Author: McGriff Williams

Is an insurance policy enough?

Posted on by McGriff Williams in Business Insurance |

We can probably all agree that it’s the responsibility of the business owner, decision maker, HR or Office Manager to be sure the business is protected in the best way possible. Protected in the form of locking the doors and setting the alarm at night, but also protected in the form of knowing that everything will be okay in the event of an unexpected disaster.

Some may argue that you can only prepare so much but having confidence in the state of the company and reassurance that you did everything you could to sustain even a major curveball you can’t put a price on that. But is having a good insurance policy enough? Sure, it would help with damages to your building. Or to your company truck. Or if there’s a break-in, a fire, water damage Insurance is hugely helpful in lots of ways. If an employee gets hurt, if they make a mistake on a jobsite, if someone steals from you We could be here all day with those examples.

But even if you understand the value of insurance, max out your coverage, and are the most adequately insured business owner in the county Is it enough to truly protect you and keep the company running successfully? Here are a few other things to consider if you’re searching for that confidence that you’ve really done all you can to fulfill your responsibility of fully protecting what you work so hard for.

  • HR Support
  • ERISA Compliance
  • Safety Plan Management
  • Employee Retention
  • Cybersecurity/ADA Compliance
  • Safe/Distracted/Defensive Driver Trainings
  • Fleet Maintenance Program

Stay tuned for more to come as we dive into each of these categories and share ways you can implement more of this in to your company culture.

Will the property insurance crisis in Florida really get worse before it gets better?

Posted on by McGriff Williams in Home Insurance |

The cost of reinsurance for Florida property insurers has increased over 100% in the past 4 years. It is projected that reinsurance will go up another 50% at the time of renewal on June 1st.

If you’re wondering what reinsurance is It’s essentially insurance for insurers. It transfers risk to another company to reduce the likelihood of large payouts for a claim. It’s an extra layer of protection that allows insurers to remain solvent by recovering all or part of a payout.

This system worked great for a while, but now those reinsurance companies are much less interested in the potential risk that Florida property brings. Just in the past 6 years, over $807 billion (with a B) has been paid out in weather related disasters. So, as you can imagine, those reinsurers’ risk appetite for our beautiful state has diminished. The impact of that fallout will be different for each carrier, but significant rate increases are still expected.

From an insurance perspective, we had a rough year in 2022. Rates were at an all-time high, underwriting guidelines were more strict than ever, carriers were going out of business, and our home state was hit with some strong storms causing lots of damage.

Unfortunately for all of us, the reality is that yes it may get worse before it gets better. We expect this summer, typically the busiest time of year for real estate, to be tough when it comes to home insurance being attainable and affordable. We’ve weathered some major storms, quite literally, in the insurance industry before and well… this too shall pass. We also had two different reform bills passed last year giving us hope for change that will benefit all Florida residents moving forward. And it isn’t like we have a choice to avoid it since it’s still likely a required piece of home buying/selling transactions.

The good news is that we are in this together. We want to help get to closing and for all homeowners to feel confident that they’re adequately protected. Our biggest piece of advice to anyone looking to purchase a home is to START THE PROCESS EARLY when it comes to insurance!

 

New requirement for Citizens flood insurance effective 4/1/23

Posted on by McGriff Williams in Home Insurance, Insurance |
Citizens Insurance is a Florida-based state-run carrier insuring residential and business properties all over the state. They used to be considered the insurer of last resort in Florida but have taken on more home policies than ever in the recent past so this news will be very impactful to many.
A new bill recently took effect that outlines some important changes regarding the requirement of flood insurance on Citizens home insurance policies. It states that Citizens personal lines residential policyholders must secure and maintain flood insurance that meets certain guidelines in order to be eligible for Citizens coverage at all.
The bill provides the following timetable for which flood insurance coverage must be implemented for personal lines residential Citizens policyholders:
  • For risks located in areas designated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency as special flood hazard areas, flood insurance must be secured for new Citizens policies with an effective date on or after April 1, 2023, and at renewal for Citizens policies that renew on or after July 1, 2023.
  • For all other risks, regardless of flood zone, the requirement to obtain flood insurance at policy issuance or renewal is effective:
  • March 1, 2024: policies insuring property for $600,000 or more
  • March 1, 2025: policies insuring property for $500,000 or more
  • March 1, 2026: policies insuring property for $400,000 or more
  • March 1, 2027: all other policies

 

This comes as a big change for Citizens policy holders that may not currently have flood insurance. For additional information or resources on flood insurance, please reach out to us anytime.

