Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Monday, December 3
Dec 3, 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
9:30 a.m.–Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Rule Development Workshop.
- Proposed amendments to Rule 69O-176.013, entitled “Notification of Insured’s Rights and Standard Disclosure Form,” would update Form OIR-B1-1149 (Notification of Personal Injury Protection Benefits) in accordance with revisions to Personal Injury Protection (“PIP”) laws as amended by HB 119 (Chapter 2012-197, Laws of Florida). To view the hearing notice, click here.
- Proposed amendments to Rule 69O-170.0155, entitled “Forms,” would update Form OIR-B1-1809 (Health Care Provider Certification of Eligibility) for PIP benefits due to statutory revisions resulting from HB 119. To view the hearing notice, click here.
- Proposed amendments to Rule 69O-148.001, entitled “Funding of Preneed Contracts,” would remove the $7,500 dollar cap on the amount of insurance that may be written, which conflicts with the $12,500 limit permitted under s.626.785, F.S. To view the hearing notice, click here.
Approved “take-out companies” in Florida have been given the go-ahead to remove another 65,990 policies from the state’s bloated insurer of last resort.
A Miami lawmaker is putting more pressure on Citizens Property Insurance, asking the state insurance regulator to conduct a top-to-bottom probe of the company’s business practices.
Editorial: Broken trust in Citizens Property Insurance
The new president of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. blew an opportunity last week to tell Florida property owners why they should continue to have confidence in the state’s “insurer of last resort,” given its record of lax management and lavish spending.
Opinion: At Citizens Property Insurance, the policy isn’t service
Tuesday’s meeting of the Citizens Property Insurance Corp. board featured so many hilariously ironic moments that it’s hard to pick just one. But let’s try.
Florida Governor Rick Scott: Let’s Wait for Inspector’s Report on Citizens Property Insurance
While the president of Citizens Property Insurance took the blame earlier this week for dismantling an internal investigation team, Governor Rick Scott said Friday he’d prefer to wait before commenting until reports he’s ordered into the state-backed agency are completed.
Earlier this year, the Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters approached its 20th anniversary.
A Florida judge has rejected CitiMortgage’s Motion to Dismiss a lawsuit filed by an 89-year-old woman who claims to be the victim of the bank’s alleged predatory force-placed insurance practices.
Florida Senator Alan Hays to Bring Back Cost-Regulating Doctors’ Drug Dispensing Bill
A bill to lower workers’ compensation costs for businesses, by limiting how much doctors can charge for medicine they dispense out of their offices, will return in 2013.
Blog: Trauma rule tossed out in hospital industry battle
A state appeals court on Friday said the Florida Department of Health used an invalid rule to approve new trauma centers in Pasco, Manatee and Clay counties, handing a victory to nearby hospitals that have waged a long-running battle against the facilities.
Florida Representative Travis Cummings: Ready to Hit the Ground Running on Health Care
Conservative Clay County’s freshman representative, an employee benefits consultant and marathon runner, tells Sunshine State News he’s ready to hit the ground running on healthcare reform.
Florida Legislature Gets Back to Business
A new budget, coping with federal health care reform and the cost of a college education in Florida are among the issues Florida lawmakers will be dealing with as they return to Tallahassee this week to begin preparing for their 2013 session.
Blog: Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford doles out Capitol real estate
One of the best approximations of power is the proximity to it.
Florida lawmakers sort through legislative priorities
A new budget, coping with federal health care reform and the cost of a college education in Florida are among the issues that state lawmakers will be dealing with as they return to Tallahassee this week to begin preparing for their 2013 session.
Blog: Federal Environmental Protection Agency signs off on tougher clean water standards
Federal environmental officials on Friday complied with a federal judge’s order to set specific water standards for Florida waterways and estuaries in what environmentalists said was a clear victory in their battle to bolster Florida’s water quality, reports Michael Peltier of the News Service of Florida.
Blog: Florida says no to court oversight in disabled kids dispute
Florida health officials Friday expressed willingness to resolve a dispute with the U.S. Department of Justice about placement of disabled children in nursing homes – but balked at the possibility of federal court oversight, reports Jim Saunders of the News Service of Florida.
Florida Trade Mission, Headed by Governor Rick Scott, Off to Colombia
Governor Rick Scott and an entourage of nearly 200, from 116 Florida companies, left this weekend for a five-day trade mission with Enterprise Florida to Colombia, the state’s second largest trading partner.
The Naples-based hospital chain Health Management Associates rushed Friday to try to defend itself against a critical story that the CBS News show “60 Minutes” is expected to broadcast Sunday about hospital admissions of emergency-room patients, reports Jim Saunders of the News Service of Florida.
Amid criticism that the NAIC was moving to hastily into a worrisome reserving regime involving “black box” models, the Valuation Manual was narrowly adopted by the NAIC plenary today with 43 votes, allowing principles-based reserving to move forward to state legislatures.
Surplus Lines Premium on the Rise in Texas
The amount of surplus lines insurance premium written in Texas roseby 25 percent as of the end of October compared with the same period the year before, signaling a boost to companies operating in this sector.
Standard & Poor’s Report: Reinsurers Discuss Industry Lessons Learned From Hurricane Sandy
A recent report, “Reinsurance Industry Leaders Discuss Lessons Learned From Hurricane Sandy,” published November 29, 2012, on RatingsDirect, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, notes that “reinsurers had three very good quarters until Superstorm Sandy hit the U.S. East Coast on October 29.
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