's last major hurricane was Michael in 2018, but global catastrophic losses exceeded the average in each of the past five years. This caused reinsurance premiums for coverage in Florida to increase as much as 25% this year. Those increased costs are being passed on to Florida policyholders as increased premiums. The Florida legislature took action this year to provide some relief from the restrictions in the reinsurance market, but in the short term, higher property insurance premiums are likely to be one more cost of living in paradise. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Insurance Credit ScoresJune 26, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Insurance Credit Scores. When applying for home or auto insurance, many factors are taken into account during the underwriting process, the age, construction, and location of your home, or in the case of automobile insurance you're driving history, the Macon model of your vehicle, even your zip code. But there's one other important factor of which most people are unaware. Your credit score. Most insurers use some sort of credit-based insurance score to determine if they will accept a prospective customer and if they do what rates to charge them. Every insurance company has different parameters and your credit-based insurance score is not exactly the same thing as your credit score for banking purposes, but a good credit score can help you get insurance and pay lower rates. Factors that affect your insurance score include payment history, outstanding debt, and the type of debt you incur. Check your credit score periodically and make every effort to maintain a good credit score. It helps with both banking and insurance. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at www.wfsu.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Car Insurance RatesJune 19, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is car insurance rates. If the instability in our property insurance market wasn't causing enough heartburn around the state, another issue rears its ugly head. Car insurance rates are on the rise. In 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic, many people began working from home and large gatherings were cancelled. The result, most folks just weren't driving as much. That reduction was noticed by automobile insurers and many discounted their rates concurrent with their reduced exposure. Now, offices are reopening and people are traveling again and automobile accidents have increased. Rising repair costs and shortages of technicians, which extends the time to complete repairs, all add up to increased rates. Premium increases vary from state to state, but on average, rates are up about 9% since the beginning of this year. The increased cost of fuel and greater expense hasn't yet deterred us from being out on the road and the summer driving season is just getting started. Not much can be done here except being more careful on the road. Emergency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Named Storm and Wind DeductiblesJune 12, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is NameStorm and Wind Deductibles. In policies issued by Admit it Ensure, the hurricane deductible is mandatory. But what if your policy is not with an admit it Ensure? There are two types of windstorm deductibles, NameStorm and Wind and Hale. With a Wind and Hale deductible, any type of wind or hail damage to an insured structure triggers the higher wind deductible limit. Those can range from 1% to 10% of the structure's insured value. The amounts vary depending on the structure's age, construction, and location. To trigger a hurricane deductible, a storm must be declared a hurricane by the National Hurricane Center. But for the NameStorm deductible to be applied, a storm need not reach hurricane strength. A tropical depression receiving a name can trigger the higher deductible and those higher deductibles can remain in place until 72 hours after watches and warnings expire. Consult your policy and talk to your agent to assure you understand the Florida wind deductibles and how they are applied.

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Hurricane Deductible ExamplesJune 5, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Neves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Hurricane deductible examples. We've encouraged Florida policyholders to understand their hurricane deductible. These deductibles are occasionally misapplied, so a few examples might help. A storm forms in the Gulf. It's declared a hurricane and comes on shore causing damage to property. It's clear cut your hurricane deductible applies in this case. A different storm forms. Hurricane watches and warnings go up around Florida, but the storm never reaches Hurricane strength. It drifts on shore as a tropical storm and causes damage. The hurricane deductible does not apply in this case because the storm was never declared a hurricane. A third storm forms and is declared a hurricane, but it weakens to a tropical storm before making landfall. Does the hurricane deductible apply here? Yes, even though the storm weakened prior to making landfall, it was declared a hurricane and the hurricane deductible applies until 72 hours after all watches and warnings are removed. We hope these examples are helpful. More information on applying hurricane deductibles can be found at myfloracfo.com. The opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Triggering the Hurricane DeductibleMay 29, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's subject is triggering the hurricane deductible. Previously, we discussed the hurricane deductible contained in most Florida home policies. Today, we outlined when the hurricane deductible is triggered and how long it lasts. The hurricane deductible begins when the National Hurricane Center designates a hurricane watch or warning in any part of Florida. That can mean a hurricane threatening the Florida Keys can cause wind damage to a condominium in Panama City to be subject to its policies hurricane deductible. The hurricane deductible lasts as long as hurricane conditions exist anywhere in Florida and it ceases 72 hours after the hurricane watches and warnings in Florida expire. The National Weather Service calculates the average forward movement of a hurricane at about 15 miles an hour. In 72 hours, a storm could be in New England, but wind damage to your home is still subject to the hurricane deductible. It's important to know how your hurricane deductible applies. Consult your agent or get more information from the Division of Consumer Services at MyFloridaCFO.com. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Hurricane DeductibleMay 22, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Hurricane Deductible. Property policies in Florida often contain specific deductibles related to wind damage. For homes covered by an admitted insurer, the Hurricane Deductible is mandated by statute. It's a percentage of the insured value of the dwelling, usually 2, 5 or 10 percent. Another deductible will be referenced with the designation AOP. This refers to all other perils, perils such as fire, vandalism, or lightning, something other than a hurricane. How does this work? If your home is damaged by fire and your all other perils deductible is $1,000, you must pay the first $1,000 of the loss before the insurance company pays anything. But if your home is insured for $300,000 and your policy carries a 2 percent hurricane deductible, damaged by a hurricane would carry a deductible of $6,000, 2 percent of the $300,000 insured limit. It's important to know the amount of your hurricane deductible and how it is triggered. Consult your agent or get more information from the Division of Consumer Services at MyFloridaCFO.com. As a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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DeductiblesMay 15, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nevez with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is deductibles. Heading into the heart of hurricane season seems like a good time to discuss deductibles. The most common deductible is called a flat deductible. It's a fixed amount, usually 500 or $1,000, although they can be higher. It's the amount a policyholder pays out of pocket for an insured loss before the insurance company takes responsibility for the remainder. The more of a loss the policyholder is willing to absorb through the higher deductibles, the lower the premium is through credit supplied by the insurer. On Florida property policies, there are special deductibles related to damage caused by wind and hail. Those deductibles are usually a percentage of the insured property value and there are three types. Wind and hail, named storm and hurricane. The hurricane deductible is most beneficial to the policyholder. We'll discuss the details of each of these deductibles in future segments. For now, be sure you know what type of special wind deductible is included in your policy and how it is triggered. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Loss AssessmentMay 8, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is about loss assessment. Loss Assessment Coverage is an endorsement added to your home or condo policy that helps protect you if you live in a shared community like a condominium or homeowner's association, where you could be responsible for a portion of a loss in a common area. Members of homeowners or condominium associations pay fees to pay for certain amenities in a shared community. Among these is a community association policy referred to as the master policy. The master policy covers damages to common property or injuries that occur in common areas. When the master policy is not sufficient to pay for a loss, individual unit owners may be assessed for the shortfall. Coverage for this eventuality can be added to your home or condo policy by purchasing loss assessment coverage. It may be difficult to determine exactly what type of coverage the association has in place on its master policy. For this reason, the Florida Insurance Advisor recommends getting the highest limits available for loss assessments. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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BoatsMay 1, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nyevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Boats. Water, water, everywhere. In Florida, we're blessed with beautiful beaches, languid lakes, and rolling rivers, and where water is plentiful. Pleasure Boats soon follow. It may come as a pleasant surprise to find that the liability rising from the ownership or operation of smaller watercraft is included in the personal liability section of your home, condo, or renters policy. In-board Boats of less than 50 horsepower, out-board-powered Boats less than 25 horsepower, or sailboats smaller than 26 feet may not require a separate boat policy. Keep in mind this is only for liability coverage. Indri to others or damage to their property for which you were found legally responsible. If you want coverage for the physical damage to the watercraft itself, you'll likely need a separate boat policy. If the boat is pledged as collateral for a loan, the lender will almost assuredly require a coverage for the damage to the boat itself. Consult your agent and make sure you have the right coverage before setting out on the water. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. The company provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IIIApril 24, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's subject is mitigating flood damage. In Florida, a lot of thought is given to protecting our properties against wind damage, less consideration is given to damage by water. Standard property insurance policies exclude damage from flood or rising water, and the standard flood insurance policy limits coverage to residential structures to $250,000. Are there actions that you can take to mitigate flood risk? Yes, while it's expensive to build retroactively, raising your house on stilts above the base flood elevation will reduce the risk of flooding. Elevate utilities such as air conditioners, water heaters, and circuit breakers, at least one foot above the flood elevation to prevent significant loss. Improve land grading around your structure so that rainwater is diverted away from buildings. All flood vents are a sump pump to allow the free flow of water through a crawl space or basement. Keep your rain gutters clear and point the downspouts away from the structure. This will keep water from pooling and causing structural damage. Simple actions can protect our properties from damage by wind and water. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slashinsurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. And provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IIApril 17, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is flood. Every property in Florida is located in a flood zone, but not all flood zones have an equal exposure to flooding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency identifies flood zones with alphabetic designations, A and V zones are considered high-risk, while zones designated B, C or X are lower-risk areas. Premiums for flood insurance are less expensive in the low or moderate hazard areas. Historically, getting accurate quotes for flood insurance was challenging. It required obtaining an elevation certificate that verified the height of the lowest floor of a structure above the base flood elevation. This was done by a surveyor or engineer. The higher the floor of a structure is above the base flood elevation, the lower the cost of ensuring it against flood damage. That's one reason many structures in high hazard flood areas are built on stilts. Elevation certificates are no longer required to rate flood insurance, so one barrier in determining the cost to providing flood protection has been removed. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IApril 10, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today's segment is on flood insurance. Property owners often say, I don't need flood insurance because my property isn't located in a flood zone. If you own property in Florida, it's located in a flood zone. The question is whether it's in a high hazard zone or a low hazard one. It is often mistakenly believed that property not situated directly on the Gulf front or a river bank is not subject to flooding, but the standard flood policy defines a flood as rising water from any source that affects two or more properties. So water accumulation in a low-lying inland area or even the overflow from a clogged drainage ditch can meet that definition. Determining your property's flood zone can be simple. Many elected property appraisers are putting flood zones on their website, or your insurance agent or mortgage company can advise you of your property's flood zone. It's important to remember damage from rising water is not covered by almost all standard property policies. To have coverage for flood damage, you must have a flood policy. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Distracted DrivingApril 3, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's subject is distracted driving. The National Safety Council recognizes April is distracted driver awareness month. This event is intended to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving and encourage motorists to minimize distractions behind the wheel. The Centers for Disease Control describes distracted driving as any activity that diverts a motorist's attention from the road and they categorize them into three types. First are visual distractions, reading text messages or emails, looking at maps or navigation systems or observing nearby activities such as accidents. And the south, we refer to this as rubber necking. Second, manual distractions. These are activities that remove your hands from the steering wheel, such as adjusting the radio, texting, eating, drinking or performing personal grooming tasks. And finally, cognitive distractions such as talking on the phone or chatting with passengers in your car. The best thing you can do to control the cost of insurance is avoid having claims. In our next segment, we'll discuss ways that you can limit distractions and reduce your chances of increasing your insurance cost. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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ExclusionsMarch 27, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's segment is about exclusions. As important as it is to understand what's covered in an insurance policy, it's equally important to understand what is not covered. Things not covered in an insurance policy are eliminated by exclusions or what is colloquially referred to as the fine print. But there are practical reasons insurers write exclusions into their policies. First, the hazard excluded is generally considered to be uninsurable, so military action and nuclear contamination are eliminated from nearly all insurance policies. Next, ensuring the peril would violate public policy. As an example, there's generally no coverage for punitive damages or intentional acts. Finally and most commonly, exposures are excluded from one policy because they are better covered elsewhere. Rising water is covered under a flood policy, coverage for the operation of a motor vehicle is better suited under an automobile policy, business activities are excluded in order to be covered under a commercial policy, and so on. Consult your own policy or ask your agent to better understand the things that are not covered by your particular policy. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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LimitationsMarch 20, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Neves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is limitations. Homeowners condominium and renters policies provide coverage for residential dwellings and the personal contents owned by the policy holder. However, almost all of these policies contain limitations for the coverage of special items, especially when it comes to the peril of theft. For instance, cash kept in the home is usually limited to $200. Most policies also limit theft coverage on antiques, fine art, jewelry collectibles, such as coins and stamps, guns and furs. It's important to review the coverage your policy provides for these special items to make sure they are insured for their proper value. This may require that more expensive items have a recent independent appraisal or bill of sale to document their value. It's often possible to increase these values of these limited items in your policy. As an alternative, these items can be specifically scheduled on your policy or covered on a separate personal articles policy. Review the coverage for these special items with your agent to assure they are properly valued and insured. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Personal LiabilityMarch 13, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is personal liability. So much attention is paid to getting property values right on homeowners, condominium, and renters policies. The other important section of these policies is often overlooked, personal liability. Personal liability is a portion of your homeowners, renters, or condominium policy that's designed to pay the legal and medical bills if someone is injured on your property and you are found legally responsible. Since personal liability insurance is designed to protect your assets, the coverage limit should be at least equal to your net worth if not the total value of everything you own. In addition to physical injuries to others, personal liability coverage will also protect you against non-business personal injury claims such as liable, slander, wrongful eviction, or false arrest, as well as the legal defense costs for a covered loss. In a future segment, we'll discuss other coverages included as part of the personal liability coverage section. Check with your agent. The cost of increasing your personal liability limit is usually quite modest. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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VloggingMarch 6, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's segment is on vlogging. As if texting and driving wasn't enough of a hazard, insurers have a new worry. Their customers recording themselves while behind the wheel. This video blogging on the GO trend has been popularized by TikTok influencers and most often consists of the video blogger or vlogger, as it's called, addressing their followers via a camera mounted in the vehicle. April was designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month and a researcher is now speaking out about this dangerous trend. Dr. Paul Achtley, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida, who's been studying Distracted Driving for 20 years, reports in National Underwriter magazine, the research is absolutely clear. When your brain is engaged in a phone call, even a hands-free one, the risk of an automobile accident increases. The Florida Insurance Advisor is all in favor of fun and games. After all, most of our state is based on people visiting and having a good time. But let's save the video conferencing for outside a moving vehicle. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Distracted Driving PreventionFebruary 28, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yavuz with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment, Distracted Driving Prevention. The National Highway Safety Administration reports that more than 2,800 people are killed and more than 400,000 injured in automobile accidents each year that involve a distracted driver. Considering these statistics, it's crucial to take steps to prevent distracted driving. Put away your phone. Silence your phone and put it out of reach to reduce the temptation of using it while driving. Secure your passengers. Make sure children are properly situated in their car seats or seatbelts, and we love our pets but don't allow them to roam freely in your car while driving. Avoid multitasking. Never complete additional tasks such as eating or personal grooming while driving. Finally, stay focused. Concentrate your mind on the road and keep distracting conversations to a minimum. To paraphrase the 1959 song by Paul Evans, keep your mind on your driving, keep your hands on the wheel, keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead, and we'll all be safer on the road. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Property Saving OptionsFebruary 21, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's topic, Property Saving Options. In a previous segment, we referenced the current chaotic and expensive state of the Florida Property Insurance Market. Okay, so what can be done about it? First, shop around, either by contacting an independent insurance agent or broker who will do the shopping for you or get your policy parameters together and call around yourself. If it's within your budget, consider increasing your deductible. Make sure the property is properly valued. It should be insured for the rebuilding cost, excluding the land value and the cost of the foundation. Your agent may have a replacement cost estimator that can help or get input from a building contractor or architect. Some values and home policies are implemented automatically as a percentage of the dwelling value. For instance, the personal contents limit is often included at 70% of the dwelling value. If this limit is too high, some insurers will allow that limit to be reduced, resulting in a premium savings. Consult with your agent about these and other premium savings ideas. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Florida Property InsuranceFebruary 14, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency. In this inaugural segment of the Florida Insurance Advisor, we review the biggest current challenge in the Florida marketplace, property insurance, premiums for all forms of property insurance, commercial buildings, homeowners, condominiums, and apartments are increasing dramatically and it's difficult for most households to keep up. According to the Insurance Trade Journal, National Underwriter, five insurance companies doing business in Florida have become insolvent since 2019. Those insurers handled tens of thousands of policies throughout the state. Their policy holders had to find coverage elsewhere, along with the thousands of new residents moving here each year. This reduced capacity and increased demand is led to a significant rise in insurance cost. In future segments, we'll offer guidance on ways to mitigate losses from flood, fire, wind, and other perils, which should help the policy holders save on insurance premiums. We look forward to providing information about the Florida Insurance Market that you can use to the best advantage of you and your family. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cyber InsuranceFebruary 7, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon for the Earl Bacon Agency. Today we're discussing cyber insurance. In previous segments, we've discussed the growing number of cyber incidents affecting small businesses, and yes, there's insurance for that. The first thing to understand is that there's no standard policy for cyber insurance. That makes an incumbent on the business owner and their insurance agent to understand the coverage in place. There are broadly two types of coverage in cyber insurance policies. First, network liability coverage, which covers a business's liability arising out of a data breach involving sensitive customer information. The second coverage is for direct damage to a business's systems, such as recovering corrupted data or making ransomware payments. Most states require businesses to notify customers of a breach involving personally identifiable information that, along with ongoing monitoring and customer communications, is expensive. Protection against cyber incidents is too pronged, establishing a cyber security plan and considering cyber insurance, just in case all those security measures don't work. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cybersecurity FrameworkJanuary 31, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today we're talking about a cyber security framework. Cybercrimes such as Data Theft and Ransomware are becoming more common and like it or not, business owners must do more to safeguard their systems. Here are some items to consider in developing a cyber security plan. First, identify your businesses most important assets, not only customer information and credit card numbers, but also systems and operational processes. Next, determine what layers of protection are currently in place. What is the response plan and the event of a cyber incident? Should authorities be contacted? Which ones? Who will talk to the press? Customers or suppliers? Is there a plan for business recovery in the event of a cyber incident? Is the current cyber security budget sufficient? It's impossible to be 100% secure from cyber incidents, but reviewing this framework and developing a plan of action can help. Consult with your IT specialist to make sure your online business dealings are as secure as possible and our next segment will discuss insurance coverages that respond to this growing threat. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cyber Risk for Small BusinessesJanuary 24, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is cyber risk for small businesses. Data breaches and other cyber crimes are way too common, and unfortunately the owners of many small businesses aren't doing much to combat it. Too many rely on usernames and passwords alone to secure their systems. This leaves them vulnerable to cyber attacks that might otherwise be prevented. Multi-factor authentication is now considered the best defense against hackers. With multi-factor authentication, a login attempt is verified by an additional layer of security, such as a code sent by text message or phone call. This is proven so effective, some insurance companies won't offer cyber insurance coverage to businesses that do not have multi-factor authentication. A survey by the Non-Profit Cyber Redius Institute finds that 55% of businesses have not set up multi-factor authentication and many that have don't require employees to use it. In future segments, we'll lay out a framework for analyzing cyber security risks and provide more information on how to ensure against cyber attacks. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Long COVIDJanuary 17, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today we're talking about Long COVID. Insurance companies are used to dealing with the unexpected, but trying to determine the long-term effects of the COVID pandemic may be especially challenging. The more than 1 million deaths resulting from COVID in the U.S. occurred to those who had other underlying health conditions. How will this alter the future mortality and disability profile of our population? On the other hand, many people put off preventative treatments. How will this affect the future severity of existing illnesses and what about the lingering symptoms of long COVID? Before the pandemic, if an employee came down with a cold or flu, it rarely resulted in an insurance claim. However, in response to COVID, if a health care worker was diagnosed with COVID, it was presumed that they got it at work, resulting in claims for lost wages and medical treatments. It's not yet known how COVID will impact the future of insurance rates, but these unanswered questions reveal what insurance companies are up against and sorting out this latest wave of unexpected events. This is possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Insurance as a Weapon in UkraineJanuary 10, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today we're talking about insurance as a weapon in Ukraine. To slow aggression in Ukraine, the European Union agreed to embargo shipments of crude oil from Russia. This United effort has succeeded in reducing Russian exports of crude oil from around 5 million barrels a day to approximately 4 million barrels a day. While helpful, the European embargo has largely linked in supply lines by redirecting shipments of Russian oil to India and Asia according to the energy consulting firm Wood McKinsey. Having more of an impact is the withdrawal of European insurers from providing coverage for ships carrying Russian oil. Russia relies heavily on European ships to carry their crude oil to market and those ships rely on turn on insurance companies to defer their risks. Without insurance companies available to cover these ships and their cargo, shipments of Russian crude oil will continue to decline as there will simply not be the capacity to deliver it. Insurance is an international market and it can have an impact both good and bad on international interactions. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Reinsurance LegislationJanuary 3, 2024

