Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Friday, February 8
Feb 8, 2013
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
There are no Florida insurance-related events scheduled for today.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Blog: Chamber Poll Suggests Floridians Want Their State Out of the Insurance Business
Floridians believe their state should stay out of the insurance business, rather than supporting a state-run insurance company, according to a recent poll sponsored by the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
Major changes proposed for Citizens Property Insurance
If you’re a Citizens Property Insurance Corp. policyholder, big rate changes may be on the horizon.
Government-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp., now the biggest insurer in Florida, provides artificially low insurance prices to homeowners along the hurricane-prone coast, and requires others to pick up the cost of the subsidy.
Ratings firms seldom share financial-stability scores with consumers
Florida homeowners have few options when it comes to determining the financial stability of their property insurer.
The pushpin map of the United States at FCCI Insurance Group is getting crowded.
Universal Insurance CEO Meier resigns
Bradley I. Meier will resign as chairman, CEO and president of Universal Insurance Holdings, which owns the largest private property insurance company in Florida.
Florida Hears Challenge to Breath Test Software
The Florida Supreme Court is hearing a request from three drunken driving defendants for access to software for breath testing machines.
Victory for Senator Detert in quest to ban texting while driving
Only Florida and a handful of other states have done nothing to keep drivers from texting while they’re behind the wheels of their vehicles.
Progressive groups set up health care act info website
Two statewide progressive advocacy groups have set up a website clearinghouse for information with a positive spin concerning the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.
Florida eye doctor who was Menendez donor is suspected of overbilling Medicare
A South Florida eye surgeon who’s a friend of a U.S. senator is under federal criminal investigation for billing Medicare millions of dollars to treat elderly patients for services they may not have needed, The Miami Herald has learned.
Optometrists win round 1 in annual battle
Nearly 100 lobbyists, reporters and eye doctors crowded into a meeting of the House Health Quality Subcommittee on Thursday for the latest battle in what’s been called an eyeball war between optometrists and ophthalmologists.
Expedited foreclosure bill begins House trek
A bill designed to speed up the foreclosure process in Florida passed through the House Civil Justice Subcommittee on Thursday on a 10-3 vote.
Florida Supreme Court Sides with Bank in High-Profile Foreclosure Fraud Case
The Florida Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision Thursday in a high-profile foreclosure fraud case, ruling that a trial court cannot reinstate a voluntarily dismissed civil action just because the plaintiff is alleged to have lied to the court.
Blog: FPL Rate Hike Headed To Supreme Court
Nearly two months after regulators approved a controversial base-rate increase for Florida Power & Light, the state lawyer who represents utility customers said Thursday he will challenge the decision in the Florida Supreme Court, reports Jim Saunders of the News Service of Florida.
Blog: Drone Bill Flying Through Committees
The proposal to ban law enforcement from using unmanned drones appears to be on auto-pilot.
Florida House Panel OKs Closing Pension to New Public Employee Hires
The traditional state pension plan no longer would be available to new public employees beginning next January under a bill approved Thursday by a House committee.
A top state planning official in the Department of Economic Opportunity is leaving to take another top job in the Department of Environmental Protection.
Galvano: Teacher pay raise needs a lot of work
Members of the Senate Appropriations Education Subcommittee Thursday listened politely while Kim McDougal, the governor’s education policy coordinator, explained Governor Rick Scott’s proposed education budget.
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Putnam: U.S.-Mexico Tomato War Near End
Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam is cautiously celebrating the apparent end of the U.S.-Mexican trade war over tomatoes.
Boca Raton Police Seize $2.5 Million Mansion from Squatter
Police in Boca Raton, Florida, have seized a $2.5 million mansion from a squatter after he tried to use an antiquated state law to take legal possession of the home from Bank of America.
Cabinet Follows Tradition, Rides the Giant Slide
It’s time for the Florida State Fair, which means having the state Cabinet head out to Tampa to ride the Giant Slide.
National Insurance Crime Bureau Report: Pickup Truck Tailgate Thefts
Thieves Enjoying Tailgate Parties at Victims’ Expense
The National Insurance Crime Bureau today released a first-time report that examines the incidents of tailgate thefts across the United States, of which 1,343 claims were generated from 45 states.
Alabama Warns Hundreds of Insurers to Register or Face Fine
Hundreds of property/casualty insurance companies have not registered with Alabama regulators as required, prompting the state insurance department to issue a warning and extend the registration deadline to March 31.
California Commissioner: $160 Million in Homeowner’s Rate Reductions
An average of a 12.6 percent insurance rate reductions is in store for California homeowners insured with State Farm General Insurance Co., according to an announcement from California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones on Thursday.
FEMA Defends Handling of Sandy Flood Claims
The Federal Emergency Management Agency is defending its handling of Superstorm Sandy-related flood insurance claims following sharp criticism by New Jersey’s governor.
Exclusive Interview: North Carolina Commissioner Goodwin on Home, Auto Markets
Recently re-elected North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin is more focused on reform of the state’s homeowners insurance market than he is on auto insurance.
Column: State Farm Insurance has reason to be mum about its office moves to Dallas area
When retailer J.C. Penney announced its head office move from New York to Plano in 1987, the news caused a stir in both the Big Apple and Big D.
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