Florida Insurance Law Blog

We are talking about the cruise liner that crashed and foundered off the coast of Italy. The story of the wreck may well become legend -- the captain faces criminal charges -- but our focus is the role of insurance in helping the survivors and the families of the dead and missing to rebuild their lives.

Many will turn to the cruise line for relief. The cruise line will then turn to its insurance company for reimbursement. Without knowing the particulars of the policy, it's hard to know if the claim will be denied. Can a company indemnify against the (alleged) recklessness of an employee?

After the cruise ship accident off the coast of Italy last week, many of us will look a little differently at the ships docked at the Port of Miami. In the insurance business, it is hard not to wonder if cruising has become so mundane that travelers forget the risks involved. Granted, the situation with the Costa Concordia was unusual. But the question lingers: Are passengers assuming that the cruise line will take care of everything in an emergency, or have they protected their own interests by purchasing trip insurance?

Generally, travel professionals offer trip insurance to vacationers when they book the cruise. The cruise line may offer its own coverage or have a relationship with an insurance company. The terms are fairly standard from policy to policy.

During presidential campaign years, early primary states like Florida can benefit as candidates and their entourages make their ways from corner store to neighborhood restaurant, wooing voters at every turn. Business owners should check their general liability insurance, though, because a candidate visit can be a mixed blessing. In our last post, we were talking about some of the problems businesses have to deal with during campaigns, including having a large group of people in a small café or boutique.

The best way to avoid an insurance claim -- for damage to property or a person -- is to limit the number of people allowed in the establishment at one time. General liability insurance, risk management professionals warn, does not usually cover political gatherings at neighborhood eateries or convenience stores.

The Florida primary is coming up, and the state is gearing up for the campaign stops and the stump speeches. This summer, Florida will host the Republican National Convention. The state's hospitality industry is looking forward to the economic boom that comes with all this political activity, but individual business owners may want to think about the risks that come with large crowds. Now is the time to review property and commercial general liability insurance coverage.

A small restaurant in one of the early primary states decided the headaches weren't worth the small benefits political campaigns brought in. An area television station aired a story about the owner of the breakfast and lunch café and the sign on the front door: "No Politicians. No exception."

We are picking up the discussion from our Dec. 4, 2011 post. We were looking at a study of insurance policy language that is scheduled to be published this month. The author, a law school professor, compared homeowners insurance policies, focusing on policies at the top 10 insurance groups in six states. He found that changes from the standard forms are "systematically less generous" to consumers.

Florida was not included in the study. Homeowners here, though, certainly know the inconvenience, frustration and financial consequences of having a claim denied -- a claim that a reasonable person would expect to be covered.

As Florida's insurance industry and lawmakers gear up for the coming legislative session, a trade association for risk managers is asking for more sweeping reform. The Risk and Insurance Management Society, Inc. wants the federal government to promulgate uniform, national regulations for commercial insurance.

In mid-December, RIMS submitted a comment letter to the U.S. Department of the Treasury supporting its proposal. The organization believes that consumers would be better served by one set of procedures than they are now by the "state-by-state patchwork" of insurance laws. The lack of consistency results in additional costs and procedural inefficiencies for commercial customers, RIMS claims.

There's a silly ad on television right now, for a smart phone. The phone is reading messages to Santa (Mrs. Claus writes to stay away from the cookies, for example), ending with a summary of Santa's schedule. "You have 3.7 billion appointments today," the electronic voice croons.

That kind of travel clearly creates risk for Santa, and a prudent Santa would manage his risk with a good insurance program. So, to that end, a brokerage firm developed a proposal for K. Kringle Manufacturing.

Every year, an untold number of Florida's families wonders what would happen if a big storm rolled in on Christmas Eve and Santa couldn't make it. Rudolph can only get so far with the shiny nose thing. In hail and sleet and even a major wind storm, Santa could be grounded -- or worse, he could be in an accident along the flyway or on the slippery roof of someone's house.

The question is really about us and what we would do. No one seems to worry about poor Santa, lying by the side of the road, surrounded by injured reindeer and broken toys. Let's hope the poor guy has insurance!