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Reinsurance Legislation. In our last segment, we discussed how global catastrophe losses are disrupting the reinsurance market in Florida. In addition to increased catastrophe losses worldwide, Florida is viewed by many insurers as a location with excessive litigation. This year, the Florida legislature took action to mitigate these issues. In addition to strengthening the Florida Building Code, the legislature established a $2 billion Reinsurance Relief Fund in which insurers can enroll. Once enrolled, the companies must file revised rates to provide relief to their policyholders. In addition, $150 million was appropriated to provide grants to Florida homeowners for hurricane retrofitting, which should reduce premiums for those who participate. Florida's property insurance market has been in turmoil since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The average homeowner's premium is now more than $4,200. While these legislative changes won't bring immediate relief, it's hoped they will bring some stability to our insurance market.

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ReinsuranceDecember 27, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Reinsurance. Most of us buy insurance to protect our assets, cars, homes, and other valuable property. Less well-known is that insurance companies also buy insurance to protect themselves against catastrophic claims experience. That's called Reinsurance. This allows the risk of catastrophic loss to be spread throughout a global financial marketplace, but disruptions in that market can come from claims not directly related to Florida. Florida's last major hurricane was Michael in 2018, but global catastrophic losses exceeded the average in each of the past five years. This caused reinsurance premiums for coverage in Florida to increase as much as 25% this year. Those increased costs are being passed on to Florida policyholders as increased premiums. The Florida legislature took action this year to provide some relief from the restrictions in the reinsurance market, but in the short term, higher property insurance premiums are likely to be one more cost of living in paradise. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Insurance Credit ScoresDecember 20, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Insurance Credit Scores. When applying for home or auto insurance, many factors are taken into account during the underwriting process, the age, construction, and location of your home, or in the case of automobile insurance you're driving history, the Macon model of your vehicle, even your zip code. But there's one other important factor of which most people are unaware. Your credit score. Most insurers use some sort of credit-based insurance score to determine if they will accept a prospective customer and if they do what rates to charge them. Every insurance company has different parameters and your credit-based insurance score is not exactly the same thing as your credit score for banking purposes, but a good credit score can help you get insurance and pay lower rates. Factors that affect your insurance score include payment history, outstanding debt, and the type of debt you incur. Check your credit score periodically and make every effort to maintain a good credit score. It helps with both banking and insurance. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at www.wfsu.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Car Insurance RatesDecember 13, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is car insurance rates. If the instability in our property insurance market wasn't causing enough heartburn around the state, another issue rears its ugly head. Car insurance rates are on the rise. In 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic, many people began working from home and large gatherings were cancelled. The result, most folks just weren't driving as much. That reduction was noticed by automobile insurers and many discounted their rates concurrent with their reduced exposure. Now, offices are reopening and people are traveling again and automobile accidents have increased. Rising repair costs and shortages of technicians, which extends the time to complete repairs, all add up to increased rates. Premium increases vary from state to state, but on average, rates are up about 9% since the beginning of this year. The increased cost of fuel and greater expense hasn't yet deterred us from being out on the road and the summer driving season is just getting started. Not much can be done here except being more careful on the road. Emergency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Named Storm and Wind DeductiblesDecember 6, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is NameStorm and Wind Deductibles. In policies issued by Admit it Ensure, the hurricane deductible is mandatory. But what if your policy is not with an admit it Ensure? There are two types of windstorm deductibles, NameStorm and Wind and Hale. With a Wind and Hale deductible, any type of wind or hail damage to an insured structure triggers the higher wind deductible limit. Those can range from 1% to 10% of the structure's insured value. The amounts vary depending on the structure's age, construction, and location. To trigger a hurricane deductible, a storm must be declared a hurricane by the National Hurricane Center. But for the NameStorm deductible to be applied, a storm need not reach hurricane strength. A tropical depression receiving a name can trigger the higher deductible and those higher deductibles can remain in place until 72 hours after watches and warnings expire. Consult your policy and talk to your agent to assure you understand the Florida wind deductibles and how they are applied.

