Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Friday, July 29
Jul 29, 2011
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
1:00 p.m.–Surplus Lines Insurance Multistate Compliance Compact (“SLIMPACT”) Commission Webinar Meeting. The Commission is scheduled to review and formally approve bylaws and rulemaking-related markups that were unofficially approved during the Commission’s July 15, 2011 meeting, as well as discuss proposed allocation formulas. To register for the Webinar, click here.
Senator Mike Fasano calls for special legislative session and repeal of SB 408
New Port Richey state Senator Mike Fasano comes on the program to discuss the outrageous rate increases announced this week by Citizens Insurance. Listen to the show here.
- Blog: More lawmakers join the call for closer look at Citizens sinkhole insurance rates
- Do you have sinkhole insurance?
Soaring Claims Drive Florida Insurance Rates Higher
Quirky state laws and ‘no-fault’ auto rule lead to more costly payouts, industry group says
Sharply higher claims payouts are driving up Florida homeowner and auto insurance premiums, even though the state hasn’t been hit by a hurricane in more than five years, a new industry study shows.
Florida Officials Suspect Fraud in Rash of Kitchen Fires
Florida officials are investigating a spate of kitchen fires that have some wondering if they may have been started on purpose to receive money from insurance companies.
MedMal grows on direct insurance business model
After a little more than a year in business, MedMal Direct Insurance Co. has grown its market share to more than 1 percent of all insured doctors in the state of Florida, company leaders said.
Sarasota’s FCCI Insurance Group Named One of Florida Trend’s Best Large Companies to Work For
Sarasota’s FCCI Insurance Group was named as part of Florida Trend’s top ten best large companies to work for in Florida.
Federal judge rules Florida’s drug law unconstitutional
A federal judge has declared Florida’s drug statute unconstitutional on grounds that it does not require criminal intent be proven by prosecutors.
Blog: Florida Governor Scott names Cynthia Lorenzo, Mike Hansen and Doug Darling as agency heads
Governor Rick Scott today announced the appointment of executive directors for three state agencies. Cynthia Lorenzo, who has served as interim director since January, will lead the Agency for Workforce Innovation.
Governor Scott Pulls Controversial Name From Veterans’ Hall of Fame List
Gov. Rick Scott’s office sought to distance itself Thursday from the embarrassment of a list of prospective inductees to the new Florida Veterans’ Hall of Fame that originally included six former members of the Confederate army, a former governor convicted of intimidating black citizens and Scott, himself.
Nestle backs out of Wacissa River water-pumping deal
Nestle Waters North America has backed out of a deal that would have required pumping water out of the Wacissa River for use in the company’s Madison County water bottling plant.
Policy research group: Florida made ‘unnecessarily harmful’ budget cuts
A policy research group has included Florida in a list of states that made unnecessarily austere budget cuts this past year.
Blog: Florida Press Association wants the contract to maintain state’s lobbyist registration system
In a little-noticed action, lawmakers rewrote their rules last session and added a provision to outsource the Office of Lobbyist Registration.
‘Wind farm’ gets boost Thursday, despite potential threat to birds flying through Everglades
Plans to build a “wind farm” that risks putting towering wind turbines in the migration paths of birds flying through South Florida moved a step closer to approval on Thursday.
State Regulators Tout Initiatives, Criticize Fed Expansion Before Congress
State insurance regulators told Congress today that they have heightened regulation of holding companies in the wake of problems experienced by American International Group.
Successful implementation of the federal surplus lines reform law is “threatened” by the patchwork way it is being interpreted by the states, an industry representative told Congress today.
Audit finds Army overpaid on contractor insurance
The Army Corps of Engineers overpaid war insurance premiums by at least $10 million to a unit of CNA Financial Corp. because contract officers failed to negotiate better prices, according to a new audit.
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