Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report–Monday, September 15, 2014
Sep 15, 2014
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 Automobile Joint Underwriting Association Committee meetings. Tampa, Florida.
- Producer Review Committee; 2:00 p.m. Teleconference: 877-826-6967; conference ID 2867636526#.
- Audit/Finance/Budget Committee; 3:00 p.m. Teleconference: 877-826-6967; conference ID 2867636526#.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Grassroots Keys insurance group still looking for properties to inspect
The grassroots group Fair Insurance Rates in Monroe is close to completing its approximately $485,000 study of windstorm risks and insurance rates in the Keys in an effort to get them lowered, Keynoter.com’s William Axford reports via InsuranceNewsNet.com.
Special report: Most contractors arrested after 2004 hurricanes only received probation, fines
Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers spent months sifting through court documents spanning a decade to determine how many Florida contractors arrested in connection to the aftermath of the 2004 hurricanes were convicted. Along with the low conviction rate, the investigation also found only a handful of those convicted were sentenced to jail or prison, McClatchy’s George Andreassi reports via InsuranceNewsNet.com.
Ivan’s surprising impact a decade later
Property insurance costs are higher than they ever were before Ivan in some areas, particularly along the various waterfronts, the Pensacola News-Journal reports.
Kristin Jacobs says South Florida takes climate change seriously
Kristin Jacobs is carrying a message to Tallahassee and the rest of the nation that South Florida residents are concerned about climate change and sea-level rise and local governments are taking action, SaintPetersBlog.com’s Peter Schorsch reports.
Florida activists: Let undocumented immigrants apply for driver’s licenses
Activists are seeking to turn Florida into the 12th state in the nation to allow undocumented immigrants to apply for driver licenses, the Miami Herald’s Alfonso Chardy reports.
Florida Attorney General Appeals Gay Marriage Rulings
Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi filed appeals late Friday on several rulings overturning the state’s ban on gay marriage, Associated Press reports via the Tampa Bay Times.
Florida’s quiet shift to a driver-tax road system as freeways become tollways statewide
In the next decade, Florida’s biggest cities will add toll lanes to the state’s busiest highways. Nobody knows exactly how much it will cost. Maybe as little as $3 billion. Maybe double that. Eric Barton reports for the Florida Center for Investigative Reporting.
Florida GOP County Chairs Vote To Oppose Medical Marijuana Amendment
Agreeing with anti-medical marijuana groups that say Amendment 2, which seeks to legalize medical pot in Florida, is riddled with loopholes and would lead to widespread access to pot, Republican county chairs voted Friday unanimously to oppose November’s proposed constitutional amendment, SaintPetersBlog.com’s Phil Ammann reports.
Boaters Distraught over All Aboard Florida: Tell the Coast Guard Now
Waterway Guide, authority on cruising America’s coastal waterways since 1947, is urging boaters to participate in the U.S. Coast Guard comment period, SunshineStateNews.com publisher Nancy Smith notes.
Panel rules Rivera violated ethics rules as state lawmaker
An ethics panel found former congressman David Rivera in violation of seven instances of ethics violations while he served as a state lawmaker in Tallahassee, Michael Van Sickler reports for the Miami Herald.
Florida GOP makes final push for Governor Scott
Buoyed by a significant cash advantage and polls that show Governor Rick Scott either tied or leading, optimistic Florida Republicans on Saturday contended they are focused and ready for the November election, Associated Press’ Gary Fineout reports via the Miami Herald.
Rick Scott abandons tough talk from 2010 campaign
On the campaign trail recently, Rick Scott’s supporters didn’t appear to be bothered by his more moderate positions as of late. They maintained that Scott’s evolution is far different from the political switches espoused by Crist. Associated Press’ Gary Fineout reports via SaintPetersBlog.com.
Adam Putnam Needs a Big Win Over Thad Hamilton in November
More than a few eyebrows across the state went up last week when Democrat pollster PPP released a poll showing Adam Putnam only 5 percent ahead of Democrat Thad Hamilton in the agriculture commissioner race, Jeff Henderson reports for SunshineStateNews.com.
Florida’s phosphate past being reduced to rubble
Piece by piece, remnants of Florida’s phosphate mining roots are collapsing into rubble, the Associated Press reports via SaintPetersBlog.com.
Regulatory neglect: 140 investigations into abuse at home for disabled = zero discipline
Since the 140th Florida child death from neglect, there have been eight more reports since then at a Lake County facility- and yet, it has never paid a fine and never been disciplined, the Miami Herald’s Carol Marbin Miller reports via the “Naked Politics” blog.
Texas Okays Hefty Homeowners Insurance Rate Hikes
Texas Insurance Commissioner Julia Rathgerber has approved hefty rate increases for the state’s biggest homeowners insurance companies, State Farm, Allstate and Farmers, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
Dewhurst to Lawmakers: How About Shutting Down Texas Windstorm Insurer?
Texas Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst has asked state lawmakers to consider shutting down a windstorm insurance provider for coastal Texans, Insurance Journal reports.
New Jersey Senator Menendez Urges FEMA to Reform National Flood Insurance Claims Process
Following up on issues raised at a July 30 hearing on post-Sandy flood insurance claims, U.S. Senator Robert Menendez (D-N.J.) sent a letter to Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Administrator Craig Fugate, urging him to implement reforms to the National Flood Insurance Program’s claims process, Insurance Journal reports.
OSHA Revises Reporting Rule for Worker Injuries
The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a final rule requiring employers to notify OSHA when an employee is killed on the job or suffers a work-related hospitalization, amputation or loss of an eye, Insurance Journal reports.
Treasure Hunter Becomes a Fugitive
Thirty-nine insurance companies sued a treasure-hunter, claiming they had insured the gold in 1857. The treasure, they argued, belonged to them, the Associated Press reports via the New York Post.
Driving innovation in the marketplace panel to highlight PCI Annual Meeting
Dr. Adrian Lund, president, Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, will moderate an informative panel focusing on innovation and disruptive transformation related to the auto industry and the property casualty marketplace during PCI’s 2014 PCI Annual Meeting, taking place from Oct. 26 to 29 in Scottsdale, Ariz.
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