Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Friday, April 1
Apr 1, 2011
To go directly to the section of your choice, click on a hyperlink below. Other hyperlinks to meeting information, bills and news are noted in bold type.
- Daily Florida Insurance-Related Events
- Daily Florida Insurance-Related Bills Filed for 2011
- Daily Insurance-Related News
Daily Florida Insurance-Related Events
Florida’s 2011 Regular Legislative Session
- Click here for today’s Senate block calendar
- Click here for today’s House of Representatives block calendar
9:00 a.m.–Senate Committee on Budget
- PCB 7146 relating to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation by the Senate Committee on Budget
- SB 634 relating to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation/Prohibited Activities by Senator David Simmons
- SB 636 relating to the Repeal of Obsolete Insurance Provisions by Senator David Simmons
- SB 638 relating to (Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s) Residential Property and Evaluation Grant Program by Senator David Simmons
9:00 a.m.–Florida Insurance Guaranty Association Board of Directors meeting; 9:00 a.m. To view the meeting notice, click here.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related Bills Filed for 2011
HB 7201 relating to the Repeal of the Workers’ Compensation Reporting Requirement by the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee
Under the provisions of HB 7201, the Florida Department of Financial Services would no longer be required to make and issue an annual report on the administration of the State’s workers’ compensation law.
Florida storms bring mix of damage and benefits
A wild 24 hours of wind, rain and hail swept out of Volusia and Flagler counties Thursday afternoon, after taking off a few roofs and leaving a trail of downed power lines and trees.
Blog: Two Broward insurance companies fold
Two Broward County insurers were ordered this month to fold: AequiCap Insurance Co. in Fort Lauderdale and Seminole Casualty Insurance Co. in Tamarac.
Florida’s biggest insurance carrier says it needs to shore up its finances before hurricane season
The board of Citizens Property Insurance is expected to purchase private reinsurance and borrow money in order to help the state-created carrier this storm season.
A bill that would hamper Florida Keys homeowners’ ability to file windstorm Insurance claims has been shot down and another that would eliminate their coverage appears to be losing momentum.
Army Corps proposes less expensive fix for overdue Lake Okeechobee dike repairs
Cost concerns about the $10 million-a-mile approach to repairing Lake Okeechobee’s ailing dike has the Army Corps of Engineers exploring less expensive alternatives to try to avoid more delays for the lingering flood-control fix.
Editorial: Florida’s insurance dilemma
According to state Senator Alan Hays, R-Umatilla, “The people of Florida need the full truth about the extent of our property insurance dilemma.”
There is “a risk of losing the funds” if a proposed beach maintenance project in 2013 is delayed as requested by the city, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Florida Emergency Management Agency: Disabled man cannot live downstairs
A federal agency has rejected a request to allow a wheelchair-bound man to live in a downstairs apartment at his parents’ Cudjoe Key home.
Florida’s Brown & Brown has deal to buy First Horizon Insurance
Brown & Brown Inc. agreed to buy First Horizon Insurance Group Inc.
Florida House Approves Medicaid Overhaul
Five years after a controversial pilot program began in Broward and Duval counties, the Florida House on Thursday approved a statewide proposal to shift Medicaid beneficiaries into managed-care plans.
Senate moving ahead with dramatically different pension proposal
A House budget panel on Wednesday approved a measure that requires 3 percent contributions, raises the retirement age and eliminates DROP.
Growth management bills that would fix judge’s ruling head to governor
The controversy over SB 360 from 2009 now is overshadowed by the sweeping growth management changes being considered by the House and Senate.
Senate panel passes bill that environmentalists say may be the worst of the session
SB 1174 by Senator Gary Siplin would recognize the leveling of farmland as a valid agricultural activity that is exempted from water management district permitting.
Agency head who abruptly resigned gets new state job
Carl Littlefield, who abruptly resigned from his job as director of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities late last month, has been hired by the Department of Children and Families.
Governor Rick Scott orders immediate cuts to programs for disabled
Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered deep cuts Thursday to programs that serve tens of thousands of residents with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and other developmental disabilities.
Blog: Orlando X-way lobbies, but fails, to avoid state takeover
Officials with the Orlando-Orange County Expressway Authority tried to make their case to state Senate budget-writers Thursday to avoid a state takeover of the toll-agency.
Public Policy Polling: Obama up in Florida
From Public Policy Polling: It doesn’t look like Florida will be losing its status as one of the most competitive states in the country at the Presidential level next year- voters in the state are almost evenly divided on Barack Obama’s job performance and although he leads all six of the Republicans we tested him against, some of the margins are quite close.
Blog: Senate budget cuts Governor Scott’s security detail in half
Claiming the governor’s security detail justified when the governor was the brother of a president and a nation at war, the Senate budget eliminates half of Governor Rick Scott’s security detail.
Blog: After being banned by GOP legislature, ‘Uterus’ joins Facebook
Florida’s Republican leadership in the House of Representatives has banned the word “uterus” from the House floor. So Uterus has joined Facebook, hoping to find some friends to say there’s nothing nasty or ‘inappropriate’ with “uterus.”
Does teacher merit pay bill rely on flawed model?
Florida’s new performance pay law would put in place a evaluation system that has been questioned nationally.
North Carolina Eyes Public Panel to Oversee Home Insurance Rates
Frustrated by rising home insurance rates, some North Carolina residents want a greater role in the rate approval process and state lawmakers are looking to give it to them.
Guy Carpenter sees U.S. reinsurance prices rising
Reinsurance pricing is on the rise in the United States after years of declines, driven by a spate of natural disasters and changes to a key forecasting platform, reinsurance brokerage Guy Carpenter & Co. L.L.C. said Thursday.
Washington Law Linked to Surge in Homeowners’ Claims
Homeowners’ claims costs have been climbing in Wash., and a new study conducted by the Insurance Research Council has identified legislation passed in 2007 as the most probable culprit.
$10 million Louisiana 911 call center lauded for storm resistance
Recalling the harrowing days after hurricane Katrina when communication was spotty and operators were flooded with desperate calls for help, city officials on Thursday christened a new 911 call center, designed to withstand hurricane-force winds and operate independently for seven days.
New York Legislature To Pass Bill Addressing Group Self Insured Trusts
The New York State legislature appears to be on the verge of passing legislation to address the state’s group self insured trust workers’ compensation system, which has amassed about $800 million in unfunded liabilities, sources tell NU Online News Service.
New York Regulators Revamping No-Fault Regulation
New York insurance regulators are working to strengthen the language of the state’s rules governing no-fault automobile insurance, in an effort to curb fraud and abuse that cost New Yorkers $241 million last year.
Michigan’s automobile no-fault law needs to be updated to improve efficiency, promote affordability and ensure long-term survival of the system. In this time of tight household budgets, too many Michigan residents are driving without insurance, and state law doesn’t contain key tools essential to control costs and promote affordability.
Louisiana Appeal Court Must Reconsider Malpractice Cap Suit
A state appeals court must reconsider its ruling that the Legislature acted unconstitutionally when it covered nurses who are certified to diagnose illness and prescribe medicine under Louisiana’s $500,000 cap on general malpractice awards, the Louisiana Supreme Court has ruled.
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