Congratulations to First Federal Savings Bank of Florida, Chamber of Commerce Large Business of the Year and to Restoration Specialists, Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year. We also congratulate Mrs. Charleen Brown of Columbia Bank the Chamber Citizen of the Year. Great job gang. You help make Lake City a wonderful place to live and work.
Local Stuff
Homeowner policy assessments
Citizens Property Insurance Corp – If your home is insured through the state of Florida owned insurance company, Citizens, your risk of assessment is now higher. The Florida Legislature recently passed a law shifting more of the assessment burden to Citizens policyholders. If Florida is struck by a hurricane of significant strength, it is likely Citizens will run out of money and be forced to assess it’s policyholders.
Smoke detectors & daylight saving
A good time to replace the batteries in your smoke detector is every year at daylight savings time. Have you checked your batteries lately? Don’t neglect this little round life saving device.
St. Patrick’s Day
Wishing you safe driving on St. Patrick’s Day!!!
New Personal Injury Protection (PIP) Law
Personal Injury Protections (PIP) on your auto insurance will soon require you to visit the emergency room if you want to collect benefits. You will no longer be able to go to the doctor of your choice whenever you want. The Legislature made this change to combat the rampant fraud that was causing premiums to skyrocket in certain areas of the state.
Vacant Properties
If you own a vacant building, you may want to check your insurance policy to see if coverage is affected by vacant status. When a building has been vacant for a period of time, some coverages like theft and vandalism are excluded altogether. Other claims (like wind or fire) are reduced by as much as 15 percent. The best thing to do is to get the building occupied as quickly as you can.