TAMPA After lowering rates 9 percent this year, State Farm, the state's second largest home insurer, did an about-face Wednesday when it asked state regulators for permission to raise homeowners' rates 47.1 percent on average. ...more

July 16, 2008

The other day a television news broadcast was telling of a new idea for hurricane coverage for Florida. The estimate for a Miami-Dade category five hurricane would cost approximately $88 billion. I thought of the Andrew and Katrina costs and have a better idea than letting out-of-state insurers chance their stakes upon the inevitable. Since our Department of Defense is very capable of defending our shores, it should also use its technology and resources to stop a category one in its tracks, with many large concussion bombs, or maybe something a lot more extreme to slow the winds in the wall, while at the same time making the water return to the oceans (dissipate.) When it rains, it pours! ...more

June 20, 2008

The Bush administration will ask Congress to increase the monthly premiums paid by wealthier Medicare beneficiaries for prescription drug coverage, officials said Friday. ...more

February 16, 2008

Florida officials want copies of secret corporate papers held by Allstate Insurance Co. to see if unfair practices were used to adversely affect consumers. Allstate is fighting to keep the papers secret, but we hope citizens in Florida, and elsewhere, soon will learn about potentially unsavory tactics for the company to pay out as little as possible while maximizing profits. ...more

January 24, 2008

Thousands of homeowners in "sinkhole alley" are going without coverage. ...more

January 12, 2008

I own a Screen Stars Stamp Album (measuring 10 by 12 inches). It has 40 pages with stamps of movie actors from the early 1940s. ...more

December 15, 2007

The Bush administration agreed to delay enforcing a new rule that will let the government charge higher premiums on mortgages it insures for borrowers with poor credit. ...more

December 5, 2007

even those with private insurance. ...more

December 2, 2007

When a buyout shop chooses to pay $100 million just to walk away from a committed deal, that tells you how deep today's financial crisis is running. ...more

November 24, 2007

Nearly 2 million low-income Medicare participants could be switched to different insurance plans for their prescription drug coverage next year. ...more

November 4, 2007