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Hurricane Deductible ExamplesNovember 29, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Neves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Hurricane deductible examples. We've encouraged Florida policyholders to understand their hurricane deductible. These deductibles are occasionally misapplied, so a few examples might help. A storm forms in the Gulf. It's declared a hurricane and comes on shore causing damage to property. It's clear cut your hurricane deductible applies in this case. A different storm forms. Hurricane watches and warnings go up around Florida, but the storm never reaches Hurricane strength. It drifts on shore as a tropical storm and causes damage. The hurricane deductible does not apply in this case because the storm was never declared a hurricane. A third storm forms and is declared a hurricane, but it weakens to a tropical storm before making landfall. Does the hurricane deductible apply here? Yes, even though the storm weakened prior to making landfall, it was declared a hurricane and the hurricane deductible applies until 72 hours after all watches and warnings are removed. We hope these examples are helpful. More information on applying hurricane deductibles can be found at myfloracfo.com. The opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Triggering the Hurricane DeductibleNovember 22, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's subject is triggering the hurricane deductible. Previously, we discussed the hurricane deductible contained in most Florida home policies. Today, we outlined when the hurricane deductible is triggered and how long it lasts. The hurricane deductible begins when the National Hurricane Center designates a hurricane watch or warning in any part of Florida. That can mean a hurricane threatening the Florida Keys can cause wind damage to a condominium in Panama City to be subject to its policies hurricane deductible. The hurricane deductible lasts as long as hurricane conditions exist anywhere in Florida and it ceases 72 hours after the hurricane watches and warnings in Florida expire. The National Weather Service calculates the average forward movement of a hurricane at about 15 miles an hour. In 72 hours, a storm could be in New England, but wind damage to your home is still subject to the hurricane deductible. It's important to know how your hurricane deductible applies. Consult your agent or get more information from the Division of Consumer Services at MyFloridaCFO.com. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Hurricane DeductibleNovember 15, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Hurricane Deductible. Property policies in Florida often contain specific deductibles related to wind damage. For homes covered by an admitted insurer, the Hurricane Deductible is mandated by statute. It's a percentage of the insured value of the dwelling, usually 2, 5 or 10 percent. Another deductible will be referenced with the designation AOP. This refers to all other perils, perils such as fire, vandalism, or lightning, something other than a hurricane. How does this work? If your home is damaged by fire and your all other perils deductible is $1,000, you must pay the first $1,000 of the loss before the insurance company pays anything. But if your home is insured for $300,000 and your policy carries a 2 percent hurricane deductible, damaged by a hurricane would carry a deductible of $6,000, 2 percent of the $300,000 insured limit. It's important to know the amount of your hurricane deductible and how it is triggered. Consult your agent or get more information from the Division of Consumer Services at MyFloridaCFO.com. As a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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DeductiblesNovember 8, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nevez with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is deductibles. Heading into the heart of hurricane season seems like a good time to discuss deductibles. The most common deductible is called a flat deductible. It's a fixed amount, usually 500 or $1,000, although they can be higher. It's the amount a policyholder pays out of pocket for an insured loss before the insurance company takes responsibility for the remainder. The more of a loss the policyholder is willing to absorb through the higher deductibles, the lower the premium is through credit supplied by the insurer. On Florida property policies, there are special deductibles related to damage caused by wind and hail. Those deductibles are usually a percentage of the insured property value and there are three types. Wind and hail, named storm and hurricane. The hurricane deductible is most beneficial to the policyholder. We'll discuss the details of each of these deductibles in future segments. For now, be sure you know what type of special wind deductible is included in your policy and how it is triggered. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Loss AssessmentNovember 1, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is about loss assessment. Loss Assessment Coverage is an endorsement added to your home or condo policy that helps protect you if you live in a shared community like a condominium or homeowner's association, where you could be responsible for a portion of a loss in a common area. Members of homeowners or condominium associations pay fees to pay for certain amenities in a shared community. Among these is a community association policy referred to as the master policy. The master policy covers damages to common property or injuries that occur in common areas. When the master policy is not sufficient to pay for a loss, individual unit owners may be assessed for the shortfall. Coverage for this eventuality can be added to your home or condo policy by purchasing loss assessment coverage. It may be difficult to determine exactly what type of coverage the association has in place on its master policy. For this reason, the Florida Insurance Advisor recommends getting the highest limits available for loss assessments. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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BoatsOctober 25, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nyevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Boats. Water, water, everywhere. In Florida, we're blessed with beautiful beaches, languid lakes, and rolling rivers, and where water is plentiful. Pleasure Boats soon follow. It may come as a pleasant surprise to find that the liability rising from the ownership or operation of smaller watercraft is included in the personal liability section of your home, condo, or renters policy. In-board Boats of less than 50 horsepower, out-board-powered Boats less than 25 horsepower, or sailboats smaller than 26 feet may not require a separate boat policy. Keep in mind this is only for liability coverage. Indri to others or damage to their property for which you were found legally responsible. If you want coverage for the physical damage to the watercraft itself, you'll likely need a separate boat policy. If the boat is pledged as collateral for a loan, the lender will almost assuredly require a coverage for the damage to the boat itself. Consult your agent and make sure you have the right coverage before setting out on the water. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. The company provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IIIOctober 18, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's subject is mitigating flood damage. In Florida, a lot of thought is given to protecting our properties against wind damage, less consideration is given to damage by water. Standard property insurance policies exclude damage from flood or rising water, and the standard flood insurance policy limits coverage to residential structures to $250,000. Are there actions that you can take to mitigate flood risk? Yes, while it's expensive to build retroactively, raising your house on stilts above the base flood elevation will reduce the risk of flooding. Elevate utilities such as air conditioners, water heaters, and circuit breakers, at least one foot above the flood elevation to prevent significant loss. Improve land grading around your structure so that rainwater is diverted away from buildings. All flood vents are a sump pump to allow the free flow of water through a crawl space or basement. Keep your rain gutters clear and point the downspouts away from the structure. This will keep water from pooling and causing structural damage. Simple actions can protect our properties from damage by wind and water. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slashinsurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. And provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IIOctober 11, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is flood. Every property in Florida is located in a flood zone, but not all flood zones have an equal exposure to flooding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency identifies flood zones with alphabetic designations, A and V zones are considered high-risk, while zones designated B, C or X are lower-risk areas. Premiums for flood insurance are less expensive in the low or moderate hazard areas. Historically, getting accurate quotes for flood insurance was challenging. It required obtaining an elevation certificate that verified the height of the lowest floor of a structure above the base flood elevation. This was done by a surveyor or engineer. The higher the floor of a structure is above the base flood elevation, the lower the cost of ensuring it against flood damage. That's one reason many structures in high hazard flood areas are built on stilts. Elevation certificates are no longer required to rate flood insurance, so one barrier in determining the cost to providing flood protection has been removed. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IOctober 4, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today's segment is on flood insurance. Property owners often say, I don't need flood insurance because my property isn't located in a flood zone. If you own property in Florida, it's located in a flood zone. The question is whether it's in a high hazard zone or a low hazard one. It is often mistakenly believed that property not situated directly on the Gulf front or a river bank is not subject to flooding, but the standard flood policy defines a flood as rising water from any source that affects two or more properties. So water accumulation in a low-lying inland area or even the overflow from a clogged drainage ditch can meet that definition. Determining your property's flood zone can be simple. Many elected property appraisers are putting flood zones on their website, or your insurance agent or mortgage company can advise you of your property's flood zone. It's important to remember damage from rising water is not covered by almost all standard property policies. To have coverage for flood damage, you must have a flood policy. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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ExclusionsSeptember 27, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's segment is about exclusions. As important as it is to understand what's covered in an insurance policy, it's equally important to understand what is not covered. Things not covered in an insurance policy are eliminated by exclusions or what is colloquially referred to as the fine print. But there are practical reasons insurers write exclusions into their policies. First, the hazard excluded is generally considered to be uninsurable, so military action and nuclear contamination are eliminated from nearly all insurance policies. Next, ensuring the peril would violate public policy. As an example, there's generally no coverage for punitive damages or intentional acts. Finally and most commonly, exposures are excluded from one policy because they are better covered elsewhere. Rising water is covered under a flood policy, coverage for the operation of a motor vehicle is better suited under an automobile policy, business activities are excluded in order to be covered under a commercial policy, and so on. Consult your own policy or ask your agent to better understand the things that are not covered by your particular policy. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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LimitationsSeptember 20, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Neves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is limitations. Homeowners condominium and renters policies provide coverage for residential dwellings and the personal contents owned by the policy holder. However, almost all of these policies contain limitations for the coverage of special items, especially when it comes to the peril of theft. For instance, cash kept in the home is usually limited to $200. Most policies also limit theft coverage on antiques, fine art, jewelry collectibles, such as coins and stamps, guns and furs. It's important to review the coverage your policy provides for these special items to make sure they are insured for their proper value. This may require that more expensive items have a recent independent appraisal or bill of sale to document their value. It's often possible to increase these values of these limited items in your policy. As an alternative, these items can be specifically scheduled on your policy or covered on a separate personal articles policy. Review the coverage for these special items with your agent to assure they are properly valued and insured. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Personal LiabilitySeptember 13, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is personal liability. So much attention is paid to getting property values right on homeowners, condominium, and renters policies. The other important section of these policies is often overlooked, personal liability. Personal liability is a portion of your homeowners, renters, or condominium policy that's designed to pay the legal and medical bills if someone is injured on your property and you are found legally responsible. Since personal liability insurance is designed to protect your assets, the coverage limit should be at least equal to your net worth if not the total value of everything you own. In addition to physical injuries to others, personal liability coverage will also protect you against non-business personal injury claims such as liable, slander, wrongful eviction, or false arrest, as well as the legal defense costs for a covered loss. In a future segment, we'll discuss other coverages included as part of the personal liability coverage section. Check with your agent. The cost of increasing your personal liability limit is usually quite modest. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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VloggingSeptember 6, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's segment is on vlogging. As if texting and driving wasn't enough of a hazard, insurers have a new worry. Their customers recording themselves while behind the wheel. This video blogging on the GO trend has been popularized by TikTok influencers and most often consists of the video blogger or vlogger, as it's called, addressing their followers via a camera mounted in the vehicle. April was designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month and a researcher is now speaking out about this dangerous trend. Dr. Paul Achtley, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida, who's been studying Distracted Driving for 20 years, reports in National Underwriter magazine, the research is absolutely clear. When your brain is engaged in a phone call, even a hands-free one, the risk of an automobile accident increases. The Florida Insurance Advisor is all in favor of fun and games. After all, most of our state is based on people visiting and having a good time. But let's save the video conferencing for outside a moving vehicle. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Distracted Driving PreventionAugust 30, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yavuz with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment, Distracted Driving Prevention. The National Highway Safety Administration reports that more than 2,800 people are killed and more than 400,000 injured in automobile accidents each year that involve a distracted driver. Considering these statistics, it's crucial to take steps to prevent distracted driving. Put away your phone. Silence your phone and put it out of reach to reduce the temptation of using it while driving. Secure your passengers. Make sure children are properly situated in their car seats or seatbelts, and we love our pets but don't allow them to roam freely in your car while driving. Avoid multitasking. Never complete additional tasks such as eating or personal grooming while driving. Finally, stay focused. Concentrate your mind on the road and keep distracting conversations to a minimum. To paraphrase the 1959 song by Paul Evans, keep your mind on your driving, keep your hands on the wheel, keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead, and we'll all be safer on the road. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Property Saving OptionsAugust 23, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's topic, Property Saving Options. In a previous segment, we referenced the current chaotic and expensive state of the Florida Property Insurance Market. Okay, so what can be done about it? First, shop around, either by contacting an independent insurance agent or broker who will do the shopping for you or get your policy parameters together and call around yourself. If it's within your budget, consider increasing your deductible. Make sure the property is properly valued. It should be insured for the rebuilding cost, excluding the land value and the cost of the foundation. Your agent may have a replacement cost estimator that can help or get input from a building contractor or architect. Some values and home policies are implemented automatically as a percentage of the dwelling value. For instance, the personal contents limit is often included at 70% of the dwelling value. If this limit is too high, some insurers will allow that limit to be reduced, resulting in a premium savings. Consult with your agent about these and other premium savings ideas. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Florida Property InsuranceAugust 16, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency. In this inaugural segment of the Florida Insurance Advisor, we review the biggest current challenge in the Florida marketplace, property insurance, premiums for all forms of property insurance, commercial buildings, homeowners, condominiums, and apartments are increasing dramatically and it's difficult for most households to keep up. According to the Insurance Trade Journal, National Underwriter, five insurance companies doing business in Florida have become insolvent since 2019. Those insurers handled tens of thousands of policies throughout the state. Their policy holders had to find coverage elsewhere, along with the thousands of new residents moving here each year. This reduced capacity and increased demand is led to a significant rise in insurance cost. In future segments, we'll offer guidance on ways to mitigate losses from flood, fire, wind, and other perils, which should help the policy holders save on insurance premiums. We look forward to providing information about the Florida Insurance Market that you can use to the best advantage of you and your family. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cyber InsuranceAugust 9, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon for the Earl Bacon Agency. Today we're discussing cyber insurance. In previous segments, we've discussed the growing number of cyber incidents affecting small businesses, and yes, there's insurance for that. The first thing to understand is that there's no standard policy for cyber insurance. That makes an incumbent on the business owner and their insurance agent to understand the coverage in place. There are broadly two types of coverage in cyber insurance policies. First, network liability coverage, which covers a business's liability arising out of a data breach involving sensitive customer information. The second coverage is for direct damage to a business's systems, such as recovering corrupted data or making ransomware payments. Most states require businesses to notify customers of a breach involving personally identifiable information that, along with ongoing monitoring and customer communications, is expensive. Protection against cyber incidents is too pronged, establishing a cyber security plan and considering cyber insurance, just in case all those security measures don't work. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cybersecurity FrameworkAugust 2, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today we're talking about a cyber security framework. Cybercrimes such as Data Theft and Ransomware are becoming more common and like it or not, business owners must do more to safeguard their systems. Here are some items to consider in developing a cyber security plan. First, identify your businesses most important assets, not only customer information and credit card numbers, but also systems and operational processes. Next, determine what layers of protection are currently in place. What is the response plan and the event of a cyber incident? Should authorities be contacted? Which ones? Who will talk to the press? Customers or suppliers? Is there a plan for business recovery in the event of a cyber incident? Is the current cyber security budget sufficient? It's impossible to be 100% secure from cyber incidents, but reviewing this framework and developing a plan of action can help. Consult with your IT specialist to make sure your online business dealings are as secure as possible and our next segment will discuss insurance coverages that respond to this growing threat. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cyber Risk for Small BusinessesJuly 26, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is cyber risk for small businesses. Data breaches and other cyber crimes are way too common, and unfortunately the owners of many small businesses aren't doing much to combat it. Too many rely on usernames and passwords alone to secure their systems. This leaves them vulnerable to cyber attacks that might otherwise be prevented. Multi-factor authentication is now considered the best defense against hackers. With multi-factor authentication, a login attempt is verified by an additional layer of security, such as a code sent by text message or phone call. This is proven so effective, some insurance companies won't offer cyber insurance coverage to businesses that do not have multi-factor authentication. A survey by the Non-Profit Cyber Redius Institute finds that 55% of businesses have not set up multi-factor authentication and many that have don't require employees to use it. In future segments, we'll lay out a framework for analyzing cyber security risks and provide more information on how to ensure against cyber attacks. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Long COVIDJuly 19, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today we're talking about Long COVID. Insurance companies are used to dealing with the unexpected, but trying to determine the long-term effects of the COVID pandemic may be especially challenging. The more than 1 million deaths resulting from COVID in the U.S. occurred to those who had other underlying health conditions. How will this alter the future mortality and disability profile of our population? On the other hand, many people put off preventative treatments. How will this affect the future severity of existing illnesses and what about the lingering symptoms of long COVID? Before the pandemic, if an employee came down with a cold or flu, it rarely resulted in an insurance claim. However, in response to COVID, if a health care worker was diagnosed with COVID, it was presumed that they got it at work, resulting in claims for lost wages and medical treatments. It's not yet known how COVID will impact the future of insurance rates, but these unanswered questions reveal what insurance companies are up against and sorting out this latest wave of unexpected events. This is possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Insurance as a Weapon in UkraineJuly 12, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today we're talking about insurance as a weapon in Ukraine. To slow aggression in Ukraine, the European Union agreed to embargo shipments of crude oil from Russia. This United effort has succeeded in reducing Russian exports of crude oil from around 5 million barrels a day to approximately 4 million barrels a day. While helpful, the European embargo has largely linked in supply lines by redirecting shipments of Russian oil to India and Asia according to the energy consulting firm Wood McKinsey. Having more of an impact is the withdrawal of European insurers from providing coverage for ships carrying Russian oil. Russia relies heavily on European ships to carry their crude oil to market and those ships rely on turn on insurance companies to defer their risks. Without insurance companies available to cover these ships and their cargo, shipments of Russian crude oil will continue to decline as there will simply not be the capacity to deliver it. Insurance is an international market and it can have an impact both good and bad on international interactions. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Reinsurance LegislationJuly 5, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Reinsurance Legislation. In our last segment, we discussed how global catastrophe losses are disrupting the reinsurance market in Florida. In addition to increased catastrophe losses worldwide, Florida is viewed by many insurers as a location with excessive litigation. This year, the Florida legislature took action to mitigate these issues. In addition to strengthening the Florida Building Code, the legislature established a $2 billion Reinsurance Relief Fund in which insurers can enroll. Once enrolled, the companies must file revised rates to provide relief to their policyholders. In addition, $150 million was appropriated to provide grants to Florida homeowners for hurricane retrofitting, which should reduce premiums for those who participate. Florida's property insurance market has been in turmoil since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The average homeowner's premium is now more than $4,200. While these legislative changes won't bring immediate relief, it's hoped they will bring some stability to our insurance market.

