Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Monday, May 21
May 21, 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
There are no insurance-related events scheduled for today.
Insurers pulling back on hurricane discount
The price shock can be dramatic: Englewood retirees Bob and Janet Dodds will pay 100 percent more for their windstorm insurance and Venice resident Henry Holzapfel another 50 percent this year.
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation removes insurance discounts on more than 100,000 homes
More than 100,000 Florida homes re-inspected by the state-run insurer of last resort have lost windstorm discounts, resulting in average premium increases of $600 a year, according to data released this week.
Column: All pain, no gain for Citizens Property Insurance customers
Paying more and getting less is the new motto for homeowners stuck with state-run Citizens property insurance.
The start of hurricane season is more than a week away, but a storm already is brewing with Florida’s state-backed property insurer.
Editorial: Citizens Property Insurance–The Florida myth
A few years ago Alex Sink, then Florida’s Chief Financial Officer, mentioned a trip she had taken to South Florida.
Forget about running government like a business, consider what happens when you try to run a business like government.
Editorial: The Catastrophe Fund is not storm ready
The 2012 hurricane season will bring good news and bad news. The good news: An especially active season could wash out a substantial portion of Florida’s historic drought.
Statewide effort helps Florida prepare for hurricanes
For decades, emergency managers pleaded for money to help Florida prepare for the big one. Repeatedly, their pleas failed to get support from the public and legislators.
Condos get millions for water damage
The condominium association for Runaway Beach Club Condominiums in Kissimmee has recovered more than $3 million as part of the settlement in a construction-defects lawsuit.
County tweaks downstairs-apartment inspection law
A law approved by the Monroe County Commission Wednesday should make Keys homeowners think twice about avoiding downstairs-enclosure inspections prior to putting their house up for sale.
Commentary: Sinkholes will become more common and more expensive
Although we don’t have a huge pit in our yard like the one that opened up in Jonesville, our house – way across the county – is being damaged by sinkhole activity.
Sinkholes strike fear in any Florida homeowner
What can be big or small, shallow or deep, but always results from the same geologic process?
The 1 percent proposed increase in our sales tax to 8 percent for Pinellas County (the highest in Florida) will kill business and jobs.
Blog: Drug dispensing fight ready to be renewed during 2013 legislative session
With the 2013 legislative session still nearly 10 months away, a renewed fight is building about a proposal to limit how much doctors can charge for dispensing drugs to workers-compensation insurance patients.
Legislative leaders putting their staffs together
The new boss of the Florida Senate is beginning to assemble his top staff and consider possible changes in the chamber’s operations.
This week in the Campaign Roundup, two state Senate candidates back down, another jumps in, state officials are double-checking their list of non-citizen voters, and Northeast Florida Senate candidates play dueling endorsements.
Governor appoints contracts czar to fight wasteful spending; skeptics doubt it’ll help
In Florida’s high-stakes world of government contracting, Connected Nation learned how to play the game.
Florida’s contracting process intertwined with politics
In Florida’s high-stakes world of government contracting, Connected Nation learned how to play the game.
Blog: Former Congressman Weldon jumps into Senate race
Former Space Coast congressman Dave Weldon has announced he’s jumping into the tangled Republican U.S. Senate primary.
Flagler County commissioner to run for state House seat
Flagler County Commissioner Milissa Holland will resign to campaign for the District 24 seat in the Florida House of Representatives.
Florida’s election chiefs stung by state moves
With August primaries and November elections looming, state and local elections officials last week appeared to be trying to repair their strained relationship.
Florida parties already prepping for 2014 gubernatorial race
Republican Governor Rick Scott is already getting ready for the 2014 election. So are the Democrats who hope to challenge him.
Political consultant Doug Guetzloe to be sentenced in federal tax case
Political consultant Doug Guetzloe is slated to be sentenced Monday in Orlando federal court for two misdemeanor counts of failing to file tax returns.
Incoming Senate Democratic Leader Chris Smith ratcheted up criticism of Florida’s Stand Your Ground law Friday, pointing to a loophole that could endanger some women, rather than protect them.
Miami facing police shortage, as cops retire and hiring drags on
The Miami Police Department is short 84 officers – and city officials worry the gap will soon get worse.
Blog: Central Florida’s largest remodeling companies
This week’s list of largest commercial and residential remodeling companies generated a total of more than $83.6 million in Central Florida contracting revenue in 2011.
Federal Insurance Office Must Have Strong Role Abroad to Ensure Competitiveness for U.S. Insurers
Lawmakers and industry and government officials pushed for supervisory harmony and a robust role abroad by the U.S. Federal Insurance Office to increase international competitiveness for the U.S. insurance industry.
Weather Channel’s Knabb Named Chief of National Hurricane Center
Richard Knabb, the tropical weather expert at The Weather Channel, will be the next chief of the U.S. government’s hurricane forecasting hub in Florida, federal officials said Friday.
Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Approved for $75 Million Line of Credit
Louisiana’s property insurer of last resort has gotten permission to secure a $75 million cash line of credit in case a hurricane damages the state.
New York Hearings on “Forced” Insurance in Foreclosure
Premiums for so-called force-placed insurance have more than tripled since 2004, producing enormous profits for insurers and the banks that take out policies when a homeowner fails to maintain coverage required by the mortgage, according to New York regulators.
New York Times: Insurance Firm Is Set Up for Land Trusts, Which See Legal Costs Soaring
The $4 million estate on the Connecticut River in Lyme had everything: A six-bedroom home, a pool and a dock, all surrounded by 17 acres of native meadows, brush and woodlands.
Letter to the Editor: Secrecy doesn’t figure into Michigan’s catastrophic insurance fee
In response to the column by state Representative Philip Cavanagh (“End Insurance fund secrecy,” April 19): The entire premise of Cavanagh’s commentary is false.
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