It Figures

$520,000
The amount Citizens Property Insurance Corp. paid out in claims payments to policyholders affected by the Feb. 2 tornadoes in the first few days, according to the company. Tim Loftin, senior vice president of claims for Citizens, said the insurer is expecting claims from about 500 policyholders with final damage total between $5 million and $6 million.

21
The number of counts in the federal grand jury indictment that named two employees at South Florida insurance brokerages and a Broward County accountant in a scheme that involved about $20 million in construction contracts in 12 counties. The three allegedly provided hundreds of workers with falsified workers’ compensation insurance certificates to more than 300 Florida construction contractors. Those charged include Enrique Guevara, owner of a Broward County accounting business; Erick Brandon, employee at a Hialeah insurance brokerage; and Alexandra Cordero, who owns a Coral Springs insurance firm.

$300,000
The total penalties collected by Tennessee’s Workers Compensation Penalty Program from insurance carriers and employers since it was created in 2004. The program is a referral-based system with the most common complaint being an injured employee not getting paid his or her temporary disability benefits. The most common penalty is for late payment of benefits.

50
The number of unauthorized flood insurance policies believed sold in North Carolina by Continental Casualty Group or CCIG before Commissioner Jim Long ordered the insurer to stop. The company is neither a licensed insurance company in North Carolina, nor an eligible surplus lines insurer in the state. Long’s department believes the insurer targeted property owners in Topsail Beach with offers of low-cost flood insurance. Continental Casualty, which is apparently doing business from an office in Rochester Hills, Mich., is not licensed in Michigan either, according to that state’s insurance department.

20
The number of victims of February tornadoes in central Florida — all of whom had lived in mobile homes. Some manufacturers are now urging the state to spend more to strengthen such homes, especially older ones that are more vulnerable to the fierce winds. In a state peppered with mobile home communities, more than 600,000 such homes do not meet the standards, according to the Florida Manufactured Housing Association. More than a million Floridians and 22 million Americans live in mobile homes.

10%
The medical malpractice insurance percentage rate increase that would trigger a public hearing by Georgia insurance officials under a measure introduced by House Republicans. The proposal would require Georgia’s Insurance Commissioner to approve or reject each rate increase request submitted by a medical malpractice insurer. It also calls for a public hearing when the insurer requests a hike of more than 10 percent. Current law allows insurers to adopt a higher rate before the commissioner has reviewed the request.