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ReinsuranceJune 28, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Reinsurance. Most of us buy insurance to protect our assets, cars, homes, and other valuable property. Less well-known is that insurance companies also buy insurance to protect themselves against catastrophic claims experience. That's called Reinsurance. This allows the risk of catastrophic loss to be spread throughout a global financial marketplace, but disruptions in that market can come from claims not directly related to Florida. Florida's last major hurricane was Michael in 2018, but global catastrophic losses exceeded the average in each of the past five years. This caused reinsurance premiums for coverage in Florida to increase as much as 25% this year. Those increased costs are being passed on to Florida policyholders as increased premiums. The Florida legislature took action this year to provide some relief from the restrictions in the reinsurance market, but in the short term, higher property insurance premiums are likely to be one more cost of living in paradise. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Insurance Credit ScoresJune 21, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Insurance Credit Scores. When applying for home or auto insurance, many factors are taken into account during the underwriting process, the age, construction, and location of your home, or in the case of automobile insurance you're driving history, the Macon model of your vehicle, even your zip code. But there's one other important factor of which most people are unaware. Your credit score. Most insurers use some sort of credit-based insurance score to determine if they will accept a prospective customer and if they do what rates to charge them. Every insurance company has different parameters and your credit-based insurance score is not exactly the same thing as your credit score for banking purposes, but a good credit score can help you get insurance and pay lower rates. Factors that affect your insurance score include payment history, outstanding debt, and the type of debt you incur. Check your credit score periodically and make every effort to maintain a good credit score. It helps with both banking and insurance. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at www.wfsu.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Car Insurance RatesJune 14, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is car insurance rates. If the instability in our property insurance market wasn't causing enough heartburn around the state, another issue rears its ugly head. Car insurance rates are on the rise. In 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic, many people began working from home and large gatherings were cancelled. The result, most folks just weren't driving as much. That reduction was noticed by automobile insurers and many discounted their rates concurrent with their reduced exposure. Now, offices are reopening and people are traveling again and automobile accidents have increased. Rising repair costs and shortages of technicians, which extends the time to complete repairs, all add up to increased rates. Premium increases vary from state to state, but on average, rates are up about 9% since the beginning of this year. The increased cost of fuel and greater expense hasn't yet deterred us from being out on the road and the summer driving season is just getting started. Not much can be done here except being more careful on the road. Emergency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Named Storm and Wind DeductiblesJune 7, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is NameStorm and Wind Deductibles. In policies issued by Admit it Ensure, the hurricane deductible is mandatory. But what if your policy is not with an admit it Ensure? There are two types of windstorm deductibles, NameStorm and Wind and Hale. With a Wind and Hale deductible, any type of wind or hail damage to an insured structure triggers the higher wind deductible limit. Those can range from 1% to 10% of the structure's insured value. The amounts vary depending on the structure's age, construction, and location. To trigger a hurricane deductible, a storm must be declared a hurricane by the National Hurricane Center. But for the NameStorm deductible to be applied, a storm need not reach hurricane strength. A tropical depression receiving a name can trigger the higher deductible and those higher deductibles can remain in place until 72 hours after watches and warnings expire. Consult your policy and talk to your agent to assure you understand the Florida wind deductibles and how they are applied.

