Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Friday, April 11
Apr 11, 2014
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Daily Florida Insurance-Related Events
There are no events scheduled for today.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has issued a Consent Order to Praetorian Insurance Company, Florida’s second largest lender-placed insurance provider, requiring the modification of its business practices related to this type of coverage.
Homeowner upset his People’s Trust Insurance policy canceled three months after he got it
Consumers may not think it’s fair, but it’s perfectly legal under the law if the cancelation is done within 90 days of the effective date and a reason is given. The policyholder must get 20 days written notice of the cancelation, WPTV’s Jenn Strathman reports.
Glitch causes Florida Division of Motor Vehicles to wrongfully suspend licenses
Officials with the Department of Motor Vehicles said they have reinstated thousands of licenses that were wrongfully suspended due to a glitch, WFTV-TV reports.
Uber bill narrowed to Hillsborough, clears Senate panel
Legislation that has sparked a fight between traditional cab and limousine companies and Uber, a cell-phone application that connects people with rides and allows for quick, non-cash payments, moved through the Senate Transportation Committee on Thursday, but only after being amended to apply strictly to the Tampa area, The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.
South Florida’s newest road hazard: toll scammers
If you received a letter from something called Toll Enforcement, LLC, demanding payment for overdue highway tolls, ignore it. It’s a flim-flam, Alfonso Chardy reports for El Nuevo Herald.
Consumer Federation of the Southeast: Will your next car be a rebuilt wreck?
Today, Florida law requires a total-loss vehicle that has damage of more than 80 percent of its retail value to receive a Certificate of Destruction, deeming it to be destined for dismantling or destruction. Although many of these vehicles cannot be returned to a safe condition, Senate Bill 754/House Bill 7063 would make it much easier to put such vehicles back on the road, explains Walter Dartland, executive director of the Consumer Federation of the Southeast in this Tallahassee Democrat editorial opinion.
House introduces less restrictive Telemedicine plan in omnibus health care bill
The House version of a plan that would provide framework for Florida’s budding Telemedicine services is not as strict as the Senate version, but still requires out-of-state physicians to sign up in a registry, The Florida Current’s Arek Sarkissian reports.
Trauma “Train” Could Set Up Health Debate
The House and Senate could be headed toward a collision at the end of the legislative session about major health-care issues, including the continued operation of three disputed trauma centers, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Jim Saunders explains via SunshineStateNews.com.
Florida Supreme Court Ponders Whether Judgment Enforceable After Worker’s Comp Settlement
The family of a man killed on the job wants the Florida Supreme Court to enforce a judgment that the insurance industry argues would gut the state’s worker’s compensation law, Adolfo Pesquera reports for the Daily Business Review.
Weatherford’s pension reform showing life, but time is running out
Despite indications of a difficult path ahead, pension reform continued to advance through the Legislature on Thursday, keeping the hopes alive for the man pushing it, Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford, the Miami Herald’s Michael Van Sickler reports via the “Naked Politics” blog.
Senate’s plan to reduce taxes on cable, cell phone at odds with House
As lawmakers haggle over the budget in the final stretch of the session, they’ll be deciding whether cell phones deserve a tax break or TV producers, gym memberships and low income neighborhoods do, Michael Van Sickler and Tia Mitchell report for Tampa Bay Times.
Solar “uprising” becomes partisan rally for Crist as Republicans stalk
A capital rally to encourage solar energy development in Florida became partisan Thursday as organizers used the event to call out incumbent Gov. Rick Scott and welcomed his election-year rival, former Governor Charlie Crist. The Miami Herald’s Mary Ellen Klas reports via the “Naked Politics” blog.
Steve Crisafulli-led committee has nearly $1 million in the bank for House races
After raising $548,950 during the first quarter of 2014, a committee controlled by incoming House speaker Steve Crisafulli is sitting on a nearly $1 million war chest, Florida Times-Union’s Matt Dixon reports via PoliticalFixFlorida.com.
Joe Geller Clear Favorite for Open House Seat in South Florida
With his leading opponent dropping out of the race, Joe Geller has become the strong favorite to win the Florida House seat currently held by Joe Gibbons, Jeff Henderson reports for SunshineStateNews.com.
Meet South Florida’s New U.S. Marshal
Amos Rojas Jr. is South Florida’s real US Marshal, appointed by the White House last month after the hardest interview of his life, David Sutta reports for CBS-4 in Miami.
Senators Announce Bipartisan Bill to Reauthorize Terrorism Insurance
A bipartisan group of U.S. senators has agreed on legislation to extend the government’s financial backstop of terrorism insurance for seven years, Bloomberg’s James Rowley and Cheyenne Hopkins report via Insurance Journal.
Colorado State Predicts Below-Average Atlantic Hurricane Season
Rising heat in the equatorial Pacific Ocean portends the quietest Atlantic hurricane season in five years, Colorado State University researchers said. Brian K. Sullivan reports for Bloomberg via National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com.
Texas Regulators OK Formation, Redomestication of Captive Insurers
The Texas Department of Insurance announced the formation of a new captive insurer and the redomestication of two other captive entities have been approved under new rules adopted to implement SB 734, Insurance Journal reports.
Washington Insurance Commissioner Fines Insurance Producers
Washington Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler issued fines totaling $23,050 against insurance companies, agents and brokers who violated state insurance regulations. The disciplinary actions and fines were levied from Feb. 10 through March 10, Insurance Journal reports.
United Nations Climate Report Seeks Clear-Cut Economics to Guide Actions
A U.N. report about ways to fix global warming due on Sunday is likely to disappoint investors seeking clear-cut economic calculations about the benefits and costs of curbing rising greenhouse gas emissions, Reuters’ Alyster Doyle reports via Insurance Journal.
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