Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Friday, July 20
Jul 20, 2012
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 insurance-related events scheduled for today.
Universal Group, Inc., a Personal and Commercial Lines carrier with operations in Puerto Rico and the United States, and Cover-All Technologies, announced today that Universal will upgrade to Cover-All’s new Policy Administration platform and its Commercial Lines products including Commercial Auto, Commercial Package, Boiler & Machinery, EPLI and Umbrella to transform their core commercial lines operations including rating, quoting, underwriting, document generation/management and distribution while improving collaboration and productivity.
Editorial: Citizens Property Insurance Has Value To Residents
The question is not whether state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will raise rates, but how fast and by how much.
Blog: Harsh medicine in South Florida
The Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s governing board convened a workshop in Miami this week to address various issues facing the state-run insurer, including its inadequate rates, ballooning book of business and recent complaints about how the company is going about its reinspection program.
Column: A little protection money
I can usually gauge the seriousness of a crisis by the Frau’s pitch.
Hurricane Shutters: Who is putting yours up?
Hurricane season began June 1. It is now mid July 15 and many homeowners do not know who to contact regarding having their shutters put up and taken down in the event of a storm.
An increasing number of homes each month are being tested for sinkholes and foundation problems in Hernando County.
Brooksville sinkhole report due out
Rob Mills said he wants to make sure that once the crater-sized sinkholes are repaired at the Hernando County Airport they will not reopen in the future.
Florida consumer advocate urges health care action
A consumer advocate is urging Florida insurance regulators to seek public comment on essential health care benefits under the federal Affordable Care Act.
Blog: Florida Governor Rick Scott ranks county health departments
Another arm of state government can be added to the growing list of agencies ranked at the behest of Governor Rick Scott.
Whooping cough cases increase in South Florida
Beware of lingering coughs – they may not be symptoms of the common cold.
Florida Supreme Court Justices Want Their Depositions Delayed
Three Florida Supreme Court justices, facing a lawsuit that claims they violated state law by using court employees for election paperwork, don’t want to give depositions.
Trial of former Republican Party of Florida chair Jim Greer postponed until mid November
A judge on Thursday delayed the criminal trial for former state GOP Chairman Jim Greer until mid-November, sparing Florida Republicans the embarrassment of intense scrutiny of the party’s inner-workings just weeks before Tampa hosts the Republican National Convention.
With Senator Gary Siplin, D-Orlando, facing term limits, a competitive battle is shaping up between two strong candidates battling it out in the Democratic primary to replace him in representing parts of Orange County in the Florida Senate.
Two well-known state representatives, Mack Bernard and Jeff Clemens, are competing in a Democratic primary that will effectively put one of them in the new Senate District 27 seat covering much of east-central Palm Beach County and the other one out of office.
It’s the third time Representative Steve Perman and former Representative Kevin Rader have competed for a southeast Florida House seat, this time in House District 81.
After running for the Florida Senate and coming up short in 2010, former Representative Carl Domino is looking to return to the state House, but he has to defeat four opponents in the Republican primary first.
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: John Thrasher, Joe Negron Join Support for Tom Lee
Two more Republican heavyweights climbed aboard Thursday to endorse Tom Lee in his primary bid against Representative Rachel Burgin in a Senate race that has turned ugly and personal.
Ocala shooting intersects “stand your ground,” Internet café issues
Conservative supporters of the contentious “stand your ground” law are pointing to a recent shooting in Ocala as evidence of the need for the law, but the incident in question could have implications for another controversial issue in Florida politics: Internet sweepstakes cafes.
Florida Representative Rachel Burgin: “I knew nothing of hit piece”
State Representative Rachel Burgin, waging a “family values” campaign and fighting the Florida Republican establishment for a seat in the state Senate, said Thursday she had nothing to do with an explosive hit piece recently mailed to voters — injecting former Senate President Tom Lee’s divorce and remarriage into their bitterly fought campaign.
Blog: Alabama wind pool continues to grow but private insurance is increasingly available
The state’s coastal property insurer of last resort has continued to grow steadily over the past year, according to data from the insurer, and as of May it covered 25,383 policies totaling nearly $4.4 billion of insured value.
Editorial: Why the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association should wait
The Actuarial-Underwriting Committee of the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association canceled its meeting, which had been scheduled for Monday in Austin.
European Union queries U.S. seat on global accounting body
The United States may have to give up its seat on a top global accounting body if it continues to drag its feet over the adoption of international book-keeping rules, the European Union’s executive said on Wednesday.
Regulators: Reinsurers No Threat to Financial Stability
Traditional reinsurance poses no threat to global financial stability, but the industry should still be closely watched because of its peripheral involvement in potentially risky activities, regulators said on Wednesday.
Workers’ Compensation Group: Most Prescription Drugs Now Sold at Medical Offices
Florida is second in the nation for prescription drugs being dispensed out of doctor’s offices, according to a study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute.
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