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Hurricane Deductible ExamplesMay 31, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Neves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Hurricane deductible examples. We've encouraged Florida policyholders to understand their hurricane deductible. These deductibles are occasionally misapplied, so a few examples might help. A storm forms in the Gulf. It's declared a hurricane and comes on shore causing damage to property. It's clear cut your hurricane deductible applies in this case. A different storm forms. Hurricane watches and warnings go up around Florida, but the storm never reaches Hurricane strength. It drifts on shore as a tropical storm and causes damage. The hurricane deductible does not apply in this case because the storm was never declared a hurricane. A third storm forms and is declared a hurricane, but it weakens to a tropical storm before making landfall. Does the hurricane deductible apply here? Yes, even though the storm weakened prior to making landfall, it was declared a hurricane and the hurricane deductible applies until 72 hours after all watches and warnings are removed. We hope these examples are helpful. More information on applying hurricane deductibles can be found at myfloracfo.com. The opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Triggering the Hurricane DeductibleMay 24, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's subject is triggering the hurricane deductible. Previously, we discussed the hurricane deductible contained in most Florida home policies. Today, we outlined when the hurricane deductible is triggered and how long it lasts. The hurricane deductible begins when the National Hurricane Center designates a hurricane watch or warning in any part of Florida. That can mean a hurricane threatening the Florida Keys can cause wind damage to a condominium in Panama City to be subject to its policies hurricane deductible. The hurricane deductible lasts as long as hurricane conditions exist anywhere in Florida and it ceases 72 hours after the hurricane watches and warnings in Florida expire. The National Weather Service calculates the average forward movement of a hurricane at about 15 miles an hour. In 72 hours, a storm could be in New England, but wind damage to your home is still subject to the hurricane deductible. It's important to know how your hurricane deductible applies. Consult your agent or get more information from the Division of Consumer Services at MyFloridaCFO.com. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Hurricane DeductibleMay 17, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Hurricane Deductible. Property policies in Florida often contain specific deductibles related to wind damage. For homes covered by an admitted insurer, the Hurricane Deductible is mandated by statute. It's a percentage of the insured value of the dwelling, usually 2, 5 or 10 percent. Another deductible will be referenced with the designation AOP. This refers to all other perils, perils such as fire, vandalism, or lightning, something other than a hurricane. How does this work? If your home is damaged by fire and your all other perils deductible is $1,000, you must pay the first $1,000 of the loss before the insurance company pays anything. But if your home is insured for $300,000 and your policy carries a 2 percent hurricane deductible, damaged by a hurricane would carry a deductible of $6,000, 2 percent of the $300,000 insured limit. It's important to know the amount of your hurricane deductible and how it is triggered. Consult your agent or get more information from the Division of Consumer Services at MyFloridaCFO.com. As a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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DeductiblesMay 10, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nevez with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is deductibles. Heading into the heart of hurricane season seems like a good time to discuss deductibles. The most common deductible is called a flat deductible. It's a fixed amount, usually 500 or $1,000, although they can be higher. It's the amount a policyholder pays out of pocket for an insured loss before the insurance company takes responsibility for the remainder. The more of a loss the policyholder is willing to absorb through the higher deductibles, the lower the premium is through credit supplied by the insurer. On Florida property policies, there are special deductibles related to damage caused by wind and hail. Those deductibles are usually a percentage of the insured property value and there are three types. Wind and hail, named storm and hurricane. The hurricane deductible is most beneficial to the policyholder. We'll discuss the details of each of these deductibles in future segments. For now, be sure you know what type of special wind deductible is included in your policy and how it is triggered. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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LimitationsMay 3, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Neves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is limitations. Homeowners condominium and renters policies provide coverage for residential dwellings and the personal contents owned by the policy holder. However, almost all of these policies contain limitations for the coverage of special items, especially when it comes to the peril of theft. For instance, cash kept in the home is usually limited to $200. Most policies also limit theft coverage on antiques, fine art, jewelry collectibles, such as coins and stamps, guns and furs. It's important to review the coverage your policy provides for these special items to make sure they are insured for their proper value. This may require that more expensive items have a recent independent appraisal or bill of sale to document their value. It's often possible to increase these values of these limited items in your policy. As an alternative, these items can be specifically scheduled on your policy or covered on a separate personal articles policy. Review the coverage for these special items with your agent to assure they are properly valued and insured. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Personal LiabilityApril 26, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is personal liability. So much attention is paid to getting property values right on homeowners, condominium, and renters policies. The other important section of these policies is often overlooked, personal liability. Personal liability is a portion of your homeowners, renters, or condominium policy that's designed to pay the legal and medical bills if someone is injured on your property and you are found legally responsible. Since personal liability insurance is designed to protect your assets, the coverage limit should be at least equal to your net worth if not the total value of everything you own. In addition to physical injuries to others, personal liability coverage will also protect you against non-business personal injury claims such as liable, slander, wrongful eviction, or false arrest, as well as the legal defense costs for a covered loss. In a future segment, we'll discuss other coverages included as part of the personal liability coverage section. Check with your agent. The cost of increasing your personal liability limit is usually quite modest. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Property Saving OptionsApril 19, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's topic, Property Saving Options. In a previous segment, we referenced the current chaotic and expensive state of the Florida Property Insurance Market. Okay, so what can be done about it? First, shop around, either by contacting an independent insurance agent or broker who will do the shopping for you or get your policy parameters together and call around yourself. If it's within your budget, consider increasing your deductible. Make sure the property is properly valued. It should be insured for the rebuilding cost, excluding the land value and the cost of the foundation. Your agent may have a replacement cost estimator that can help or get input from a building contractor or architect. Some values and home policies are implemented automatically as a percentage of the dwelling value. For instance, the personal contents limit is often included at 70% of the dwelling value. If this limit is too high, some insurers will allow that limit to be reduced, resulting in a premium savings. Consult with your agent about these and other premium savings ideas. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Florida Property InsuranceApril 12, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency. In this inaugural segment of the Florida Insurance Advisor, we review the biggest current challenge in the Florida marketplace, property insurance, premiums for all forms of property insurance, commercial buildings, homeowners, condominiums, and apartments are increasing dramatically and it's difficult for most households to keep up. According to the Insurance Trade Journal, National Underwriter, five insurance companies doing business in Florida have become insolvent since 2019. Those insurers handled tens of thousands of policies throughout the state. Their policy holders had to find coverage elsewhere, along with the thousands of new residents moving here each year. This reduced capacity and increased demand is led to a significant rise in insurance cost. In future segments, we'll offer guidance on ways to mitigate losses from flood, fire, wind, and other perils, which should help the policy holders save on insurance premiums. We look forward to providing information about the Florida Insurance Market that you can use to the best advantage of you and your family. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Distracted DrivingApril 5, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's subject is distracted driving. The National Safety Council recognizes April is distracted driver awareness month. This event is intended to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving and encourage motorists to minimize distractions behind the wheel. The Centers for Disease Control describes distracted driving as any activity that diverts a motorist's attention from the road and they categorize them into three types. First are visual distractions, reading text messages or emails, looking at maps or navigation systems or observing nearby activities such as accidents. And the south, we refer to this as rubber necking. Second, manual distractions. These are activities that remove your hands from the steering wheel, such as adjusting the radio, texting, eating, drinking or performing personal grooming tasks. And finally, cognitive distractions such as talking on the phone or chatting with passengers in your car. The best thing you can do to control the cost of insurance is avoid having claims. In our next segment, we'll discuss ways that you can limit distractions and reduce your chances of increasing your insurance cost. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Loss AssessmentMarch 29, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is about loss assessment. Loss Assessment Coverage is an endorsement added to your home or condo policy that helps protect you if you live in a shared community like a condominium or homeowner's association, where you could be responsible for a portion of a loss in a common area. Members of homeowners or condominium associations pay fees to pay for certain amenities in a shared community. Among these is a community association policy referred to as the master policy. The master policy covers damages to common property or injuries that occur in common areas. When the master policy is not sufficient to pay for a loss, individual unit owners may be assessed for the shortfall. Coverage for this eventuality can be added to your home or condo policy by purchasing loss assessment coverage. It may be difficult to determine exactly what type of coverage the association has in place on its master policy. For this reason, the Florida Insurance Advisor recommends getting the highest limits available for loss assessments. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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BoatsMarch 22, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nyevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Boats. Water, water, everywhere. In Florida, we're blessed with beautiful beaches, languid lakes, and rolling rivers, and where water is plentiful. Pleasure Boats soon follow. It may come as a pleasant surprise to find that the liability rising from the ownership or operation of smaller watercraft is included in the personal liability section of your home, condo, or renters policy. In-board Boats of less than 50 horsepower, out-board-powered Boats less than 25 horsepower, or sailboats smaller than 26 feet may not require a separate boat policy. Keep in mind this is only for liability coverage. Indri to others or damage to their property for which you were found legally responsible. If you want coverage for the physical damage to the watercraft itself, you'll likely need a separate boat policy. If the boat is pledged as collateral for a loan, the lender will almost assuredly require a coverage for the damage to the boat itself. Consult your agent and make sure you have the right coverage before setting out on the water. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. The company provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IIIMarch 15, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's subject is mitigating flood damage. In Florida, a lot of thought is given to protecting our properties against wind damage, less consideration is given to damage by water. Standard property insurance policies exclude damage from flood or rising water, and the standard flood insurance policy limits coverage to residential structures to $250,000. Are there actions that you can take to mitigate flood risk? Yes, while it's expensive to build retroactively, raising your house on stilts above the base flood elevation will reduce the risk of flooding. Elevate utilities such as air conditioners, water heaters, and circuit breakers, at least one foot above the flood elevation to prevent significant loss. Improve land grading around your structure so that rainwater is diverted away from buildings. All flood vents are a sump pump to allow the free flow of water through a crawl space or basement. Keep your rain gutters clear and point the downspouts away from the structure. This will keep water from pooling and causing structural damage. Simple actions can protect our properties from damage by wind and water. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slashinsurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. And provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IIMarch 8, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is flood. Every property in Florida is located in a flood zone, but not all flood zones have an equal exposure to flooding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency identifies flood zones with alphabetic designations, A and V zones are considered high-risk, while zones designated B, C or X are lower-risk areas. Premiums for flood insurance are less expensive in the low or moderate hazard areas. Historically, getting accurate quotes for flood insurance was challenging. It required obtaining an elevation certificate that verified the height of the lowest floor of a structure above the base flood elevation. This was done by a surveyor or engineer. The higher the floor of a structure is above the base flood elevation, the lower the cost of ensuring it against flood damage. That's one reason many structures in high hazard flood areas are built on stilts. Elevation certificates are no longer required to rate flood insurance, so one barrier in determining the cost to providing flood protection has been removed. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IMarch 1, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today's segment is on flood insurance. Property owners often say, I don't need flood insurance because my property isn't located in a flood zone. If you own property in Florida, it's located in a flood zone. The question is whether it's in a high hazard zone or a low hazard one. It is often mistakenly believed that property not situated directly on the Gulf front or a river bank is not subject to flooding, but the standard flood policy defines a flood as rising water from any source that affects two or more properties. So water accumulation in a low-lying inland area or even the overflow from a clogged drainage ditch can meet that definition. Determining your property's flood zone can be simple. Many elected property appraisers are putting flood zones on their website, or your insurance agent or mortgage company can advise you of your property's flood zone. It's important to remember damage from rising water is not covered by almost all standard property policies. To have coverage for flood damage, you must have a flood policy. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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ExclusionsFebruary 22, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's segment is about exclusions. As important as it is to understand what's covered in an insurance policy, it's equally important to understand what is not covered. Things not covered in an insurance policy are eliminated by exclusions or what is colloquially referred to as the fine print. But there are practical reasons insurers write exclusions into their policies. First, the hazard excluded is generally considered to be uninsurable, so military action and nuclear contamination are eliminated from nearly all insurance policies. Next, ensuring the peril would violate public policy. As an example, there's generally no coverage for punitive damages or intentional acts. Finally and most commonly, exposures are excluded from one policy because they are better covered elsewhere. Rising water is covered under a flood policy, coverage for the operation of a motor vehicle is better suited under an automobile policy, business activities are excluded in order to be covered under a commercial policy, and so on. Consult your own policy or ask your agent to better understand the things that are not covered by your particular policy. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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LimitationsFebruary 15, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Neves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is limitations. Homeowners condominium and renters policies provide coverage for residential dwellings and the personal contents owned by the policy holder. However, almost all of these policies contain limitations for the coverage of special items, especially when it comes to the peril of theft. For instance, cash kept in the home is usually limited to $200. Most policies also limit theft coverage on antiques, fine art, jewelry collectibles, such as coins and stamps, guns and furs. It's important to review the coverage your policy provides for these special items to make sure they are insured for their proper value. This may require that more expensive items have a recent independent appraisal or bill of sale to document their value. It's often possible to increase these values of these limited items in your policy. As an alternative, these items can be specifically scheduled on your policy or covered on a separate personal articles policy. Review the coverage for these special items with your agent to assure they are properly valued and insured. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Personal LiabilityFebruary 8, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is personal liability. So much attention is paid to getting property values right on homeowners, condominium, and renters policies. The other important section of these policies is often overlooked, personal liability. Personal liability is a portion of your homeowners, renters, or condominium policy that's designed to pay the legal and medical bills if someone is injured on your property and you are found legally responsible. Since personal liability insurance is designed to protect your assets, the coverage limit should be at least equal to your net worth if not the total value of everything you own. In addition to physical injuries to others, personal liability coverage will also protect you against non-business personal injury claims such as liable, slander, wrongful eviction, or false arrest, as well as the legal defense costs for a covered loss. In a future segment, we'll discuss other coverages included as part of the personal liability coverage section. Check with your agent. The cost of increasing your personal liability limit is usually quite modest. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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VloggingFebruary 1, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's segment is on vlogging. As if texting and driving wasn't enough of a hazard, insurers have a new worry. Their customers recording themselves while behind the wheel. This video blogging on the GO trend has been popularized by TikTok influencers and most often consists of the video blogger or vlogger, as it's called, addressing their followers via a camera mounted in the vehicle. April was designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month and a researcher is now speaking out about this dangerous trend. Dr. Paul Achtley, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida, who's been studying Distracted Driving for 20 years, reports in National Underwriter magazine, the research is absolutely clear. When your brain is engaged in a phone call, even a hands-free one, the risk of an automobile accident increases. The Florida Insurance Advisor is all in favor of fun and games. After all, most of our state is based on people visiting and having a good time. But let's save the video conferencing for outside a moving vehicle. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Distracted Driving PreventionJanuary 25, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yavuz with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment, Distracted Driving Prevention. The National Highway Safety Administration reports that more than 2,800 people are killed and more than 400,000 injured in automobile accidents each year that involve a distracted driver. Considering these statistics, it's crucial to take steps to prevent distracted driving. Put away your phone. Silence your phone and put it out of reach to reduce the temptation of using it while driving. Secure your passengers. Make sure children are properly situated in their car seats or seatbelts, and we love our pets but don't allow them to roam freely in your car while driving. Avoid multitasking. Never complete additional tasks such as eating or personal grooming while driving. Finally, stay focused. Concentrate your mind on the road and keep distracting conversations to a minimum. To paraphrase the 1959 song by Paul Evans, keep your mind on your driving, keep your hands on the wheel, keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead, and we'll all be safer on the road. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Property Saving OptionsJanuary 18, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's topic, Property Saving Options. In a previous segment, we referenced the current chaotic and expensive state of the Florida Property Insurance Market. Okay, so what can be done about it? First, shop around, either by contacting an independent insurance agent or broker who will do the shopping for you or get your policy parameters together and call around yourself. If it's within your budget, consider increasing your deductible. Make sure the property is properly valued. It should be insured for the rebuilding cost, excluding the land value and the cost of the foundation. Your agent may have a replacement cost estimator that can help or get input from a building contractor or architect. Some values and home policies are implemented automatically as a percentage of the dwelling value. For instance, the personal contents limit is often included at 70% of the dwelling value. If this limit is too high, some insurers will allow that limit to be reduced, resulting in a premium savings. Consult with your agent about these and other premium savings ideas. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Florida Property InsuranceJanuary 11, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency. In this inaugural segment of the Florida Insurance Advisor, we review the biggest current challenge in the Florida marketplace, property insurance, premiums for all forms of property insurance, commercial buildings, homeowners, condominiums, and apartments are increasing dramatically and it's difficult for most households to keep up. According to the Insurance Trade Journal, National Underwriter, five insurance companies doing business in Florida have become insolvent since 2019. Those insurers handled tens of thousands of policies throughout the state. Their policy holders had to find coverage elsewhere, along with the thousands of new residents moving here each year. This reduced capacity and increased demand is led to a significant rise in insurance cost. In future segments, we'll offer guidance on ways to mitigate losses from flood, fire, wind, and other perils, which should help the policy holders save on insurance premiums. We look forward to providing information about the Florida Insurance Market that you can use to the best advantage of you and your family. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cyber InsuranceJanuary 4, 2023

