91 COMPANIES FINED $1.1 MILLION

Fines totaling more than $1.1 million have been levied by the Florida Insur-ance Commission against 91 insurance companies that didn’t file affidavits in a timely fashion to comply with state law requiring them to quickly settle hurricane claims.

The claim deadline was Nov. 22 for Hurricanes Charley and Frances, and Tropical Storm Bonnie; it was Dec. 8 for Hurricanes Ivan and Jeanne. Companies that received claims from any of the storms after those deadlines were supposed to file affidavits with the information by Jan. 3.

The fines are generally $2,500 for each day the affidavit has not been received. An insurance industry group said it believes most companies have complied and those that haven’t had a good excuse.

“Some of the reporting requirements were very confusing and unclear,” the Florida Insurance Council said in a statement. “If our members did not meet the various deadlines, we believe it was inadvertent due to the complexity and urgency of these requirements.”