Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Monday, March 30, 2015
Mar 30, 2015
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
2:00 p.m.–Florida Self-Insurers Guaranty Association Board of Directors meeting. Tallahassee, Florida. To view the meeting notice, click here.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund Cleared to Buy $2.2 Billion of Reinsurance
In what counts as excellent news both for Florida taxpayers and the private insurance market, Governor Rick Scott and the State Board of Administration have approved a request from the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund to explore transferring up to $2.2 billion in risk back to the private market. Right Street’s Ray Lehmann blogs for Insurance Journal.
Lawmakers should close car insurance loophole
Only one industry has been able to avoid responsibility to the public . . . and it’s letting visitors injure, maim and kill Floridians, explains Florida Justice Association’s Todd Copeland in this Miami Herald editorial opinion
New Florida Term Coined for Climate Change
Senator Jeff Clemens jokingly suggested “atmospheric re-employment” could be substituted for “climate change” as Florida Emergency Management Bryan Koon testified before a legislative committee last week. Matt Dixon reports for Scripps’ “Political Fix Florida” blog.
Insurance stands to gain in Florida Legislature’s Uber, Lyft debate
Beyond disrupting the taxicab and hotel industries, the mushrooming popularity of shared services like Uber and Airbnb has triggered a cry for regulation in the state capitol, Tampa Bay Times’ Michael Auslen reports.
- Personal Insurance Federation of Florida Releases TNC Legislation Guidelines
- Uber Florida insurance deal coming into focus
A Florida father fights to turn pool tragedy into legislation
Chris Sloan arrived in Tallahassee this month intent on passing legislation that would ban high-voltage lights from backyard swimming pools. He was told his bill had no chance — only to find it revamped and thrust back in play last week. Kathleen McGrory reports for the Tampa Bay Times.
Change to obscure real estate law could cost Florida homeowners
Estoppel letters, also known as estoppel certificates, are sent by a homeowner’s association for a real estate closing, detailing any amount owed, the Tampa Tribune’s James Rosica explains for Scripps’ “Political Fix Florida” blog.
Florida’s county jails prepare for inmates’ hospital bills with catastrophic insurance coverage
Each and every year, taxpayers in Orange, Osceola and Seminole counties invest far more than $26 million on jail inmates’ well being-care fees. The highest person costs are for hospitalized inmates recovering from gunshot wounds, strokes or other life-threatening illnesses, the Orlando Sentinel reports.
Florida Insurance Commissioner Improves Nationwide Access to HIV Drugs
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin M. McCarty announced this week that Aetna, Inc. and Coventry Health Care of Florida, Inc. are revising their HIV/AIDS drug formularies for individual health plan members, EdgeBoston.com reports.
Halfway through Session, Florida lawmakers resolve next to nothing
Nearly halfway through Florida’s legislative session, consensus remains elusive on nearly every major issue: health care, conservation, school testing, the budget and tax cuts, the Orlando Sentinel’s Gray Rohrer reports.
Early voting in NE Florida special elections starts
The long tail of John Thrasher’s decision to leave the Senate to assume the presidency of Florida State University will finally come to an end two weeks from now, when special elections to fill the legislative vacancies left in his wake are held on April 7. SaintPetersBlog.com’s Ryan Ray reports.
Run from Cuba, Americans cling to claims for seized property
Soon after Fidel Castro won control of Cuba in 1959, his government began confiscating the property of thousands of U.S. citizens and companies. Associated Press National Writer Adam Geller reports via the Tampa Bay Times.
Federal Reserve Mulling Insurers’ Proposal for Capital Standards
The U.S. Federal Reserve is considering a proposal from life insurers that could delay the implementation of a costly nationwide capital framework for the $1 trillion industry, according to records of a recent meeting between the two sides seen by Reuters and people familiar with the matter, Reuters’ Douwe Miedema reports via Insurance Journal.
Rise in government insurance rates to mirror rising waters, flood debt
This April Fool’s Day, when a congressional act that revised federal insurance premiums goes into effect, coastal homeowners such as Loft-Powers say the joke will be on them. The Washington Post’s Darryl Fears reports via the Chicago Tribune.
NAIC Annual Report Promotes State-Based Insurance Regulation
This weekend, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners released its 2014 Annual Report, “State-Based Insurance Regulation: Protecting the Future.”
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