Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Monday, August 8
Aug 8, 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
There are no insurance-related events scheduled for today.
Florida Scientists Issued Patent on Hurricane Intensity Scale
A scientist from a federal research lab in Florida is one of two inventors issued a patent on a new hurricane-intensity scale.
Opinion: Before next storm hits, review insurance plans; consider connecting with public adjuster
As I write this, early models for Tropical Storm Emily predicted only a moderate impact on Florida. Still, it is dangerous to become complacent and think “it won’t happen to us.”
Editorial: Piling on homeowners
It doesn’t take a CPA to recognize that Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is in a big hole when it comes to providing full sinkhole coverage and has to find a way to dig out.
Letter to the Editor: Sinkhole issue spotlights state’s broken insurance system
In Florida we have a provision in all regular homeowner policies that covers catastrophic ground collapse – when a house falls in a hole and is condemned by building officials.
Editorial: Fix PIP, but don’t kill the no-fault program
Gov. Rick Scott suggested late last month that it’s time Florida scrapped its requirement that motorists carry personal-injury protection, which pays medical benefits for injuries suffered in automobile crashes no matter who’s at fault.
Legislators trying, but no Florida law yet for texting while driving
Highway Patrol this year begins tracking in its reports how motorists get distracted
Florida hasn’t joined the 34 states that ban texting while driving, but traffic safety advocates say a new law isn’t necessary to curb distractions on the road.
HCA warns investors about the cost of Florida’s Medicaid cuts
Hospital corporation HCA warned investors in a Friday filing that reductions in Florida’s Medicaid program could cost the company $50 million over the next year.
Task force to seek reform of Florida’s Assisted Living Facility industry
As a task force on assisted living reform prepares for its first meeting, advocates for the elderly worry the effort may be hijacked by industry leaders intent on protecting the status quo
Calling Florida’s lax oversight of assisted living facilities “deadly,” one of the state’s top lawmakers for social issues vowed this summer to pass sweeping reforms of an industry that has sometimes left frail elders and disabled people in filth and peril.
Florida Governor Scott wants to put road-building in the fast lane
Gov. Rick Scott is backing a major transportation plan that calls for speeding up road construction projects and relying on more tolls to help pay for them. The plan – which also calls for more outsourcing – was unveiled by the Department of Transportation secretary at a road-builders conference in Southwest Florida.
Floridians Feel Sting of New Unemployment Law
Melanie Sellers didn’t receive her $198 unemployment compensation payment last week.
Property tax rates seem to have little effect on local economies
There will be no new taxes from Washington, D.C., at least for now, but in Florida there were plenty of property tax increases last year with seemingly little or no impact on local economies.
Offshore Investors Snapping Up Florida Real Estate
Major companies with ties to Hong Kong, Spain, Argentina and Malaysia are flocking to the Sunshine State
Offshore investors are flocking to Florida’s distressed real estate prices as major companies with ties to Hong Kong, Spain, Argentina and Malaysia are snapping up properties sensing the local market has bottomed.
Environmental battle brews over Port Everglades dredging plan
An environmental fight is brewing over plans by Port Everglades to blast and dredge a deeper entrance channel to accommodate the super freighters that are beginning to dominate the world’s trade routes.
Governor Rick Scott rolls up sleeves to fix image
Is Rick Scott the most hated nice guy in Florida? The Republican governor has been caricatured as Voldemort, Skeletor and worse. A bumper sticker seen recently in Tallahassee read “Rick Scott: The Anti-Christ.”
Florida’s redistricting could pit Republicans against fellow Republicans
When Florida voters swept Republicans to record-level supermajorities in the legislature and congressional delegation last fall, the bulked-up GOP looked like it had little to fear from shrinking Democrats.
Florida state investment chief says transparency was a big issue for lawmakers in 2011
Facing criticisms about the handling of the state’s $130 billion investment portfolio, the executive director and chief investment officer of the State Board of Administration tried to reassure Gov. Rick Scott that everything is fine.
One of the Next Big Debates: Internet Cafes
Should they be interpreted as casinos and shut down, or milked for revenue?
When most people think of Internet cafes, they imagine a business like Starbucks — where, for a fee and usually by the hour or minute, they can access a computer.
Tennessee Reopens for Business from Captive Insurers
Applications are now being accepted in Tennessee for firms looking to create captive insurers under the state’s revised law.
Evaluating the pricing behavior for national and regional renewals excluding Florida at June 1 and July 1, we see that the general market response in both groups was fairly consistent. Pricing for lower layers increased less significantly than upper layers.
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