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon for the Earl Bacon Agency. Today we're discussing cyber insurance. In previous segments, we've discussed the growing number of cyber incidents affecting small businesses, and yes, there's insurance for that. The first thing to understand is that there's no standard policy for cyber insurance. That makes an incumbent on the business owner and their insurance agent to understand the coverage in place. There are broadly two types of coverage in cyber insurance policies. First, network liability coverage, which covers a business's liability arising out of a data breach involving sensitive customer information. The second coverage is for direct damage to a business's systems, such as recovering corrupted data or making ransomware payments. Most states require businesses to notify customers of a breach involving personally identifiable information that, along with ongoing monitoring and customer communications, is expensive. Protection against cyber incidents is too pronged, establishing a cyber security plan and considering cyber insurance, just in case all those security measures don't work. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cybersecurity FrameworkDecember 28, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today we're talking about a cyber security framework. Cybercrimes such as Data Theft and Ransomware are becoming more common and like it or not, business owners must do more to safeguard their systems. Here are some items to consider in developing a cyber security plan. First, identify your businesses most important assets, not only customer information and credit card numbers, but also systems and operational processes. Next, determine what layers of protection are currently in place. What is the response plan and the event of a cyber incident? Should authorities be contacted? Which ones? Who will talk to the press? Customers or suppliers? Is there a plan for business recovery in the event of a cyber incident? Is the current cyber security budget sufficient? It's impossible to be 100% secure from cyber incidents, but reviewing this framework and developing a plan of action can help. Consult with your IT specialist to make sure your online business dealings are as secure as possible and our next segment will discuss insurance coverages that respond to this growing threat. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cyber Risk for Small BusinessesDecember 21, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is cyber risk for small businesses. Data breaches and other cyber crimes are way too common, and unfortunately the owners of many small businesses aren't doing much to combat it. Too many rely on usernames and passwords alone to secure their systems. This leaves them vulnerable to cyber attacks that might otherwise be prevented. Multi-factor authentication is now considered the best defense against hackers. With multi-factor authentication, a login attempt is verified by an additional layer of security, such as a code sent by text message or phone call. This is proven so effective, some insurance companies won't offer cyber insurance coverage to businesses that do not have multi-factor authentication. A survey by the Non-Profit Cyber Redius Institute finds that 55% of businesses have not set up multi-factor authentication and many that have don't require employees to use it. In future segments, we'll lay out a framework for analyzing cyber security risks and provide more information on how to ensure against cyber attacks. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Long COVIDDecember 14, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today we're talking about Long COVID. Insurance companies are used to dealing with the unexpected, but trying to determine the long-term effects of the COVID pandemic may be especially challenging. The more than 1 million deaths resulting from COVID in the U.S. occurred to those who had other underlying health conditions. How will this alter the future mortality and disability profile of our population? On the other hand, many people put off preventative treatments. How will this affect the future severity of existing illnesses and what about the lingering symptoms of long COVID? Before the pandemic, if an employee came down with a cold or flu, it rarely resulted in an insurance claim. However, in response to COVID, if a health care worker was diagnosed with COVID, it was presumed that they got it at work, resulting in claims for lost wages and medical treatments. It's not yet known how COVID will impact the future of insurance rates, but these unanswered questions reveal what insurance companies are up against and sorting out this latest wave of unexpected events. This is possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Insurance as a Weapon in UkraineDecember 7, 2022

Transcript

The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today we're talking about insurance as a weapon in Ukraine. To slow aggression in Ukraine, the European Union agreed to embargo shipments of crude oil from Russia. This United effort has succeeded in reducing Russian exports of crude oil from around 5 million barrels a day to approximately 4 million barrels a day. While helpful, the European embargo has largely linked in supply lines by redirecting shipments of Russian oil to India and Asia according to the energy consulting firm Wood McKinsey. Having more of an impact is the withdrawal of European insurers from providing coverage for ships carrying Russian oil. Russia relies heavily on European ships to carry their crude oil to market and those ships rely on turn on insurance companies to defer their risks. Without insurance companies available to cover these ships and their cargo, shipments of Russian crude oil will continue to decline as there will simply not be the capacity to deliver it. Insurance is an international market and it can have an impact both good and bad on international interactions. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Reinsurance LegislationNovember 30, 2022

Transcript

The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Reinsurance Legislation. In our last segment, we discussed how global catastrophe losses are disrupting the reinsurance market in Florida. In addition to increased catastrophe losses worldwide, Florida is viewed by many insurers as a location with excessive litigation. This year, the Florida legislature took action to mitigate these issues. In addition to strengthening the Florida Building Code, the legislature established a $2 billion Reinsurance Relief Fund in which insurers can enroll. Once enrolled, the companies must file revised rates to provide relief to their policyholders. In addition, $150 million was appropriated to provide grants to Florida homeowners for hurricane retrofitting, which should reduce premiums for those who participate. Florida's property insurance market has been in turmoil since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The average homeowner's premium is now more than $4,200. While these legislative changes won't bring immediate relief, it's hoped they will bring some stability to our insurance market.

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ReinsuranceNovember 23, 2022

Transcript

The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Reinsurance. Most of us buy insurance to protect our assets, cars, homes, and other valuable property. Less well-known is that insurance companies also buy insurance to protect themselves against catastrophic claims experience. That's called Reinsurance. This allows the risk of catastrophic loss to be spread throughout a global financial marketplace, but disruptions in that market can come from claims not directly related to Florida. Florida's last major hurricane was Michael in 2018, but global catastrophic losses exceeded the average in each of the past five years. This caused reinsurance premiums for coverage in Florida to increase as much as 25% this year. Those increased costs are being passed on to Florida policyholders as increased premiums. The Florida legislature took action this year to provide some relief from the restrictions in the reinsurance market, but in the short term, higher property insurance premiums are likely to be one more cost of living in paradise. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Insurance Credit ScoresNovember 16, 2022

Transcript

The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Insurance Credit Scores. When applying for home or auto insurance, many factors are taken into account during the underwriting process, the age, construction, and location of your home, or in the case of automobile insurance you're driving history, the Macon model of your vehicle, even your zip code. But there's one other important factor of which most people are unaware. Your credit score. Most insurers use some sort of credit-based insurance score to determine if they will accept a prospective customer and if they do what rates to charge them. Every insurance company has different parameters and your credit-based insurance score is not exactly the same thing as your credit score for banking purposes, but a good credit score can help you get insurance and pay lower rates. Factors that affect your insurance score include payment history, outstanding debt, and the type of debt you incur. Check your credit score periodically and make every effort to maintain a good credit score. It helps with both banking and insurance. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at www.wfsu.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Car Insurance RatesNovember 9, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is car insurance rates. If the instability in our property insurance market wasn't causing enough heartburn around the state, another issue rears its ugly head. Car insurance rates are on the rise. In 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic, many people began working from home and large gatherings were cancelled. The result, most folks just weren't driving as much. That reduction was noticed by automobile insurers and many discounted their rates concurrent with their reduced exposure. Now, offices are reopening and people are traveling again and automobile accidents have increased. Rising repair costs and shortages of technicians, which extends the time to complete repairs, all add up to increased rates. Premium increases vary from state to state, but on average, rates are up about 9% since the beginning of this year. The increased cost of fuel and greater expense hasn't yet deterred us from being out on the road and the summer driving season is just getting started. Not much can be done here except being more careful on the road. Emergency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cyber InsuranceNovember 2, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon for the Earl Bacon Agency. Today we're discussing cyber insurance. In previous segments, we've discussed the growing number of cyber incidents affecting small businesses, and yes, there's insurance for that. The first thing to understand is that there's no standard policy for cyber insurance. That makes an incumbent on the business owner and their insurance agent to understand the coverage in place. There are broadly two types of coverage in cyber insurance policies. First, network liability coverage, which covers a business's liability arising out of a data breach involving sensitive customer information. The second coverage is for direct damage to a business's systems, such as recovering corrupted data or making ransomware payments. Most states require businesses to notify customers of a breach involving personally identifiable information that, along with ongoing monitoring and customer communications, is expensive. Protection against cyber incidents is too pronged, establishing a cyber security plan and considering cyber insurance, just in case all those security measures don't work. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cybersecurity FrameworkOctober 26, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today we're talking about a cyber security framework. Cybercrimes such as Data Theft and Ransomware are becoming more common and like it or not, business owners must do more to safeguard their systems. Here are some items to consider in developing a cyber security plan. First, identify your businesses most important assets, not only customer information and credit card numbers, but also systems and operational processes. Next, determine what layers of protection are currently in place. What is the response plan and the event of a cyber incident? Should authorities be contacted? Which ones? Who will talk to the press? Customers or suppliers? Is there a plan for business recovery in the event of a cyber incident? Is the current cyber security budget sufficient? It's impossible to be 100% secure from cyber incidents, but reviewing this framework and developing a plan of action can help. Consult with your IT specialist to make sure your online business dealings are as secure as possible and our next segment will discuss insurance coverages that respond to this growing threat. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Cyber Risk for Small BusinessesOctober 19, 2022

