Volume 1 Number 18
May 3, 2004











TEXT-ONLY VERSION

Students throughout Florida will begin their summer breaks later this month.  In between the family vacations and summer camps, what will they do? 

As Florida’s State Fire Marshal, I urge parents to take steps to make sure their children don’t fill their time by getting involved in the No. 1 crime among youth in the nation. 

Arson has the highest rate of juvenile involvement of all other serious crimes. Given the chance, children will play with fire, and  most fire deaths involve children. These are preventable occurrences that can be stopped with education and information.

Arson Awareness Week focuses on juvenile firesetting this year, and it is important for all of us to be educated on this issue. Our communities need to get involved with education, intervention and treatment programs for youth firesetters before tragedy occurs.

Youthful curiosity can become juvenile crime in an instant. Community and parental awareness can make this crime preventable.

                                            

 

The May skyline is downtown Tampa from the Hillsborough River near the University of Tampa.







 

 

 

 


PARENTS MUST WARN CHILDREN ABOUT ARSON

This week, May 2-8, is Arson Awareness Week.  Organized by the United States Fire Administration, and sponsored in Florida by the Florida Advisory Committee on Arson Prevention, the annual event is aimed at raising awareness about the costs, both in lives and property, related to arson.  This year’s theme is “Juvenile Firesetting: The Preventable Arson.”

Some troubling statistics:

  • Children under the age of 18 are responsible for more than 50 percent of all set fires.
  • Juvenile-set fires cause an estimated $300 million in property damage every year. 
  • At least four- fifths of associated deaths and injuries involve matches or lighters.
  • Three out of four children experiment with fire.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office has organized numerous public education events throughout the state during the week, including television and radio programs, a poster contest and open houses at fire stations and fire and arson investigation offices.  Some counties are announcing plans to launch new Juvenile Firesetter Programs.  For a complete list of events, visit Arson Awareness Week Events.

 

Division of State Fire Marshal Director Rand Napoli and State Fire Marshal Tom Gallagher at the Arson Awareness Week open house in Tallahassee.

 

Parents can take steps to protect their children.  For younger children, parents should store matches and lighters out of children’s reach and sight, encourage and reward them for reporting when they find a match or lighter, and be sure never to play with a match or lighter in front of young children.

“Parents should not underestimate their children’s curiosity about fire,” Gallagher said. CONTINUED






Disaster/Storm Information
 

LAWMAKERS APPROVE LEGISLATION TO INCREASE THE AVAILABILITY OF HOMEOWNERS INSURANCE  

Florida Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher commended state lawmakers for approving Senate Bill 2488 that will increase the availability of homeowners insurance through changes to the Florida’s Hurricane Catastrophe (Cat) Fund.  The Cat Fund was created after Hurricane Andrew to ensure that Florida’s insurance companies could quickly pay homeowners claims after a major hurricane and continue to provide coverage.

“This legislation will promote needed competition in the marketplace and help thousands of homeowners who are frustrated with the lack of insurance available,” said Gallagher, who oversees the state Department of Financial Services.  “In fact, several companies have committed that they will write more coverage this hurricane season.”  CONTINUED
 

FUNERAL, CEMETERY AND CONSUMERS SERVICES ACT PASSED BY THE LEGISLATURE

Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher said Floridians facing the need to buy funeral and cemetery services will have more choices and more protections under a bill sponsored by Sen. Ken Pruitt (R-Port St. Lucie) and Rep. Don Brown (R-DeFuniak Springs) that passed the Legislature.

The Florida Funeral, Cemetery and Consumer Services Act, also called the "Howard Futch Bill" for the late senator whose body had to be relocated because of a burial mistake, passed out of final reading in the House of Representatives on Thursday. The bill will require cemetery operators to survey and plot new grounds, establish minimum grave sizes, and put names on vaults.  It also will establish a monument dealer inspection program, allow monument companies to join funeral homes, cemeteries and crematoriums in the pre-need funeral services industry and consolidate the regulation of the industry under the Department of Financial Services, which Gallagher oversees.

“These measures aim at avoiding instances of misplaced, lost or unidentifiable graves that have caused some Florida families much grief and anxiety,” Gallagher said.  “It also will give consumers more choices when shopping for funeral and cemetery services.  I thank Sen. Pruitt and Rep. Brown for making the process of putting a loved one to rest a little easier.”  CONTINUED

Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher with Senator Mike Fasano, left,  and Representative David Rivera, right.

 

 

STRONGER CONSUMER PROTECTIONS NOW IN PLACE FOR FLORIDA'S INSURANCE CONSUMERS

Florida Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher commended state lawmakers  for approving legislation that will improve protections and increase the rights of Florida’s insurance consumers, especially the state’s elderly. 

One of the measures, amended on to Senate Bill 2994 and passed,  would require insurance companies and agents offering annuity products to seniors over the age of 65 to clearly document the basis for selling the product, including consideration of a senior’s financial and tax status, as well as investment objectives.  It would also give the Department of Financial Services, which Gallagher oversees, and the Office of Insurance Regulation the authority to take corrective action if a company or agent violated the law.

“Annuities can be an effective investment tool for many Floridians wanting a steady stream of income for retirement,” said Gallagher, who credited Sen. Jeff Atwater and Rep. Dave Murzin for sponsoring the original annuities legislation.  “But some of our state’s seniors are being preyed upon by agents who are motivated by commission payments, not consideration of a senior’s financial circumstances.  This legislation will allow us to hold companies and agents accountable for the products they sell and the investment advice they give.”  CONTINUED
 

REGULATORS SEEK REVOCATION OF SOUTH FLORIDA MORTGAGE LENDER’S LICENSE

State regulators announced today that they are seeking revocation of a South Florida mortgage lender’s license for predatory lending practices, including misrepresenting loan terms and fees.  The lender, First Mortgage America, Inc., provided loans to consumers through several of its branch offices, including Miami, Dania, West Palm Beach, Sarasota and Tampa.

The Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) filed an Administrative Complaint against First Mortgage America, Inc., d/b/a The Financial Group, Inc., on April 16, 2004.  The Complaint seeks revocation of the firm’s mortgage lender’s license and other penalties.  The Financial Group, Inc., is headquartered in Ft. Lauderdale.

State regulators initiated a statewide examination into the lender’s activities and its owner, Blair Wright, after receiving more than fifty consumer complaints alleging, in part, “ misleading advertisements, misrepresentation of loan terms and conditions and misrepresentation of fees.”  CONTINUED