Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Monday, March 28
Mar 28, 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
Florida’s 2011 Regular Legislative Session
- Click here for today’s Senate block calendar
- Click here for today’s House of Representatives block calendar
12:00 p.m.–House Federal Affairs Subcommittee meeting
- HB 617 Relating to Discriminatory Taxes/Reinsurance by State Representative Jeff Brandes
2:00 p.m.–Florida Self-Insurers Guaranty Association Board of Directors meeting. To view the meeting notice, click here.
A third of Florida homeowners use low-grade insurers
Among the worst performers was government-run Citizens Property Insurance, the state’s largest carrier, which received an “E,” the lowest possible mark, for timely payment and customer complaints.
State insurers graded on how they handle claims
Among the worst performers was government-run Citizens Property Insurance, the state’s largest carrier, which received an “E”, the lowest possible mark, for timely payment and customer complaints.
Property insurers report card may be eliminated before being published
An unpublished state report card grading property insurers for how they handle claims shows more than 2.2 million Florida homeowners – one-third of the market – are insured by carriers that received the lowest grades.
Former Florida Insurance Consumer Advocate Sean Shaw today commended the Sarasota Herald-Tribune for publishing the Florida State Insurers Report Card, a consumer friendly tool created in 2007 under Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio, but but never released to the public due to objections from the insurance industry.
Blog: Fraudulent sinkhole claims? Maps show claims near reported sinkhole-activity
Insurance industry representatives are backing legislation this year to fight what they say is a rash of frivolous and fraudulent sinkhole claims in recent years.
Opinion: Sinkholes cause of rising premiums
My homeowners’ renewal premium has been increased by 20 percent “due to the high incidence of sinkholes in the state of Florida.”
Couple struggles to cope in condo still damaged from ’05 hurricanes
Rainy days are a bane for Adrian and Beatriz Sanchez, a Miami couple embroiled in a lengthy legal battle with their condominium association over a leaky roof.
Joan Collier’s Florida People, Places, & Products – March 2011 Round-Up
TuscanoPro, the professional liability division of the Tuscano Agency, is offering a new product that has the ability to combine claims-made E&O coverage with an occurrence GL form.
Houston insurance broker enters Sarasota
Bowen, Miclette & Britt Inc., a Houston-based Insurance broker with $40 million in annual revenues, bought Huckleberry, Sibley & Harvey Insurance & Bonds Inc., which operates in Sarasota.
Column: Solutions to Florida’s no-fault crisis
While insurance fraud comes in many forms, arguably one of the most abused coverages is Personal Injury Protection, or PIP.
Insurance fraud: Staged crashes rob Floridians
Every day, staged-crash gangs and crooked clinics rob hardworking Floridians with brazen Insurance schemes that exploit loopholes in our no-fault auto-insurance system.
Lantana couple charged with insurance fraud in alleged luxury car rental business
A Lantana couple that manages a luxury website that promises customers exotic cars and mansions for rent is being charged with five counts of fraud each, after they allegedly tried getting insurance policies for their rental cars under the their names, claiming private use.
Blog: Doctors, lawyers and Medicaid reform
Republican lawmakers struggling to contain Floridas $20 billion-and-growing Medicaid program are taking an unconventional approach: They’re going after trial lawyers and the rights of injured patients to sue.
Capitol Preview Blog: What to expect during the fourth week of the 2011 legislative session
The Legislature enters its fourth week of the session already getting into the budget – both chambers will have proposed budgets this week – and planning to bring a major Medicaid overhaul to the floor this week, according to the News Service of Florida.
State Representative Esteban Bovo bids farewell to House
State Representative Esteban Bovo bid the House farewell Friday, resigning in the middle of the lawmaking session to run for the Miami-Dade County Commission.
Powerful Leadership Funds Make Comeback
The Florida Legislature reversed one of the most powerful vetoes of former Governor Charlie Crist on Thursday, passing into law a bill that allows legislative leaders to raise unlimited special interest money and funnel it to the campaigns of their hand-picked candidates.
Charges dropped against ex-Floridal House speaker
Prosecutors have dropped corruption charges against a former Florida House speaker accused of scheming to get state money to build an airport hangar for a major Republican donor.
Drug testing of Florida employees may spark legal showdown
How much do Florida taxpayers have a right to know about public employees?
Governor Scott’s Pensacola stop draws protesters
Governor Rick Scott’s whirlwind swing through Pensacola on Friday was all about new jobs, but he was met by several hundred energized protesters worried about keeping theirs.
Tea Partiers Split on ‘Union-Busting’ Effort
Republicans aren’t getting unanimous support as conservative wing splinters
Bills Aim to Stop Adverse Property Possession Law Abuses
You’ve been away from Polk County for a while, but you still own property here.
Florida a hotbed of cargo theft
It’s a multibillion-dollar industry. Those in the field work long hours in carefully chosen teams organized by well-known, influential leaders. It might be considered a growth industry, if it weren’t illegal.
New Jersey law loosens collateral requirements for non-U.S. reinsurers
A measure signed into law this week by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie liberalizes the collateral requirements of non-U.S. reinsurers doing business in the state.
Washington Post: Supreme Court faces Wal-Mart-size decision
Case against retailer could cover millions of female workers
Like the retail behemoth at its center, everything about the Supreme Court extravaganza known as Wal-Mart v. Dukes is super-sized.
New York Times: Insurance Dictated by the Bank
Back in November, my bank sent my wife and me a letter asking that we provide proof of flood insurance for the condominium we own in Florida.
The economic impact of Japan’s recent severe earthquake will likely be in the hundreds of billions of dollars. A small part of that cost, an amount probably in the low tens of billions of dollars, will be covered by insurance companies.
Injured patients discover Texas hospitals seeking a piece of their accident settlements
To this day, Jean Bogardus of Austin doesn’t know what hit her.
She was walking in the parking lot of the Onion Creek Country Club on Feb. 7, 2007, when she was run over by a vehicle, leaving her right leg broken in three places.
Michigan motorists to pay most ever to cover costs of accident injuries
Starting July 1, Michigan motorists will pay more than ever — $145 per vehicle – to cover the state’s cost of treating severe accident injuries.
New York City Council Moves To Block Crash-Tax Proposal
New York City Council Member Peter Vallone Jr. has introduced a bill to stop a plan by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
Jamaica Gets Own Earthquake Risk Model
Mona GeoInformatics Institute and the Earthquake Unit at The University of the West Indies have developed an earthquake risk model for NEM Insurance Company Jamaica Limited, says NEM’s General Manager Chris Hind.
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