Transcript

The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is cyber risk for small businesses. Data breaches and other cyber crimes are way too common, and unfortunately the owners of many small businesses aren't doing much to combat it. Too many rely on usernames and passwords alone to secure their systems. This leaves them vulnerable to cyber attacks that might otherwise be prevented. Multi-factor authentication is now considered the best defense against hackers. With multi-factor authentication, a login attempt is verified by an additional layer of security, such as a code sent by text message or phone call. This is proven so effective, some insurance companies won't offer cyber insurance coverage to businesses that do not have multi-factor authentication. A survey by the Non-Profit Cyber Redius Institute finds that 55% of businesses have not set up multi-factor authentication and many that have don't require employees to use it. In future segments, we'll lay out a framework for analyzing cyber security risks and provide more information on how to ensure against cyber attacks. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Long COVIDOctober 12, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today we're talking about Long COVID. Insurance companies are used to dealing with the unexpected, but trying to determine the long-term effects of the COVID pandemic may be especially challenging. The more than 1 million deaths resulting from COVID in the U.S. occurred to those who had other underlying health conditions. How will this alter the future mortality and disability profile of our population? On the other hand, many people put off preventative treatments. How will this affect the future severity of existing illnesses and what about the lingering symptoms of long COVID? Before the pandemic, if an employee came down with a cold or flu, it rarely resulted in an insurance claim. However, in response to COVID, if a health care worker was diagnosed with COVID, it was presumed that they got it at work, resulting in claims for lost wages and medical treatments. It's not yet known how COVID will impact the future of insurance rates, but these unanswered questions reveal what insurance companies are up against and sorting out this latest wave of unexpected events. This is possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Insurance as a Weapon in UkraineOctober 5, 2022

Transcript

The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today we're talking about insurance as a weapon in Ukraine. To slow aggression in Ukraine, the European Union agreed to embargo shipments of crude oil from Russia. This United effort has succeeded in reducing Russian exports of crude oil from around 5 million barrels a day to approximately 4 million barrels a day. While helpful, the European embargo has largely linked in supply lines by redirecting shipments of Russian oil to India and Asia according to the energy consulting firm Wood McKinsey. Having more of an impact is the withdrawal of European insurers from providing coverage for ships carrying Russian oil. Russia relies heavily on European ships to carry their crude oil to market and those ships rely on turn on insurance companies to defer their risks. Without insurance companies available to cover these ships and their cargo, shipments of Russian crude oil will continue to decline as there will simply not be the capacity to deliver it. Insurance is an international market and it can have an impact both good and bad on international interactions. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Reinsurance LegislationSeptember 28, 2022

Transcript

The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Reinsurance Legislation. In our last segment, we discussed how global catastrophe losses are disrupting the reinsurance market in Florida. In addition to increased catastrophe losses worldwide, Florida is viewed by many insurers as a location with excessive litigation. This year, the Florida legislature took action to mitigate these issues. In addition to strengthening the Florida Building Code, the legislature established a $2 billion Reinsurance Relief Fund in which insurers can enroll. Once enrolled, the companies must file revised rates to provide relief to their policyholders. In addition, $150 million was appropriated to provide grants to Florida homeowners for hurricane retrofitting, which should reduce premiums for those who participate. Florida's property insurance market has been in turmoil since Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The average homeowner's premium is now more than $4,200. While these legislative changes won't bring immediate relief, it's hoped they will bring some stability to our insurance market.

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ReinsuranceSeptember 21, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Reinsurance. Most of us buy insurance to protect our assets, cars, homes, and other valuable property. Less well-known is that insurance companies also buy insurance to protect themselves against catastrophic claims experience. That's called Reinsurance. This allows the risk of catastrophic loss to be spread throughout a global financial marketplace, but disruptions in that market can come from claims not directly related to Florida. Florida's last major hurricane was Michael in 2018, but global catastrophic losses exceeded the average in each of the past five years. This caused reinsurance premiums for coverage in Florida to increase as much as 25% this year. Those increased costs are being passed on to Florida policyholders as increased premiums. The Florida legislature took action this year to provide some relief from the restrictions in the reinsurance market, but in the short term, higher property insurance premiums are likely to be one more cost of living in paradise. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Insurance Credit ScoresSeptember 14, 2022

Transcript

The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Insurance Credit Scores. When applying for home or auto insurance, many factors are taken into account during the underwriting process, the age, construction, and location of your home, or in the case of automobile insurance you're driving history, the Macon model of your vehicle, even your zip code. But there's one other important factor of which most people are unaware. Your credit score. Most insurers use some sort of credit-based insurance score to determine if they will accept a prospective customer and if they do what rates to charge them. Every insurance company has different parameters and your credit-based insurance score is not exactly the same thing as your credit score for banking purposes, but a good credit score can help you get insurance and pay lower rates. Factors that affect your insurance score include payment history, outstanding debt, and the type of debt you incur. Check your credit score periodically and make every effort to maintain a good credit score. It helps with both banking and insurance. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at www.wfsu.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Car Insurance RatesSeptember 7, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Lauren Bacon from the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is car insurance rates. If the instability in our property insurance market wasn't causing enough heartburn around the state, another issue rears its ugly head. Car insurance rates are on the rise. In 2020 with the coronavirus pandemic, many people began working from home and large gatherings were cancelled. The result, most folks just weren't driving as much. That reduction was noticed by automobile insurers and many discounted their rates concurrent with their reduced exposure. Now, offices are reopening and people are traveling again and automobile accidents have increased. Rising repair costs and shortages of technicians, which extends the time to complete repairs, all add up to increased rates. Premium increases vary from state to state, but on average, rates are up about 9% since the beginning of this year. The increased cost of fuel and greater expense hasn't yet deterred us from being out on the road and the summer driving season is just getting started. Not much can be done here except being more careful on the road. Emergency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Named Storm and Wind DeductiblesAugust 31, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is NameStorm and Wind Deductibles. In policies issued by Admit it Ensure, the hurricane deductible is mandatory. But what if your policy is not with an admit it Ensure? There are two types of windstorm deductibles, NameStorm and Wind and Hale. With a Wind and Hale deductible, any type of wind or hail damage to an insured structure triggers the higher wind deductible limit. Those can range from 1% to 10% of the structure's insured value. The amounts vary depending on the structure's age, construction, and location. To trigger a hurricane deductible, a storm must be declared a hurricane by the National Hurricane Center. But for the NameStorm deductible to be applied, a storm need not reach hurricane strength. A tropical depression receiving a name can trigger the higher deductible and those higher deductibles can remain in place until 72 hours after watches and warnings expire. Consult your policy and talk to your agent to assure you understand the Florida wind deductibles and how they are applied.

