Articles by William Rabb

Rabb is Southeast Editor for Insurance Journal. He is a long-time newspaper man in the Deep South; also covered workers' comp insurance issues for a trade publication for a few years.

Idalia Rumbles Ashore as Cat 3, Lashing Tallahassee and Much of Florida and Georgia

Just when parts of the property-casualty industry thought it was safe to re-enter the Florida market, Hurricane Idalia made landfall closer to the heavily-populated Tallahassee area than expected and brought heavy storm surge to the Big Bend coastline. Idalia made …

Kentucky Supreme Court: Docs Must Bill for Injured Workers Within 45 Days

Medical providers who treat injured workers in Kentucky must bill the employer/insurer within 45 days, even before a workers’ compensation claim has been filed and before an employer’s liability has been established, the Kentucky Supreme Court decided this week. The …

Home Insurance as a Work Benefit? Recoop Says It’s Bringing it to Florida and All States

Health insurance. Dental insurance. Accidental death and dismemberment. Why not homeowners insurance as an employee benefit? That’s exactly what Darren Wood is thinking. Wood is the founder and chief product officer at Recoop Disaster Insurance, which is now in 42 …

Insureds Hot About Flood Insurance Costs? Some Areas Are Seeing 35% Discounts

Florida property owners stuck with higher premiums and new flood insurance mandates may want to nudge their local governments to take a look at the town of Cutler Bay and the counties of Monroe, Pinellas and Ocala. Those jurisdictions are …

A Year After Uproar over Demotech Ratings, Little Has Changed, But Questions Remain

A little more than a year ago, the Demotech financial rating firm ignited a storm of controversy in Florida when it sent letters to a reported 16 insurance carriers, warning that the companies were about to have their financial stability …

No Duty to Defend Doesn’t Mean No Duty to Indemnify, 5th Circuit Finds

A federal appeals court has clarified, at least under the realm of Texas law, when an insurer has a duty to indemnify – even if it has no duty to defend a tort action against the insured thanks to an …

Some Workplace Shootings May Not be Compensable, Florida Appeals Court Says

Workplace shootings, more common than ever now, may happen in the course and scope of employment. But do they have to be work-related to make the victims eligible for workers’ compensation benefits? That’s the question that a Florida appeals court …

More Signs of Life in Florida: New Insurers in Market, More Citizens Takeouts

Florida’s property insurance market is showing more signs of life, with another company requesting a large takeout order from Citizens Property Insurance and two new companies entering the arena. Tampa-based HCI Group’s CEO Paresh Patel said in an earnings call …

Three Georgia Decisions Have Some Comp Attorneys Worried. Claimants Not So Much

After three major Georgia appeals court decisions have gone against employers in the last five years, some insurance defense attorneys are concerned that the state’s workers’ compensation laws have become costly to insurers and businesses, despite years of rate reductions …

Zurich American Off the Hook on Harvard’s Legal Costs in Affirmative Action Case

Even the smartest institutions in the land can miss deadlines – and can lose $15 million in insurance coverage because of it, a federal appeals court decided Wednesday. The U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a lower court ruling …