Business Briefs – September 7, 2017

Top Florida Home Insurer Could Face Big Hit From Irma

NEW YORK (AP) – A decade-long lucky streak of decent weather that helped rescue one of Florida’s biggest home insurers from collapse could come to a wet, violent end if predictions about Hurricane Irma prove true. Industry experts say Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is strong enough to absorb the blow from the storm, but that claims could punch a big hole in its finances and lead to higher premiums.

Governors Back Bipartisan Senate Bid To Control Health Costs

WASHINGTON (AP) – Some Republican and Democratic governors are the latest voices endorse a bipartisan Senate drive to control health insurance costs in defiance of President Donald Trump. He’s has threatened several times to block federal subsidies to insurers for lowering deductibles and other out-of-pocket costs for millions of lower-earning customers. Analysts and the insurance industry say halting the payments would lead to new premium increases.

Hurricane Harvey Spikes U.S. Jobless Aid Applications to 298K

WASHINGTON (AP) – The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits leapt last week by the most in nearly five years, driven mostly by Hurricane Harvey’s impact on Texas and Louisiana. The Labor Department says weekly applications for jobless aid jumped 62,000 to a seasonally adjusted 298,000, reaching the highest level in two years.