Volume 3 Number 37
September 11, 2006

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Today marks the fifth anniversary since this tragedy unfolded, and the pain of that day’s events is still with us.

On behalf of those who lost their lives that day, we must remain vigilant in safeguarding our country, our freedom and our democracy. And for those who fought bravely to save lives or lost loved ones, we must continue to fight against oppression and hatred.

To that end, we must support and pray for the men and women who are now on the front lines working to root out the evil that targeted us merely for being Americans.

We must remain unified in our resolve to never forget and to never let it happen again.
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GALLAGHER SUSPENDS AGENT FOR MISLEADING PARENTS TRYING TO SAVE FOR THEIR CHILDREN’S COLLEGE

Chief Financial Officer Tom Gallagher has suspended the licenses of an agent who misrepresented insurance policies to consumers, making them think they were saving money for their children’s college funding.

Franz Caville Wallace III, 54, of Jacksonville, agreed to a one-year suspension and restitution to settle a 13-count administrative complaint that found he had misled a dozen consumers into buying life insurance policies by telling them the policy was a “savings-type account “ that could later be used in its entirety to pay for college expenses. He failed to disclose that the only way to access the money was through an interest-bearing loan.

“These parents were looking for a way to invest in their children’s future, and this individual sought to steal their children’s dreams,” said Gallagher, who oversees the Department of Financial Services which conducted the investigation that led to the charges. CONTINUED

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STRENGTHEN YOUR HOME THROUGH MY SAFE FLORIDA HOME

Interest in the My Safe Florida Home program has been tremendous! Over 42,000 completed applications have been received for free home inspections from Floridians throughout the state who want to strengthen their homes against the devastating effects of hurricanes. The need to create a culture of preparedness in Florida continues, and the My Safe Florida Home program is a significant step towards that goal.

The goal of completing 12,000 inspections within the first 12 twelve weeks of the program is on track. The program, through its partnership with the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes (FLASH), has held two training sessions for inspectors who are interested in working with the program. Inspections in the pilot project counties, which include Miami-Dade, Broward and Lee counties, are being scheduled. As the inspector workforce grows with qualified, drug-tested inspectors who have undergone background checks, the My Safe Florida Home program will expand into other hurricane-vulnerable areas throughout Florida. The program will also cap the number of inspections that can be performed in each county based on the county’s population, in order to prevent a handful of counties from receiving the majority of the free home inspections. CONTINUED


 

WANT TO SAVE MONEY ON YOUR INSURANCE PREMIUMS?

Many Floridians who live in a home built after 2002, or after 1994 in Miami-Dade or Broward counties, do not realize that their home may qualify for one or more insurance discounts.

Tools and resources are available at www.mysafefloridahome.com to help you learn what you can to do strengthen your home against hurricanes and the discounts that may be available to you when you apply hurricane-resistant building techniques to your home.

Take the Florida Wind Insurance Incentives Survey
Provided by the Florida Department of Community Affairs at www.FloridaWindIncentives.org. (http://www.dca.state.fl.us/fdem/mitdb/index.cfm)

This web site allows Floridians in single-family homes or duplexes to see what insurance discounts are available based on certain building features that better protect the home or duplex from hurricane damage. Some features include improved roof shingles, hurricane clips or straps, shutter protection for windows and other construction techniques. CONTINUED