5 Major Changes to Home Insurance in 5 Years

Posted on by McGriff Williams in Home Insurance |

Home insurance is an ever-changing topic of conversation sometimes positive and sometimes not so much. The last five years and the next five years to come have been and will be HUGE to the property insurance industry, thus impacting real estate drastically. Here is a recap of what we’ve seen and what we expect.

THE PAST FIVE YEARS:

  • Litigation and fraud increased more than ever before, driving premiums up and causing at least 10 companies to go out of business or stop writing in Florida
  • Underwriting guidelines became the most strict we’ve ever witness roofs have to be as new as 7 years old with some companies and risks are scrutinized with extra inspections and requirements
  • It is estimated that since 2017, the four storms that hit Florida (Irma, Michael, Ian and Nicole) cost over $160 billion with a net loss for Florida property insurers of $3 billion causing insurance carriers to be unprofitable and reinsurers to question their risk appetite
  • Homeowners are seeing rate increases of over 50%
  • Policies, because they’re hard to come by, may be lacking coverage from what is typically recommended

THE NEXT FIVE YEARS:

  • Citizens is no longer the insurer of last resort and is writing more business than ever, but will soon be requiring flood insurance on all policies, regardless of flood zone risk level
  • The process of Assignment of Benefits (AOB) is no longer allowed for contractors to obtain rights to manage claims for the insured via a signed form
  • One-way attorney fees are no longer permitted so the astronomical payouts from insurers will diminish significantly
  • Two reinsurance funds were created in special session in 2022, which will help carriers still take on exposure
  • We expect in the next 2-3 years, premiums will begin to level out and come down some although rates will remain competitive since there aren’t as many carrier options, our hope is that they come down a reasonable amount

It’s been a while since there was good news in the property insurance world but all of these are steps in the right direction that we can all be excited about. The end goal is to make insurance available and affordable for all Florida homeowners again.

New IRS guidelines for employees’ family members to receive health insurance premium assistance

Posted on by McGriff Williams in Health Insurance, Human Resources |

The state of the health insurance market is constantly changing and those that are business owners or group plan administrators have seen how difficult it can be to keep up and remain compliant. We are committed to helping everyone stay informed to take good care of their employees. Most recently, as of October 11th, there were new guidelines released from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding premium tax credits for individuals that may not be the right fit on an employer-provided group health plan.

This change is intended to fix the so-called a family glitch by extending marketplace subsidies to an employee’s household members that may not have been eligible before. In the past, eligibility was determined by whether or not the premium for single group medical coverage offered to an employee was affordable. Now, it is based on whether the premium for a FAMILY group medical coverage is affordable. For example, if the family plan offered by the employer to an employee is not affordable for them, their spouse and children may be eligible to receive a subsidy and the employee can remain on the group plan.

Subsidies are determined by the Marketplace, established by the Affordable Care Act, and are based on total household income. The plans, as far as coverage, remain the same but the premium may be discounted in tiers depending on their income level. This is reevaluated every year based on their projected income and tax filings.

So what does this mean for an employer? It doesn’t change anything for the group plan administration but it does provide another option for employees’ family members to obtain health care coverage that they can afford. Because this new regulation is focused on the family members of employees, it does not change anything with mandates for large employers to offer coverage to employees or their family.

If you are an employer that offers health insurance benefits, we recommend sharing this information with your team. We are happy to help guide them through the individual health insurance market, should they choose to pursue it for their spouse and/or children. Here is a copy of this new regulation if you’re interested in reading more.