Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report–Friday, October 3, 2014

Oct 3, 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

 

There are no events scheduled for today.

 

 

Daily Florida Insurance-Related News

 

Barry Gilway:  Citizens Insurance will help homeowners

With so many property insurance choices now available to Florida consumers, it is more important than ever that homeowners work closely with their agents to determine their best insurance options, Citizens Property Insurance CEO Barry Gilway explains in the Sun-Sentinel today.

 

County officials to tour St. Johns River to check for flood damage

Emergency management officials from three counties – Lake, Seminole and Volusia – took boat tours of the St. Johns River on Thursday to monitor water levels and check for flooding along the water’s edge, Martin E. Comas and Jayna Omaye reports for the Orlando Sentinel.

 

South Florida Preparing As Ebola Arrives In U.S.

Long before the Ebola case turned up in Dallas, doctors and nurses in South Florida were running full-blown dress rehearsals, Gary Nelson reports for CBS4 in Miami.

 

Florida Supreme Court To Hear Citizens Insurance Bad Faith Dispute From Escambia County

In a case stemming from Hurricane Ivan a decade ago, the Florida Supreme Court on Tuesday will hear arguments about whether the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. can face a “bad faith” lawsuit because of its handling of a damage claim, Escambia.com reports.

 

United Insurance Holdings Corporation Raised to “Outperform” at Zacks 

Zacks upgraded shares of United Insurance Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:UIHC) from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning.  The firm currently has $15.30 price target on the stock.

 

Dennis Ross’ Star is Ascending in Washington

Former Florida State Representative Dennis Ross is now the U.S. House senior deputy whip and, as he turns 55 later this month, he could be able to rise even higher in Congress, Jeff Henderson reports for SunshineStateNews.com.

 

Florida Workers’ Compensation Insurers Seek Bigger Rate Cut

Florida’s workers’ compensation insurers, already on record recommending an average 2.5 percent cut in rates, now say that a 3.3 percent cut is justified, Insurance Journal’s Michael Adams reports.

 

Adrian Wyllie shut out of debates, to sue organizers

Libertarian gubernatorial candidate Adrian Wyllie is just “a few days” away from filing suit against organizers of the televised debates that begin this month in the race for Florida governor, John Handiboe reports for MyNews13.com.

 

Travis Cummings says he will not run for John Thrasher’s seat

Republican State Representative Travis Cummings will not run in the likely special election to replace Senator John Thrasher, slated to become president of Florida State University.  He told THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA he will not run, in part because of his young family, SaintPetersBlog.com reports.

 

Last Rothstein partner sentenced to 33 months

The last of three partners in the law firm at the center of the largest Ponzi scheme in South Florida history was sentenced Thursday to 33 months in prison, Sun-Sentinel’s Rafael Olmeda reports.

 

U.S. Supreme Court to hear former Hillsborough judicial candidate’s fundraising issue

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday said it will take up a Florida campaign-finance case that pits a former Hillsborough County candidate’s arguments about First Amendment rights and the integrity of judges, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Jim Saunders reports via the Tampa Bay Times.

 

U.S. Supreme Court to Hear “Disparate Impact” Housing Case

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed to decide whether people suing for housing discrimination must prove they were victims of intentional bias, in a case that may give long-sought protection to the lending industry, Bloomberg’s Greg Stohr reports via Insurance Journal.

 

“Ike Contingent” Pounding Insurers with Texas Hail Claims

Insurance availability crises are nothing new, Right Street’s Ian Adams writes via Insurance Journal.  Nor is finger-pointing about what exactly causes them.  In Texas, a red state that is nonetheless home to a robust plaintiffs’ bar, sparring in a particularly active legal blogosphere may portend the arrival of a new insurance availability crisis.

 

Is Auto Insurance “Affordable?”  Ask the Federal Insurance Office

NAMIC’s Robert Detlefsen agrees that the definition of “affordability” is inherently subjective and can probably never be defined to everyone’s satisfaction.  But that doesn’t mean it’s impossible for the Federal Insurance Office to complete the task that Congress assigned to it, he writes in National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com.

 

Attribution Science New and Improved

Scientists are grappling with the concept of how extreme weather is being impacted by climate change, Insurance Journal’s Don Jergler reports.

 

Doctors Net Billions From Drug Firms

Drug and medical-device companies paid at least $3.5 billion to U.S. physicians and teaching hospitals during the final five months of last year, according to the most comprehensive accounting so far of the financial ties that some critics say have compromised medical care, Wall Street Journal’s Peter Loftus reports via Advisen.com

 

 

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