Snow-birds Flocking to Fla., Filing 8,000 Damage Claims Per Week

Snow-birds who only come to Florida in the winter are accounting for an average of 8,000 new hurricane damage claims per week according to the Hurricane Insurance Information Center and the Florida Insurance Council.

More than 2 million claims were filed in Florida for hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne, and according to these industry groups 86 percent of the hurricane damage claims received in Florida insurance claims had been paid as of Dec. 30. Hurricane Charley hit Aug. 13, and the number of claims settled on that hurricane are now at 90 percent.

Insured losses from the 2004 hurricanes in Florida are estimated at more than $21 billion by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation.