Florida Archives - Consumer Insurance Guide

Staying safe during tornado season means more than just where to hide

By Mike Mosser
April 15, 2013April 15, 2013

The southern states and east of the Rocky Mountains might be known as “tornado alley,” but a twister can strike nearly anywhere in the U.S. The key to surviving one starts with paying attention, having a plan and don’t stand in its path like Tim Samaras. As director of the scientific field program Tactical Weather Instrumented Sampling in Tornadoes EXperiment, Samaras’s work is featured on the Discovery Channel show “Storm Chasers.” He’s also the only…

Sinkhole insurance policies rest on unsettled ground

By Mike Mosser
January 23, 2013February 26, 2013

The term sinkhole conjures up images of the Earth opening up and swallowing an entire house. As impressive and downright scary as this is, such events are rare and might not even be actual sinkholes, for the term has different meanings for geologists, insurance law and the general public. Sewer line and water main breaks have been known to carry away the soil below a street and cause a sudden collapse of a roadway or…

Many homeowners are still without flood insurance

By Consumer Insurance Guide Staff
August 10, 2012September 11, 2012

As the busiest part of the Atlantic hurricane season is getting underway, homeowners ought to be aware of the risks of storm surges and the severe flooding they can cause. Regular homeowner’s insurance does not apply to floods. Flood insurance covers your property against hurricane-caused storm surges as well as flooding generated by the torrential rains, which often accompanies tropical storms, according to the Insurance Information Institute. Homeowners and renters can get flood insurance in the form…

The Basics of No-Fault Car Accident Insurance Laws

By Bill Hupp
August 23, 2011June 25, 2019

If you are currently a Florida resident, you can get drunk and wrap your car around a pole, then sue the carmaker – and Florida law precludes the defense from introducing evidence proving your intoxication at the time. It is part of the reason why the state annually leads the country in auto accident lawsuits per capita, and why the lawyers at the D.C.-based American Tort Reform Association derisively refer to South Florida as a…