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Weathering the results: months after suffering through a record four hurricanes, the Sunshine State's insurance industry continues to pick up the pieces.

Article Excerpt
Key Points

* Florida's unusual hurricane season has spiked interest among some insurance clients for more coverage.

* Through November 2004, the Florida Department of Financial Services had received roughly 1,000 requests from homeowners for insurance mediation.

* An estimated 20,000 Florida homeowners will have multiple deductibles.

* Most observers were skeptical of the notion that the hurricanes could reverse the nation's migratory patterns.

Nestled in the heart of Florida's "Treasure Coast"--a stretch of shoreline once best known as the purported hiding place for troves of buried pirate booty--Stuart bears all the tell-tale signs of a typical Sunbelt edge city.

Towering palms stand guard at gated communities, behind whose thatch of foliage lie scores of prefabricated homes encircling manmade ponds. Cul-de-sacs and golf courses dot the landscape, while the city's wide avenues are lined by a procession of strip malls whose awnings are adorned with Christmas lights year-round. Signs weathered by hundreds of Florida thunderstorms invite passersby to enjoy scuba lessons, yacht rentals and the latest in bait and tackle technology.

But when State Farm adjuster Todd Douglas arrived in Stuart Sept. 8, he said, he found a site altogether different from the idyllic seaside paradise that greeted him two months later. Having just been battered by the landfall of Category 2 Hurricane Frances, Stuart was closer to a wasteland. None of the county had power, and there was hardly an intersection with a working street light. Curfews forced residents into their homes by dusk, as local officials feared looting, and the lack of refrigeration meant even store-bought provisions often couldn't be trusted as safe. With most of the county's gas stations suffering shortages, an 18-wheel gasoline tanker truck was parked behind State Farm's office on U.S. Highway 1, so that adjusters such as Douglas could fill up their vehicles and get out to survey the damage.

"On a hurricane, mobilizing a team starts even before it hits....

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