Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report–Friday, July 11

Jul 11, 2014

 

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

 

12:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.–Florida Division of Administrative Hearings Rule Development Workshop.  Proposed amendments to procedural Rules applicable to workers’ compensation adjudications before judges of compensation claims in accordance with Sections 440.015 and 440.44(2), Florida Statutes.  To view the Workshop notice, click here.

     

     

    Daily Florida Insurance-Related News

     

    Florida’s Citizens will drop to 650,000 policies, says CEO Barry Gilway

    Citizens Property Insurance Corp. expects to move about 300,000 policies now carried by the carrier to private markets, according to the President and Chief Executive Officer Barry Gilway.  SaintPetersBlog.com’s Phil Ammann reports.

     

    Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty:  Florida homeowners insurance market is strong

    The Florida homeowners insurance market is the strongest it has been in 10 years, says Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty in this Tampa Bay Times Editorial Opinion.

     

    Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance now on a better financial footing, CEO Barry Gilway Says

    The financial outlook for Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is improving, based on a variety of measurements discussed today by the chief executive that has guided the process the past two years, Dave Hodges reports for the Tallahassee Democrat.

     

    Florida flood-prone property values rebound strongly after 2013 insurance scare

    There’s evidence that a congressional fix early this year to stall the harshest of the rate hikes coming under the National Flood Insurance Program has stabilized property values.  At least in ground zero of Pinellas County, explains Tampa Bay Times’ Jeff Harrington.

     

    Naples, Cape Coral on list of cities most vulnerable to storm surge

    Two Southwest Florida cities have made the CoreLogic top-10 list of cities most vulnerable to hurricane-driven storm surges, June Fletcher reports for Naples Daily News.

     

    Florida Farm Bureau Warns on Insurance Fraud

    Farm Bureau Insurance recently shed some light on what has been going on in the insurance industry, focusing mainly on insurance fraud, Joyce Marie Taylor reports for the Suwanee Democrat.

     

    Judge rules Florida Legislature broke law on maps

    The Florida Legislature illegally drew the state’s congressional districts to primarily benefit the Republican Party, a judge ruled Thursday as he ordered them to be redrawn.  Gary Fineout reports for Associated Press via the Tampa Tribune.

     

    Florida Supreme Court to rule on expert witness standards

    The Florida Supreme Court expects to rule on the constitutionality of a contentious 2013 law to tighten standards for expert testimony in litigation, SaintPetersBlog.com’s Phil Ammann reports.

     

    Florida Keys to Get Extra Area Code in 2015

    Residents living in the Florida Keys will soon have to dial 10 numbers to make a call, NBC-Miami reports.

     

    How All Aboard Florida was fast-tracked despite firewall letter

    A direct information nexus from All Aboard Florida’s corporate office to the Governor’s inner-circle helped to fast-track the private rail project, Peter Schorsch writes for SaintPetersBlog.com.

     

    Florida has among lowest rates of science, technology workers

    About 1 in 5 Florida workers are in science and engineering or related fields, placing the Sunshine State near the bottom of the list of states whose workforce is made up of STEM jobs, the Associated Press reports via SaintPetersBlog.com.

     

    Crist says state should review gun laws

    Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Charlie Crist said Thursday that Florida should review two controversial gun laws that he supported when he was the state’s Republican governor, Associated Press’ Michael Mishak reports via the Tampa Tribune.

     

    Official complaints now part of campaign toolbox

    It’s the latest weapon in the fight to win the governor’s seat:  Don’t like something your opponent did? File a complaint with a state agency.  Tampa Tribune’s James Rosica explains.

     

    As FACTA overcomes industry lobby efforts, Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers hopes its portal can aid members

    Because the foreign tax compliance issue is of particular importance to agents and brokers, the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers has created a web portal, W8BENE, which allows global carriers to upload their W-8 forms to a database which U.S. brokers can then search and download, National Underwriter’s Arthur Postal reports via PropertyCasualty360.com.

     

     

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