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Hurricane Deductible ExamplesAugust 24, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Neves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Hurricane deductible examples. We've encouraged Florida policyholders to understand their hurricane deductible. These deductibles are occasionally misapplied, so a few examples might help. A storm forms in the Gulf. It's declared a hurricane and comes on shore causing damage to property. It's clear cut your hurricane deductible applies in this case. A different storm forms. Hurricane watches and warnings go up around Florida, but the storm never reaches Hurricane strength. It drifts on shore as a tropical storm and causes damage. The hurricane deductible does not apply in this case because the storm was never declared a hurricane. A third storm forms and is declared a hurricane, but it weakens to a tropical storm before making landfall. Does the hurricane deductible apply here? Yes, even though the storm weakened prior to making landfall, it was declared a hurricane and the hurricane deductible applies until 72 hours after all watches and warnings are removed. We hope these examples are helpful. More information on applying hurricane deductibles can be found at myfloracfo.com. The opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Triggering the Hurricane DeductibleAugust 17, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's subject is triggering the hurricane deductible. Previously, we discussed the hurricane deductible contained in most Florida home policies. Today, we outlined when the hurricane deductible is triggered and how long it lasts. The hurricane deductible begins when the National Hurricane Center designates a hurricane watch or warning in any part of Florida. That can mean a hurricane threatening the Florida Keys can cause wind damage to a condominium in Panama City to be subject to its policies hurricane deductible. The hurricane deductible lasts as long as hurricane conditions exist anywhere in Florida and it ceases 72 hours after the hurricane watches and warnings in Florida expire. The National Weather Service calculates the average forward movement of a hurricane at about 15 miles an hour. In 72 hours, a storm could be in New England, but wind damage to your home is still subject to the hurricane deductible. It's important to know how your hurricane deductible applies. Consult your agent or get more information from the Division of Consumer Services at MyFloridaCFO.com. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Hurricane DeductibleAugust 10, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Hurricane Deductible. Property policies in Florida often contain specific deductibles related to wind damage. For homes covered by an admitted insurer, the Hurricane Deductible is mandated by statute. It's a percentage of the insured value of the dwelling, usually 2, 5 or 10 percent. Another deductible will be referenced with the designation AOP. This refers to all other perils, perils such as fire, vandalism, or lightning, something other than a hurricane. How does this work? If your home is damaged by fire and your all other perils deductible is $1,000, you must pay the first $1,000 of the loss before the insurance company pays anything. But if your home is insured for $300,000 and your policy carries a 2 percent hurricane deductible, damaged by a hurricane would carry a deductible of $6,000, 2 percent of the $300,000 insured limit. It's important to know the amount of your hurricane deductible and how it is triggered. Consult your agent or get more information from the Division of Consumer Services at MyFloridaCFO.com. As a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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DeductiblesAugust 3, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nevez with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is deductibles. Heading into the heart of hurricane season seems like a good time to discuss deductibles. The most common deductible is called a flat deductible. It's a fixed amount, usually 500 or $1,000, although they can be higher. It's the amount a policyholder pays out of pocket for an insured loss before the insurance company takes responsibility for the remainder. The more of a loss the policyholder is willing to absorb through the higher deductibles, the lower the premium is through credit supplied by the insurer. On Florida property policies, there are special deductibles related to damage caused by wind and hail. Those deductibles are usually a percentage of the insured property value and there are three types. Wind and hail, named storm and hurricane. The hurricane deductible is most beneficial to the policyholder. We'll discuss the details of each of these deductibles in future segments. For now, be sure you know what type of special wind deductible is included in your policy and how it is triggered. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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LimitationsJuly 27, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Neves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is limitations. Homeowners condominium and renters policies provide coverage for residential dwellings and the personal contents owned by the policy holder. However, almost all of these policies contain limitations for the coverage of special items, especially when it comes to the peril of theft. For instance, cash kept in the home is usually limited to $200. Most policies also limit theft coverage on antiques, fine art, jewelry collectibles, such as coins and stamps, guns and furs. It's important to review the coverage your policy provides for these special items to make sure they are insured for their proper value. This may require that more expensive items have a recent independent appraisal or bill of sale to document their value. It's often possible to increase these values of these limited items in your policy. As an alternative, these items can be specifically scheduled on your policy or covered on a separate personal articles policy. Review the coverage for these special items with your agent to assure they are properly valued and insured. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Personal LiabilityJuly 20, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is personal liability. So much attention is paid to getting property values right on homeowners, condominium, and renters policies. The other important section of these policies is often overlooked, personal liability. Personal liability is a portion of your homeowners, renters, or condominium policy that's designed to pay the legal and medical bills if someone is injured on your property and you are found legally responsible. Since personal liability insurance is designed to protect your assets, the coverage limit should be at least equal to your net worth if not the total value of everything you own. In addition to physical injuries to others, personal liability coverage will also protect you against non-business personal injury claims such as liable, slander, wrongful eviction, or false arrest, as well as the legal defense costs for a covered loss. In a future segment, we'll discuss other coverages included as part of the personal liability coverage section. Check with your agent. The cost of increasing your personal liability limit is usually quite modest. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Property Saving OptionsJuly 13, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's topic, Property Saving Options. In a previous segment, we referenced the current chaotic and expensive state of the Florida Property Insurance Market. Okay, so what can be done about it? First, shop around, either by contacting an independent insurance agent or broker who will do the shopping for you or get your policy parameters together and call around yourself. If it's within your budget, consider increasing your deductible. Make sure the property is properly valued. It should be insured for the rebuilding cost, excluding the land value and the cost of the foundation. Your agent may have a replacement cost estimator that can help or get input from a building contractor or architect. Some values and home policies are implemented automatically as a percentage of the dwelling value. For instance, the personal contents limit is often included at 70% of the dwelling value. If this limit is too high, some insurers will allow that limit to be reduced, resulting in a premium savings. Consult with your agent about these and other premium savings ideas. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Florida Property InsuranceJuly 6, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency. In this inaugural segment of the Florida Insurance Advisor, we review the biggest current challenge in the Florida marketplace, property insurance, premiums for all forms of property insurance, commercial buildings, homeowners, condominiums, and apartments are increasing dramatically and it's difficult for most households to keep up. According to the Insurance Trade Journal, National Underwriter, five insurance companies doing business in Florida have become insolvent since 2019. Those insurers handled tens of thousands of policies throughout the state. Their policy holders had to find coverage elsewhere, along with the thousands of new residents moving here each year. This reduced capacity and increased demand is led to a significant rise in insurance cost. In future segments, we'll offer guidance on ways to mitigate losses from flood, fire, wind, and other perils, which should help the policy holders save on insurance premiums. We look forward to providing information about the Florida Insurance Market that you can use to the best advantage of you and your family. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Loss AssessmentJune 29, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is about loss assessment. Loss Assessment Coverage is an endorsement added to your home or condo policy that helps protect you if you live in a shared community like a condominium or homeowner's association, where you could be responsible for a portion of a loss in a common area. Members of homeowners or condominium associations pay fees to pay for certain amenities in a shared community. Among these is a community association policy referred to as the master policy. The master policy covers damages to common property or injuries that occur in common areas. When the master policy is not sufficient to pay for a loss, individual unit owners may be assessed for the shortfall. Coverage for this eventuality can be added to your home or condo policy by purchasing loss assessment coverage. It may be difficult to determine exactly what type of coverage the association has in place on its master policy. For this reason, the Florida Insurance Advisor recommends getting the highest limits available for loss assessments. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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BoatsJune 22, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nyevas with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is Boats. Water, water, everywhere. In Florida, we're blessed with beautiful beaches, languid lakes, and rolling rivers, and where water is plentiful. Pleasure Boats soon follow. It may come as a pleasant surprise to find that the liability rising from the ownership or operation of smaller watercraft is included in the personal liability section of your home, condo, or renters policy. In-board Boats of less than 50 horsepower, out-board-powered Boats less than 25 horsepower, or sailboats smaller than 26 feet may not require a separate boat policy. Keep in mind this is only for liability coverage. Indri to others or damage to their property for which you were found legally responsible. If you want coverage for the physical damage to the watercraft itself, you'll likely need a separate boat policy. If the boat is pledged as collateral for a loan, the lender will almost assuredly require a coverage for the damage to the boat itself. Consult your agent and make sure you have the right coverage before setting out on the water. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. The company provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IIIJune 15, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's subject is mitigating flood damage. In Florida, a lot of thought is given to protecting our properties against wind damage, less consideration is given to damage by water. Standard property insurance policies exclude damage from flood or rising water, and the standard flood insurance policy limits coverage to residential structures to $250,000. Are there actions that you can take to mitigate flood risk? Yes, while it's expensive to build retroactively, raising your house on stilts above the base flood elevation will reduce the risk of flooding. Elevate utilities such as air conditioners, water heaters, and circuit breakers, at least one foot above the flood elevation to prevent significant loss. Improve land grading around your structure so that rainwater is diverted away from buildings. All flood vents are a sump pump to allow the free flow of water through a crawl space or basement. Keep your rain gutters clear and point the downspouts away from the structure. This will keep water from pooling and causing structural damage. Simple actions can protect our properties from damage by wind and water. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slashinsurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. And provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IIJune 8, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is flood. Every property in Florida is located in a flood zone, but not all flood zones have an equal exposure to flooding. The Federal Emergency Management Agency identifies flood zones with alphabetic designations, A and V zones are considered high-risk, while zones designated B, C or X are lower-risk areas. Premiums for flood insurance are less expensive in the low or moderate hazard areas. Historically, getting accurate quotes for flood insurance was challenging. It required obtaining an elevation certificate that verified the height of the lowest floor of a structure above the base flood elevation. This was done by a surveyor or engineer. The higher the floor of a structure is above the base flood elevation, the lower the cost of ensuring it against flood damage. That's one reason many structures in high hazard flood areas are built on stilts. Elevation certificates are no longer required to rate flood insurance, so one barrier in determining the cost to providing flood protection has been removed. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Flood IJune 1, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency, and today's segment is on flood insurance. Property owners often say, I don't need flood insurance because my property isn't located in a flood zone. If you own property in Florida, it's located in a flood zone. The question is whether it's in a high hazard zone or a low hazard one. It is often mistakenly believed that property not situated directly on the Gulf front or a river bank is not subject to flooding, but the standard flood policy defines a flood as rising water from any source that affects two or more properties. So water accumulation in a low-lying inland area or even the overflow from a clogged drainage ditch can meet that definition. Determining your property's flood zone can be simple. Many elected property appraisers are putting flood zones on their website, or your insurance agent or mortgage company can advise you of your property's flood zone. It's important to remember damage from rising water is not covered by almost all standard property policies. To have coverage for flood damage, you must have a flood policy. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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ExclusionsMay 25, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's segment is about exclusions. As important as it is to understand what's covered in an insurance policy, it's equally important to understand what is not covered. Things not covered in an insurance policy are eliminated by exclusions or what is colloquially referred to as the fine print. But there are practical reasons insurers write exclusions into their policies. First, the hazard excluded is generally considered to be uninsurable, so military action and nuclear contamination are eliminated from nearly all insurance policies. Next, ensuring the peril would violate public policy. As an example, there's generally no coverage for punitive damages or intentional acts. Finally and most commonly, exposures are excluded from one policy because they are better covered elsewhere. Rising water is covered under a flood policy, coverage for the operation of a motor vehicle is better suited under an automobile policy, business activities are excluded in order to be covered under a commercial policy, and so on. Consult your own policy or ask your agent to better understand the things that are not covered by your particular policy. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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LimitationsMay 18, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Neves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is limitations. Homeowners condominium and renters policies provide coverage for residential dwellings and the personal contents owned by the policy holder. However, almost all of these policies contain limitations for the coverage of special items, especially when it comes to the peril of theft. For instance, cash kept in the home is usually limited to $200. Most policies also limit theft coverage on antiques, fine art, jewelry collectibles, such as coins and stamps, guns and furs. It's important to review the coverage your policy provides for these special items to make sure they are insured for their proper value. This may require that more expensive items have a recent independent appraisal or bill of sale to document their value. It's often possible to increase these values of these limited items in your policy. As an alternative, these items can be specifically scheduled on your policy or covered on a separate personal articles policy. Review the coverage for these special items with your agent to assure they are properly valued and insured. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Personal LiabilityMay 11, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment is personal liability. So much attention is paid to getting property values right on homeowners, condominium, and renters policies. The other important section of these policies is often overlooked, personal liability. Personal liability is a portion of your homeowners, renters, or condominium policy that's designed to pay the legal and medical bills if someone is injured on your property and you are found legally responsible. Since personal liability insurance is designed to protect your assets, the coverage limit should be at least equal to your net worth if not the total value of everything you own. In addition to physical injuries to others, personal liability coverage will also protect you against non-business personal injury claims such as liable, slander, wrongful eviction, or false arrest, as well as the legal defense costs for a covered loss. In a future segment, we'll discuss other coverages included as part of the personal liability coverage section. Check with your agent. The cost of increasing your personal liability limit is usually quite modest. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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VloggingMay 4, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency and today's segment is on vlogging. As if texting and driving wasn't enough of a hazard, insurers have a new worry. Their customers recording themselves while behind the wheel. This video blogging on the GO trend has been popularized by TikTok influencers and most often consists of the video blogger or vlogger, as it's called, addressing their followers via a camera mounted in the vehicle. April was designated as Distracted Driving Awareness Month and a researcher is now speaking out about this dangerous trend. Dr. Paul Achtley, a professor of psychology at the University of South Florida, who's been studying Distracted Driving for 20 years, reports in National Underwriter magazine, the research is absolutely clear. When your brain is engaged in a phone call, even a hands-free one, the risk of an automobile accident increases. The Florida Insurance Advisor is all in favor of fun and games. After all, most of our state is based on people visiting and having a good time. But let's save the video conferencing for outside a moving vehicle. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Distracted Driving PreventionApril 27, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Yavuz with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's segment, Distracted Driving Prevention. The National Highway Safety Administration reports that more than 2,800 people are killed and more than 400,000 injured in automobile accidents each year that involve a distracted driver. Considering these statistics, it's crucial to take steps to prevent distracted driving. Put away your phone. Silence your phone and put it out of reach to reduce the temptation of using it while driving. Secure your passengers. Make sure children are properly situated in their car seats or seatbelts, and we love our pets but don't allow them to roam freely in your car while driving. Avoid multitasking. Never complete additional tasks such as eating or personal grooming while driving. Finally, stay focused. Concentrate your mind on the road and keep distracting conversations to a minimum. To paraphrase the 1959 song by Paul Evans, keep your mind on your driving, keep your hands on the wheel, keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead, and we'll all be safer on the road. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Distracted DrivingApril 20, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's subject is distracted driving. The National Safety Council recognizes April is distracted driver awareness month. This event is intended to raise awareness about the dangers of distracted driving and encourage motorists to minimize distractions behind the wheel. The Centers for Disease Control describes distracted driving as any activity that diverts a motorist's attention from the road and they categorize them into three types. First are visual distractions, reading text messages or emails, looking at maps or navigation systems or observing nearby activities such as accidents. And the south, we refer to this as rubber necking. Second, manual distractions. These are activities that remove your hands from the steering wheel, such as adjusting the radio, texting, eating, drinking or performing personal grooming tasks. And finally, cognitive distractions such as talking on the phone or chatting with passengers in your car. The best thing you can do to control the cost of insurance is avoid having claims. In our next segment, we'll discuss ways that you can limit distractions and reduce your chances of increasing your insurance cost. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org slash insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the EarlBacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Property Saving OptionsApril 13, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years, online at EarlBacon.com. This is Caroline Nieves with the Earl Bacon Agency. Today's topic, Property Saving Options. In a previous segment, we referenced the current chaotic and expensive state of the Florida Property Insurance Market. Okay, so what can be done about it? First, shop around, either by contacting an independent insurance agent or broker who will do the shopping for you or get your policy parameters together and call around yourself. If it's within your budget, consider increasing your deductible. Make sure the property is properly valued. It should be insured for the rebuilding cost, excluding the land value and the cost of the foundation. Your agent may have a replacement cost estimator that can help or get input from a building contractor or architect. Some values and home policies are implemented automatically as a percentage of the dwelling value. For instance, the personal contents limit is often included at 70% of the dwelling value. If this limit is too high, some insurers will allow that limit to be reduced, resulting in a premium savings. Consult with your agent about these and other premium savings ideas. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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Florida Property InsuranceApril 6, 2022

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The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency, delivering insurance services to families and businesses throughout Florida for nearly 60 years. Online at EarlBacon.com. This is Bobby Bacon with the Earl Bacon Agency. In this inaugural segment of the Florida Insurance Advisor, we review the biggest current challenge in the Florida marketplace, property insurance, premiums for all forms of property insurance, commercial buildings, homeowners, condominiums, and apartments are increasing dramatically and it's difficult for most households to keep up. According to the Insurance Trade Journal, National Underwriter, five insurance companies doing business in Florida have become insolvent since 2019. Those insurers handled tens of thousands of policies throughout the state. Their policy holders had to find coverage elsewhere, along with the thousands of new residents moving here each year. This reduced capacity and increased demand is led to a significant rise in insurance cost. In future segments, we'll offer guidance on ways to mitigate losses from flood, fire, wind, and other perils, which should help the policy holders save on insurance premiums. We look forward to providing information about the Florida Insurance Market that you can use to the best advantage of you and your family. Listen to archives of the Florida Insurance Advisor at WFSU.org-slash-insurance. The Florida Insurance Advisor is a community service made possible by the Earl Bacon Agency and WFSU. Content provided is the opinion of the sponsor and not of WFSU.

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