Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Monday, September 30
Sep 30, 2013
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 Florida insurance-related events scheduled for today.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance gets “disappointing” transfer numbers
About one in six customers of Citizens Property Insurance Corporation–fewer than anticipated–should receive letters next week telling them they are being shifted to private insurance carriers, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Jim Turner writes via the Miami Herald.
Citizens poised to cull more insurance policies
Citizens Property Insurance is undergoing an unprecedented shift of policyholders from the state-run company to private insurers, Lloyd Dunkelberger reports for the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Jeff Brandes: Florida serves as donor state to subsidized flood insurance program
Calling Florida “a donor state” to the National Flood Insurance Program, Sen. Jeff Brandes is urging Florida’s congressional delegation to support a one-year delay on rate increases for policyholders, Linda Hersey reports in SaintPetersBlog.com.
Detert and Holder relieved to see arrival of texting law
Four years of frustration will melt away when the clock strikes midnight for a pair of Sarasota County Republicans, Jeremy Wallace reports for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Tampa Police fire former DUI supervisor at center of tainted DUI arrest
According to state investigators, a paralegal from the law firm of Adams & Diaco, which was representing Clem, lied about where she worked and bought several drinks for Tampa lawyer C. Philip Campbell, who was representing Schnitt, Jessica Vander Velde and Sue Carlton report for the Tampa Bay Times.
State job boards drop the name Workforce, re-branding to CareerSource Florida
In an effort to rebrand Florida’s 24-hour job centers, Gov. Rick Scott ordered the state to replace the word “workforce” with CareerSource Florida, SaintPetersBlog.com reports.
Weekly Roundup: A Busy First Week of Florida Legislative Committee Meetings
There was plenty of action this week at the Capitol, even if very little of it happened during votes by the panels that held their first get-togethers in anticipation of the 2014 legislative session, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Brandon Larrabee reports via SunshineStateNews.com.
Tea party wishes clash with Florida GOP donors’ agenda
Though part of the same Republican coalition, the tea party movement and the business and special interests that bankroll GOP lawmakers’ campaigns are poised to clash on several fronts during the next legislative cycle, The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.
Former South Florida legislator dies
John Patrick Julien, 50, had cancer. He was elected to the House in 2010, but lost a re-election bid to Rep. Barbara Watson, D-Miami Gardens, The Florida Current’s Bill Cotterell reports.
Louisiana State Treasurer Suggests State-Run Flood Insurance Plan
Seeking a way to ease skyrocketing federal flood insurance rates, state Treasurer John Kennedy has suggested that Louisiana should consider getting in the business of offering flood insurance coverage to its residents, Melinda Deslatte reports.
Prudential Financial faces new era as a “systemically important” insurer
Over the past few years, Prudential Financial has tried to convince top U.S. regulators it does not belong in the “too big to fail” category. That didn’t work. Now it must convince them of something else: don’t treat this massive insurance company like a massive bank, Ed Beeson reports for the New Jersey Star-Ledger.
Allstate Wins Multi-Million Dollar Insurance Fraud Lawsuit
Los Angeles County Superior Court has ruled in favor of Allstate Insurance Company and the State of California in a lawsuit topping $7 million that ends fraudulent business and billing schemes by several unlicensed medical and chiropractic personnel, National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com reports.
Reinsurance market faces “near perfect storm”
Reinsurers need to compete on more than just price to have any chance of survival as the market faces a “near perfect storm”, according to a new report by PwC Bermuda, entitled “Reinsurance 2020: Breaking the mould,” The Royal Gazette reports.
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To view the report, go to: www.pwc.com/bm
Jardine Lloyd Thompson to buy Towers Watson reinsurance unit
British insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group is buying Towers Watson’s reinsurance brokerage for $250 million, accelerating an expansion into the United States, Reuters’ Chris Vellacott and Tasim Zahid report.
News Release: NIMA, Inc. Responds to Home State Advocates with Statistical Analysis
The Non-Admitted Insurance Multi-State Association says that new figures from the Surplus Lines Clearinghouse show compelling evidence that states, particularly those in geographic proximity to NIMA participating states, should consider the current tax sharing agreement as an viable alternative for collecting additional tax revenues.
Post-Katrina Chinese dry wall still in litigation
At age 70 and on a fixed income, Delores Bailey mops floors three hours a night at a school to pay the homeowners’ and flood insurance on her home in Violet. The extra money secures a home that smells of rotten eggs and suffers from electrical problems, Michelle Millhollon reports for The Advocate.
Tax snafu may force REIT (and shareholders) to pay up
Last week, the chief executive of a large New York-based real estate investment firm called MFA Financial Inc. said he would retire at year’s end. It’s possible that Stewart Zimmerman, 69, is simply ready to step back after a 16-year tenure during which he built MFA into an enterprise worth $2.7 billion, Crain’s New York Business reports.
Self-driving vehicles move ahead faster than rules of road
The world has moved quickly from wonder at the idea of driverless cars to impatient expectation. The Cadillac SRX zipping around a test track in suburban Detroit is flashing a sign: Not so fast, Angela Greiling Keane reports for Bloomberg News.
FDA Issues Final Guidance on Mobile Medical Apps
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued final guidance this week for developers of mobile medical apps, Joan Collier’s WCI360.com reports.
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