Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Thursday, April 18
Apr 18, 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
Florida’s 2013 Regular Legislative Session
- Click here for today’s Senate block calendar
- Click here for today’s House of Representatives block calendar
9:00 a.m.–Florida Board of Employee Leasing Companies meeting. Naples, Florida. To view the meeting notice, click here.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Blog: Florida House Waiting On Senate Before Moving On Citizens Clearinghouse Bill
SaintPetersblog.com notes THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA story on the Florida House of Representatives’ delay of a proposal to establish a clearinghouse that many expect would drive more than 200,000 policies from the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. into the private insurance industry.
A provision of HB 635 would allow nonrenewal notices to be sent out during hurricane season, The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.
Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund to Issue $2 Billion in Pre-Event Bonds
Insurance Journal’s Michael Adams reports that Florida’s state-run property reinsurance facility is preparing to issue $2 billion in revenue bonds to ensure it has enough money on hand to quickly pay insurers’ claims in the event of a major hurricane.
Florida’s distorted homeowners insurance market needs repair
Florida Trend editor Mark Howard says around this time each year when his homeowners insurance bill arrives in the mail, he is reminded in a very tangible way of how precarious Florida’s property insurance system is.
Opinion: State Representative Bill Hager Says Time to Right-Size Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund
In this Op-Ed, State Representative Bill Hager says he filed House Bill 1107 to right-size Florida’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund, which is Florida’s owned and operated reinsurance company. It provides a good share of the reinsurance needed by the underlying retail homeowner’s insurance companies that do business in Florida.
Stakes in Property Insurance Votes Vary By District for Florida Legislators
When Florida senators vote on the sweeping and controversial bill to reform Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the risk of proposed rate increases will hit home with some lawmakers more than others, the Sun-Sentinel’s Maria Mallory White reports.
Some worry Citizens Property Insurance bill may blunt Florida housing recovery
Realtors, economists and insurers alike fear the insurance measure before the Florida Legislature could prompt thousands of retiring baby boomers who are now boosting home sales statewide to reconsider buying here, the Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports.
Time running out to scrap Florida no-fault car insurance system
Charles Elmore of the Palm Beach Post reports that a Senate committee voted 10-0 to ditch the state’s no-fault auto insurance system after more than 40 years, but the clock is quickly running out on a chance to make a big change in 2013.
Negron breaks Medicaid stalemate to include House ideas
To break the stalemate on Medicaid expansion, Senator Joe Negron combines the House and Senate plans, draws down federal money and lets the people decide which approach to use to buy insurance, James Call of The Florida Current reports.
Doctors would be forced to render emergency care to aborted fetuses showing signs of life
Doctors would have to give emergency care to unborn children who survive abortion, under a bill unanimously approved Wednesday by the Florida House, Bill Cotterell reports. Two other abortion-related bills are set for House floor votes on Friday.
Florida trauma center battle to continue
Adding fuel to a hospital-industry fight about new trauma centers, a House committee Tuesday backed major changes in the way facilities that treat critical injuries are approved in Florida, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA and Sarasota Herald-Tribune report
Blog: Florida hospitals take Medicaid expansion grassroots campaign to TV
The Florida Remedy, a grassroots effort by the Florida Hospital Association, is taking its case to TV, reports Peter Schorsch of SaintPetersBlog.com.
MDW Insurance buys American Benefit Partners
Florida-based MDW Insurance Group has acquired American Benefit Partners, an employee benefits consulting firm, to boost the scope of its benefits practice, Insurance Business Review reports.
Florida Law Enforcement Steps Up Security Alert After Boston Bombings
Law enforcement agencies across Florida are operating under a heightened alert as a result of Monday’s bombings at the Boston Marathon, reports SunshineStateNew.com‘s Dave Heller.
Anti-Drone bill heads for Governor’s desk
The Associated Press reports via the Sarasota Herald-Tribune that the Florida Legislature has passed a bill limiting law enforcement agencies’ use of the remotely controlled aircraft known as drones.
Blog: Pre-Session Fundraising Tallies $662,000 Raised By 38 Florida Legislators
Karen Cyphers of SaintPetersBlog.com notes the Orlando Sentinel report yesterday on the significant political pre-Session contributions made by interest groups with legislative missions: $662,000 was raised by 38 current legislators in the first two months of the year from groups angling on tax breaks, expanded scopes of practice, sugar concerns, pension woes, and other interests.
Contamination site cleanup bill retooled, but concerns remain
SB 1416 would allow the Florida Department of Environmental Protection to conduct competitive bidding for cleaning up petroleum contamination sites, The Florida Current’s Bruce Ritchie reports. DEP Secretary Herschel T. Vinyard Jr. said last month that legislation is needed to fix a “broken” cleanup program with a decades-long backlog of sites.
Florida gambling study called “propaganda tool”
The Associated Press reports that a Florida anti-gambling group is criticizing the company chosen do a critical study on the future expansion of gambling in Florida.
State Farm Reports Top 10 States for Wind and Hail Losses
CATERINA PONTORIERO, PROPERTYCASUALTY360.COM writes that State Farm reports that damage caused by wind and hail cost the insurer and its policyholders more than $3.9 billion.
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