Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Thursday, August 25
Aug 25, 2011
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
- 10:00 a.m.–Florida Surplus Lines Service Office National Clearinghouse Committee meeting. Agenda includes issues pertaining to the proposed national surplus lines tax clearinghouse. To view the meeting notice, click here.
- 2:00 p.m.–Florida Department of Financial Services Money Service Workers’ Compensation Fraud Work Group. Fletcher Building, Room 233, Tallahassee, Florida. To view the meeting notice, click here.
Wall Street Journal: Irene on Path to Test Coffers of State-Run Insurers
Hurricane Irene could be a major test of “insurers of last resort” created by U.S. states to protect homeowners marooned by private insurers.
After facing criticism from a former employee for failing to to aggressively pursue consumer fraud, Attorney General Pam Bondi on Wednesday announced a settlement with a south Florida hurricane shutter company that will require refunds of nearly $790,000 to hundreds of customers.
Insurance Reinspections Causing Storm of Trouble
Irene may be passing South Florida by, but visits from Insurance inspectors are causing a storm of trouble for some residents seeing their premiums jump by thousands.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Atwater: Legislature must target insurance fraud
Cutting rampant fraud in automobile and sinkhole insurance should be two of the Florida Legislature’s top priorities this winter, state Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater told St. Petersburg business leaders Wednesday.
As Hurricane Irene approaches U.S. shores, some commercial real estate owners may be holding their breath-and so could state-run insurers.
As Hurricane Irene bears down on east coast, multiple ‘insurers of last resort’ may be tested
Wake up and good morning. The bad news is that Hurricane Irene may test a number of the “insurers of last resort” operating in southeastern states along the coast. The good news is that Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance won’t be one of them.
More State Farm customers report triple-digit increases
We reported on State Farm policyholders with triple-digit rate hikes in early June. Since then, the complaints keep coming.
Dispute over state health insurance changes forces enrollment delay
Open enrollment for state employee insurance policies is now slated for November 1, to allow for time to deal with a legal challenge on Governor Rick Scott’s attempt to limit enrollees to only one HMO per county.
Edwin Buss abruptly resigns as Florida prisons chief
Edwin Buss’ ambitious effort to reform Florida’s prison system abruptly ended Wednesday on the heels of a power struggle with Governor Rick Scott and his staff.
Governor orders water districts to make more budget cuts
After making cuts to budgets and slashing staff positions, the St. Johns River Water Management District and Florida’s four other regional water management agencies learned Wednesday they face further belt-tightening.
Florida lawmaker’s ‘most popular district’ at center of redistricting storm
As lawmakers criss-cross the state to gather public input for how to draw Florida’s political lines in the once-a-decade redistricting process, they are encountering a public that wants the Legislature to follow the new standards passed by the public in the 2010 elections.
Blog: House Speaker Dean Cannon endorses Texas Governor Rick Perry
House Speaker Dean Cannon, as predicted, has endorsed Rick Perry for president.
Discovered in transition e-mails, advice from Jeb Bush to Governor Rick Scott
Former Governor Jeb Bush offered to be a confidential sounding board for newly elected Governor Rick Scott while urging him to expand school vouchers to all students, release elderly prisoners early and consider taxing online purchases in exchange for cuts to other taxes.
Tri-Rail gets apology for exclusion from state planning, but privatization talks remain on track
The state’s transportation chief has issued an apology to Tri-Rail’s chairwoman for undertaking without consulting her board a major initiative that could privatize the South Florida passenger line.
Governor Scott: Florida’s ‘open for business’ but big relocations look slim
Florida Governor Rick Scott visited the St. Petersburg Times on Thursday afternoon to discuss a broad range of topics that, he suggested, were all of secondary importance to one issue.
For many in South Florida, property tax bills may rise
Worst-case scenario tax bills are dropping into South Florida homeowners’ mailboxes this week, and the news is grim for tens of thousands whose cities are poised to raise property tax rates.
Southwest Florida’s recovery slows compared with rest of state
After doing better than the rest of Florida for five consecutive months, the local economy dipped to a 1 percent growth rate during June, mirroring national trends that have some economists wondering if the recovery has sputtered.
Fire at home of former Governor Crist aide ruled arson, but no leads available to make arrests
The fire that destroyed the Tallahassee home of ex-Governor Charlie Crist’s former communications director was sparked by an arsonist who sprinkled fuel through several rooms, but there is no evidence to arrest anyone in the case, state investigators concluded on Wednesday.
Geico Files New York No-Fault Insurance Fraud Lawsuit
Berkshire Hathaway’s auto insurance company, Geico, has filed suit against numerous doctors and medical facilities in New York over alleged fraudulent claims submitted to the insurer.
Marysville City Administrator Froment Named Deputy Director of Ohio Insurance Department
Ohio Lieutenant Governor and Department of Insurance Director Mary Taylor has named Jillian Froment the department’s deputy director.
1 in 5 Texas drivers lacking insurance, signaling setback for state program
More than one in five Texas motorists lack the Insurance that state law requires and the ratio is virtually unchanged from a year ago, a blow to the state’s 3-year-old program to sharply reduce the number of uninsured drivers on the road.
Marsh Names New Chief Executive Officer of Mexico
Remigio Noriega was named chief executive officer of Marsh Mexico effective immediately, says insurance broker Marsh, a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Cos.
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