Trumparilla Boat Parade kicks off in Fort MyersThe Weather Authority: Hot temperatures, rain, and we’re watching the tropics
FORT MYERS Trumparilla Boat Parade kicks off in Fort Myers The Lee County GOP is hosting the Trumparilla Boat Parade in support of the Republican nominee.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Hot temperatures, rain, and we’re watching the tropics Get ready for a typical Southwest Florida weekend. It’s going to feel like the triple digits before rain rolls in and we’re watching the tropics.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner charged for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
FORT MYERS Trumparilla Boat Parade kicks off in Fort Myers The Lee County GOP is hosting the Trumparilla Boat Parade in support of the Republican nominee.
Southwest Florida The Weather Authority: Hot temperatures, rain, and we’re watching the tropics Get ready for a typical Southwest Florida weekend. It’s going to feel like the triple digits before rain rolls in and we’re watching the tropics.
ALVA Woodpeckers build home in Alva woman’s house You may have heard of squatters, but this woman is dealing with squawkers. Who needs a rooster to wake up when you have woodpeckers?
FORT MYERS Man claims he was trapped in a high-rise for 5 days A 77-year-old man wants justice after he claims he spent days trapped on the 24th floor of a high-rise apartment building.
PUNTA GORDA Charlotte Correctional prisoner charged for death of another inmate State Attorney Amira Fox convened a grand jury, which decided to move forward with a case against a Charlotte Correctional inmate.
SANIBEL Construction near Dairy Queen eagle nest on Sanibel raises concerns While many eagle nests may be a bit difficult to see, one nest has always been a favorite for Sanibel residents and tourists.
The environmental effects of artificial sweeteners Experts are studying how the foods we eat affect the environment, especially after we flush our waste down the toilet.
Victim reacts to man exposing himself to her Ring camera You get a notification on your phone from your ring camera app that someone is at the door, only to find out it is someone exposing themselves. It’s the last thing victim Maria Kivi wanted or expected to see last week.
LEE COUNTY The art of capturing your eye and drawing you in How do you capture young, hip, trendy, fun, movers and shakers, all in a pose? We take you behind the scenes of a Gulfshore Life cover shoot.
FORT MYERS The lives of two SJC Boxers changed in the ring Two SJC Boxers, Mario Nunez and Arbon Kurtishi, help each other in the ring as each of them had their lives changed because of boxing.
FORT MYERS Chlamydia cases rising sharply in Lee County If you think about a crowded space- something with more than 250 people- if it’s in Lee county, statistically one person has chlamydia.
SANIBEL Sanibel resort day passes hope to get more business on the island A pass will allow vacationers to hang out at a Sanibel beach club for a day in hopes of drumming up some business.
Voting equipment tested ahead of Lee County elections Voting equipment is being tested in Lee County. This is to ensure all ballots are printed and counted correctly for the upcoming election.
Collier County teen assaulted after leaving party The teen has been charged and the sheriff’s office said they’re aware that many believe felony charges are in order, but under Florida law, there are very specific criteria that must be met for felony charges to be filed.
WINK weather team watching tropical wave over Atlantic Ocean The Weather Authority is watching a tropical disturbance over the Central Atlantic Ocean.
All eyes are on Citizens Property Insurance Corp., now the largest home insurer in Florida with about 1.3 million customers. The Office of Insurance Regulation ordered the state-backed company to reduce its proposed rate hikes within 30 days. WINK News reported in June that Florida’s ‘insurer of last resort’ proposed double-digit increases. The company complained that its rates are often lower than private companies, which homeowners across the state quickly come to enjoy. State law limits annual rate increases with a cap at 12% (in 2023) for homes that are primary residences. Citizens originally asked for approval of a 12 percent rate increase for homeowners with the most common type of policies. However, regulators told Citizens Friday to recalculate and reduce their proposed hikes. While this might benefit existing policyholders, it creates a gap between Citizens’ coverage and private market rates, which might lead to difficulties covering losses. “What it does is it creates a very large gap in terms of how much funds Citizens has to pay claims, because if they’re not charging enough for the risk, that risk exposure grows, and that means they are exposed to more potential losses, and not bringing in enough premium to cover those losses,” said Mark Friedlander, spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute. Friedlander went on to explain that this situation could lead to a “hurricane tax” affecting all Floridians. “The potential is that every Floridian will pay what’s called a hurricane tax, which means we will all see multi-year surcharges on our insurance bills,” he said, “so once again, by asking Citizens to reduce its rate request, it’s making that gap larger and creating a larger potential for a hurricane tax to be implemented if Florida sees significant hurricane loss activity this year.” Additionally, Friedlander mentioned that Citizens Depopulation Program to shift policies to private insurers could be hindered by rate changes. “It’s called depopulation, and that means some private insurers have agreed to step in and take on certain volumes of Citizens customers because the goal is to get Citizens to a much more manageable level,” Friedlander said. Ultimately, the goal of depopulation to move policies to private insurers faces challenges if Citizens can’t raise rates, and Friedlander believes a historic high of 1.7 million customers could be reached due to market turmoil. “Because they’ve grown so much, they have right now about 18% market share in Florida, which is double any private insurer,” Friedlander said, “and that’s clearly a bad dynamic because the backstop insurance company is only supposed to be there when necessary. They’re not supposed to be a primary insurer.” Ultimately, Friedlander acknowledges that consumers are struggling. He said Floridians pay the highest average premium in the country, according to an analysis from the Insurance Information Institute. Specifically, Floridians are paying an average of $6,000 for home insurance this year, which is 42% higher than last year, and three and a half times higher than the average U.S. homeowner. “So there’s a lot of pain for consumers today,” Friedlander said. “It’s very expensive. They’re having a hard time finding coverage, and the rates continue to go up at exorbitant levels, so certainly that could be a key factor as to why the regulator says we need to have much more moderate rate increases, but the problem is those bigger picture issues.” You can read the order, posted on the state Office of Insurance Regulation website, directed Citizens here.