Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Friday, April 26
Apr 26, 2013
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Daily Florida Insurance-Related Events
Florida’s 2013 Regular Legislative Session
- Click here for today’s Senate block calendar
- Click here for today’s House of Representatives block calendar
There are no Florida insurance-related events scheduled for today.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
A newly amended version of SB 1770 keeping customers of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. as of January 1, 2014 under the 10 percent cap on annual rate hikes and now heads to the House, The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.
Allianz Vows to Fight Florida Insurance Regulators in Magnolia Case
Allianz Risk Transfer has vowed to strongly repudiate charges levied by Florida regulators that it contributed to the collapse of a domestic property insurer by seizing management control and saddling it with millions in fees, Insurance Journal’s Michael Adams reports.
Property insurers profits surge in 2012 despite Hurricane Sandy
Despite payouts for Hurricane Sandy and smaller investment gains, private U.S. property/casualty insurers still made $33.5 billion in profit after taxes in 2012, up from $19.5 billion in 2011. Pretax operating income more than doubled from $15.4 billion to $33.3 billion, reports Tampa Bay Times’ Jeff Harrington.
Mobile home park owners feel pinch from Citizens Property insurance
Citizens, created as the insurer of last resort, has been looking for ways to reduce its risks. One way has been to depreciate older manufactured and mobile homes, Laura Layden reports for the Naples Daily News.
Florida Senate Insurance chairman suggests special session on Personal Injury Protection
The head of the Florida Senate’s Banking and Insurance Committee will recommend legislative leaders call a special session to repeal no-fault auto insurance if judges reject reforms the state made to the system a year ago, reports Kathleen Haughney of the Sun-Sentinel.
Florida regulators seek to suspend license of auto insurer tied to 1-800-ASK GARY
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty late Thursday said an investigation determined that AGIC Inc. is in unsound financial condition with a surplus under its required $4 million, reports Tampa Bay Times’ Jeff Harrington. The company also was late in filing financial statements and wrongly comingled funds from other sources to raise its surplus, according to McCarty’s order.
Blog: Florida House vote on texting while driving expected early next week
The Miami Herald’s Rochelle Koff reports that the House is expected to vote next week on a bill that makes texting while driving a secondary violation, which means a motorist would have to commit another offense, such as careless driving, in order to be pulled over. Once stopped, a driver could receive two tickets, one for the first infraction and one for texting.
U.S. Department of Labor Deems Florida Unemployment Insurance Process Unfair
The state violated federal civil rights law with its online application requirement for unemployment insurance: U.S. Department of Labor
Workers’ rights advocates in Florida said Thursday that they are encouraged by the initial determination by the U.S. Department of Labor that found Florida’s online application requirement for people seeking unemployment insurance to be in violation of federal civil rights and nondiscrimination laws, Kyle Hightower reports for NBC 6 WTVJ in Miami.
Florida Governor enacts law restricting drones
A new Florida law restricts police use of drones within the state’s borders, CNN reports.
Governor readies questions for budget turkeys
The Florida Current’s Bill Cotterell reports that Governor Scott says he will expect explanations for special projects that may not seem to make fiscal sense or serve the entire state. Senate budget chairman Joe Negron says he expects nothing less.
Florida voters’ email addresses will remain private, House decides
Lawmakers said they are concerned about protecting voters from being inundated by candidates and political committees that obtain their email addresses, Steve Bousquet reports for The Miami Herald.
Internet sales tax bill stalls under Governor’s concerns, sponsors say
Lawmakers sponsoring a bill to prompt the collection of sales taxes for online purchases said Governor Rick Scott has raised new concerns about the measure, halting its progress, The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.
House approves bill for public private partnerships with local governments
The Florida House approved a bill that would allow private firms to make unsolicited bids to local governments to enter into public private partnerships, The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.
Why Bill Nelson Concerns Rick Scott Campaign
This week, national media reports noted that U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla, is increasingly looking at challenging Gov. Rick Scott in 2014. That’s bad news for the Republican incumbent, SunshineStateNews.com‘s Jeff Henderson reports. More so than other Democratic possibilities looking at running next year — namely, former Governor Charlie Crist, former state CFO Alex Sink whom Scott beat in 2010, and former Democratic Senate Leader Nan Rich — Nelson would pose problems for the governor.
Workers’ Memorial Day, OSHA Anniversary Is April 28
The first Workers’ Memorial Day was observed in 1989. April 28th was chosen because it is the anniversary of the formation of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the day of a similar remembrance in Canada, writes Joan Collier of WCI 360.com.
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