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Digest

Talk of the bay

By TIMES WIRES
Published November 25, 2006

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. tampabay.com

Industry in crisis

Learn about the problems facing insurance companies in Florida at tampabay.com/insurance.

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. THE TICKER

IT'S EASY TO SEE HOW INSURANCE COSTS PILE UP

If your homeowners insurance bill seems even higher next year than you thought it would be, there's an explanation. It's all thanks to our little friend, the assessment. Besides double-digit rate increases, everyone in the state with property insurance will be assessed an extra 8 percent of their premium when they renew. Here's the breakdown: Citizens, the state-run insurer of last resort, gets a 2.5 percent assessment to help pay off a $1.7-billion deficit from 2005. Citizens also is receiving a 1.5 percent emergency assessment for each of the next 10 years. Everyone has to chip in 2 percent of their premium to help reduce the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe (CAT) Fund deficit. Finally, we all get to help bail out bankrupt Poe Financial by kicking in another 2 percent to the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association. Poe left behind close to $800-million in unpaid claims, which FIGA must pay by collecting from ... you and me.

Can Selmon's win on the road, too?

It's long been a question for OSI Restaurant Partners, the parent company of such chains as Outback Steakhouse and Carrabba's Italian Grill: Can a restaurant named after a Tampa Bay Buccaneer who retired in 1986 do well outside the bay area? Six years after its founding, Lee Roy Selmon's hasn't tested the waters yet in New York, Los Angeles or even Orlando, for that matter. But the chain is taking some baby steps. Selmon's first location outside the bay area opened this year in Bradenton, nearly 50 miles from the mother ship in Tampa. And the chain will reportedly add a location soon in Sarasota. It's good to be cautious.

Property merger full of good cheer

Trammell Crow Co. shareholders will get an early Christmas present this year. The Dallas real estate company's proposed sale to competitor CB Richard Ellis Group has been given approval by antitrust officials at the Federal Trade Commission. The deal, slated for a vote by Trammell Crow shareholders Dec. 18, is for about $1.79-billion, or $49.51 per share. If approved, the transaction will create the biggest property manager in the Tampa Bay area, with 10-million square feet under management. Among the properties in the combined portfolio: Tampa's Bank of America Plaza, SunTrust Financial Centre and Fifth Third Center.

[Last modified November 24, 2006, 20:53:28]