Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report – Friday, July 29, 2016

 

Battling Back Against the Use of AOBs in Water-Related Claims

Assignments of Benefits are the fastest-moving vehicles for fraudulent activity in Homeowners’ Insurance Claims, Colodny Fass’ Maria Elena Abate writes via Claims Management Magazine.

  

Sea Level Rise Threatens Florida Military Installations, Study Finds

Florida’s Military Installations face more flooding and hurricane damage as the seas rise.  Amy Green reports for WMFE.

  

Brightway Insurance Recognized for Size, Growth

Brightway Insurance has been recognized by Florida Trend and the Jacksonville Business Journal for being one of the 225 largest privately held Florida-Based Companies and for overall Sales Revenue Growth from 2013-2015, respectively, the company announced.

  

Florida’s Telehealth Advisory Council Appointed

Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration announced the appointments of 13 Representatives to the newly-created Florida Telehealth Advisory Council, the National Law Review Reports.

  

Public Insurance Firm Snaps up South Florida Company

Illinois-Based Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Miami-Headquartered Gabor Insurance Services, South Florida Business Journal’s Nina Lincoff reports.

  

Associated Industries Florida Forms Workers’ Comp Task Force

The Associated Industries of Florida Business Lobby is forming a “Florida Workers’ Compensation Strategic Task Force” after court decisions they said will collectively cost businesses in the hundreds of millions, FloridaPolitics.com reports.

 

Florida Blue Plans to Triple Workforce in Seminole County

The expansion will add about 300 jobs in Seminole County.  Roughly 200 of them will be in a newly renovated, 30,500-square foot facility in Lake Mary.  Robert Lowe reports for WESH.

  

Local Regulations a Mixed Bag for Florida Pot Dispensaries

With pot shops starting to sprout in Florida, Cities are struggling on how to Regulate the State’s New Industry, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Dara Kam reports.

  

Feds, Florida Bicker Over Who is Responsible for Poor Water Quality

Federal and State Agencies are bickering over who exactly is responsible for poor water quality conditions that have gripped much of the State for most of this year.  Chad Gillis reports for the Ft. Myers News-Press.

• Army Corps to Maintain “Pulse” Discharges from Lake Okeechobee
• Lake Okeechobee Draining Triggers Riff Between Farming Towns, Coastal Communities

 

PolitiFact: What Did Happen with Trump’s Florida Condo Projects?

Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Tim Kaine questioned Donald Trump’s business ethics, saying the Republican Presidential Candidate swindled customers in a past real estate deal in the Sunshine State.  The Tampa Bay Times’ Joshua Gillin reports for Politifact.

  

Study:  Shutting Red-Light Cameras Can Be Deadly

Traffic Deaths from Red-Light-Running crashes go up by nearly a third after cities turn off cameras designed to catch motorists in the act, according to a study by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.  The Associated Press reports via the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.

  

PCI’s Passmore:  Feds Miss Key Factors in Defining “Affordable” Auto Rates

The Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office took a positive step in working with the insurance industry to develop a definition of “Affordable” Auto Insurance, although the formula fails to account for rising claims costs and other key factors pushing insurance premiums higher, says Robert Passmore of PCI. “We think the methodology is less valuable to consumers than it could be,” he said.  NerdWallet.com reports via the PCI SmartBrief.

  

As Large Banks Pull Back, Insurers Move in as Shadow Lenders 

Rules passed after the 2008 Financial Crisis have constrained lending for the largest U.S. banks. So companies such as MetLife and American International Group are diversifying into home mortgages, small-business lending, car loans, renewable-energy financing and student debt.  In other words, they’re acting like Banks without being regulated like them.  Bloomberg reports via Crain’s Miami.

  

Insurance Could Prove Another Hurdle for Nevada Marijuana Biz

Add the Insurance issue to a growing list of challenges with Financial Services marijuana businesses are running into, Rachel Christiansen reports for KNPR.org.

  

Inside the Title Insurance Cartel

The Real Deal reports how the Title Insurance Industry became the bulletproof behemoth it is today.

  

The Good And The Ugly:  Insurance Advertising

Forbes’ Will Burns reviews television advertising and highlighting the three winners (the GOOD) and three losers (the UGLY), according to quantitative measures, of the Insurance spots that ran in June.

 

 

 

 

Click here to follow Colodny Fass on Twitter (@ColodnyFassLaw)

 

 

 

 

To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please send an e-mail to colodnyfassnews@gmail.com.