Things To Do In SW Florida

By Isabel Contreras | NerdWallet

Lying on an insurance application can seem like an easy work-around to soften the burn of today’s rising auto insurance rates. But the practice can end up costing drivers more than it stands to save them.

There are no small lies

Knowingly lying on an insurance application to gain a benefit is fraudulent and illegal. While it might get drivers a lower premium, it can cost them their payout if they file a claim, lead to the cancellation of their coverage, and could even result in legal consequences.

According to Stothard Deal, vice president of strategic planning for TransUnion’s insurance business, things like lying about where you live or the number of drivers in your household, failing to add a teenage driver to your policy, or not disclosing any preexisting issues with your vehicle fall under material misrepresentation.

It’s important for drivers to get these facts right on their car insurance application, because a seemingly minor detail could potentially leave them paying out of pocket for costs their insurance would typically cover. read more

Jeff Ostrowski | (TNS) Bankrate.com

For middle-class Americans, homeownership is a key component of their family’s net worth. But many Black and Latino Americans find themselves on the outside looking in. Their homeownership rates are significantly lower, and they often find their properties are consistently less valuable than comparable ones in White neighborhoods.

This racial gap in home appraisals is a real phenomenon, one that sabotages the wealth-building power of homeownership in Black and Latino neighborhoods, according to a significant body of research. Among the largest studies of late is mortgage giant Freddie Mac’s analysis of 12 million transactions, showing that appraised values are more likely to fall short of the purchase price for homes in census tracts with a higher share of Black and Latino households.

The appraisal gap matters because it creates a barrier for Black and Latino homeowners hoping to sell their property for a profit, and for buyers seeking financing for a purchase. What’s more, it has a lasting impact on the overall net worth of these consumers — the ramifications of which can extend through generations. read more

SpaceX is set to continue the Space Coast’s record rocket launch pace with a Monday evening liftoff in store, although weather might not cooperate.

A Falcon 9 rocket on the Turksat-6A mission sending a Turkish communications satellite to a geosynchronous transfer orbit set to lift off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 targeting a 5:21 p.m, liftoff during a launch window that runs until 9:14 p.m. with a four-hour backup window that opens at 5:20 p.m. Tuesday.

Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts only a 30% chance for favorable weather conditions, though, on both Monday and the backup launch window on Tuesday with cumulus cloud, anvil cloud and lightning rules threatening launch.

This is the 15th flight of the first-stage booster, which will attempt a recovery landing downrange on the droneship Just Read the Instructions stationed in the Atlantic.

It’s the 50th launch of the year from either Canaveral or neighboring Kennedy Space Center with SpaceX responsible for 47 of them. read more