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 arrested 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.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
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 arrested 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.
CAPE CORAL Cape Coral drug bust leads investigators to fake fentanyl, cash and guns Cape Coral man arrest on drug charges. Investigators said they found, guns, drugs, and more than $32,000 in Richard Riley’s home.
NAPLES Naples youth flag football team to compete in Ohio tournament This weekend, the Naples Lunatics Green will compete in the Superhero Sports tournament in Canton, Ohio.
Hurricane Ian has cost insurance companies more than $21 billion dollars as of April 22, 2024, according to data from the Office of Insurance Regulation. Now, one of Florida’s largest insurers will add $1 million to its total. The OIR issued the seven figure fine to Heritage Property and Casualty Insurance Company for violating a number of Florida laws when handling some of its Hurricane Ian-related claims. “Insurance companies are financial first responders to disasters”, said Mark Friedlander with the Insurance Information Institute. “Their promise is to take care of policyholders in times of loss. Based on the investigation of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, Heritage did not deliver on its promise to policyholders.” Drone image after Hurricane Ian, CREDIT: WINK News The OIR’s 7-page Targeted Market Conduct Examination Report broke down why Heritage has to fork over so much money. From April 11, 2023 to March 11, 2024, the OIR looked into three different samples of the company’s Hurricane Ian claims filed between the day Ian hit Southwest Florida through February 28, 2023. It found the insurer: did not acknowledge claims in 14 days (this law was later changed to 7 days); did not give the policyholder a document containing the adjuster’s name and license number; did not include the name and license number of the adjuster in a subsequent communication regarding the claim; did not pay or deny a claim or a portion of the claim within 90 days (this law was later changed to 60 days); did not calculate the correct amount of interest owed on payment of a claim; did not pay interest when the claim payment was made 90 days after a claim was filed; did not give the Homeowner Claims Bill of Rights to a policyholder within 14 days after an initial claim communication; did not keep complete claims records and; used adjusters who were not properly licensed. Friedlander said this examination report and fine sends a clear message to insurers and policyholders. “Insurers will be held accountable and policyholders will be supported by the Office of Insurance Regulation” Friedlander added. Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworksy Heritage CEO Ernie Garateix said in a statement: “Heritage fully complied with OIR’s market conduct examination into our Hurricane Ian claims from September 2022 to February 2023. We also informed OIR that many of the same concerns they identified were also flagged internally and we have already taken significant action to address those concerns in order to better serve our policyholders. A few of the key improvements Heritage already made to enhance our service includes: • The creation of a Governance and Compliance Director position to further ensure compliance with all state claims requirements; • An expansion of the claims quality assurance process; • The addition of resources to our internal audit functions; • The implementation of a new claims management software; • The added requirement that field adjusters document the manner in which they provide the policyholder with a printed or electronic document; • The modification of software to require the adjuster license number be included; • The creation of automated reports to track compliance claim timeframes; • The reformulation of our interest calculator on claims; • The required validation of names and licenses of new third-party desk adjusters; • The implementation of a new claims training program; • The expansion of the Claims Quality Assurance function to include 10 employees. “Our message to our policyholders is simple: We are committed to excellence and will never stop striving to improve. Heritage wants to be a valued partner for our policyholders in their time of need and the State of Florida.” Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky signed the order on Thursday, May 9th. “The regulator means business, and they are not just all talk,” Friedlander said. “They are taking action, and when they said they were going to investigate the situation, they did it.” The order said Heritage agreed to pay the fine and must pay it within 10 days. WINK News Consumer Reporter Andryanna Sheppard asked the OIR where the $1 million will go toward. A spokesperson is looking into it. The last time OIR issued a fine of up to $1 million was in 2013 against Universal Property and Casualty Insurance Company for $1.26 million. Related: Homeowners insurance company takes dozens of Southwest Floridians to court