Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Thursday, February 21
Feb 21, 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
8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.–Florida Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance meeting; Toni Jennings Committee Room, 110 Senate Office Building, Tallahassee, Florida. To view the meeting notice, click here. To view the meeting packet, click here.
- Workshops include discussion and testimony on Citizens Property Insurance Corporation and Personal Injury Protection
10:00 a.m.– Florida Workers’ Compensation Joint Underwriting Association Board of Governors meeting; Jacksonville, Florida. To view the meeting notice, click here. To view the agenda, click here.
2:00 p.m.–Florida Workers’ Compensation Insurance Guaranty Association (“FWCIGA”)/Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (“FIGA”) Claims Audit Selection Committee meeting. Tallahassee, Florida. Discuss selection of Claims Auditing Services for FWCIGA and FIGA. To view the meeting notice, click here.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Blog: Rick Scott accepts Medicaid expansion under “ObamaCare”
Florida Governor Rick Scott endorsed the Medicaid expansion in President Obama’s healthcare law on Wednesday, delivering a political coup to the White House.
- Florida governor backs limited Medicaid expansion
- Governor will ask Legislature to expand Medicaid coverage
- Blog: Will Weatherford On Rick Scott’s Medicaid Decision — “Legislature Will Make The Ultimate Decision”
- Feds expect to OK state’s Medicaid privatization plans
Florida Governor Rick Scott tells Citizens Property Insurance execs to return ‘outrageous’ raises
Rick Scott blasted top executives at Citizens Property Insurance for “foolish” behavior Wednesday, calling on them to give back large pay raises they received
- Citizens Property Insurance boss defends pay raises
- Florida Citizens Property Insurance CEO Gilway Addresses Criticism, Touts Progress
Fair Insurance Rates for Monroe studies Citizen Property Insurance rates
Says insurer’s risk model “exaggerated”
More than two weeks before the deadline to respond, five companies have already told Fair Insurance Rates for Monroe that they’re interested in undertaking a planned study of windstorm insurance rates in the Keys, FIRM announced at an informational meeting Tuesday at the Murray E. Nelson Government Center in Key Largo.
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group supports Weston Floridian Deal
JLT Reinsurance Inc. is delighted to have been working with Weston Insurance Company, a new Floridian Insurer, to help depopulate Citizens Property Insurance Company.
Column: Citizens Property Insurance may be wasteful, but private insurers are the real problem
The pay raises at Citizens Property Insurance look bad, no doubt about that.
A Circuit Court Judge in Hillsborough County, Florida has ruled that “spalling”, a term that describes the disintegration of stone or concrete, was a covered loss under a property insurance policy.
New tactic used by insurance company to reject claims
It’s a homeowner’s insurance nightmare difficult to imagine: A fire destroyed a Seminole County family’s home, and then the family found out the claim was rejected because of its credit history.
Blog: Only about one third face higher insurance costs if ticketed
Less than a third of drivers who receive a traffic ticket in the past five years are paying more for car insurance, according to a new study by a website owned by the North Palm Beach-based Bankrate.com.
Foreign tourists in Florida may be illegal drivers under new law
A new law in the Sunshine State that went into effect on January 1 makes foreign tourists illegal drivers. The law, which requires foreign drivers to have a an international driver’s permit from their home country, has inadvertently affected tourists from Canada, England, and other English-speaking countries.
No Damage to Florida Citrus Crop from Cold Snap
Florida came through this week’s cold snap with no major damage to the orange blossoms that will produce next year’s crop, the state’s largest growers’ association said.
Senior Citizen Advocates Urge Lawmakers Not To Repeal Protections Against Life Insurance Fraud
A Florida lawmaker is hoping to persuade others in the Florida Legislature to reject any attempts to bolster a market that targets life insurance policies for older Floridians.
Naples Council votes against recommendations to improve fire rating
Naples City Council again spared taxpayers the cost of hiring more firefighters and buying a new fire boat.
Blog: Of golf carts and doctors — A retirement community builds its very own health insurance plan
Some health insurance plans advertise a network with top doctors or wellness discounts at local gyms.
State Representative Darryl Rouson to be next House Democratic leader
In dramatic fashion, Representative Darryl Rouson of St. Petersburg narrowly won a caucus vote Wednesday night to be leader of House Democrats in 2014.
Florida legislators hope to fix nuclear advance fee law
Five years ago, Peter Bradford warned that a Florida law allowing utilities to charge customers in advance for nuclear power projects could have “ruinous economic impacts.”
House committee votes to ban living wage local ordinances
Miami-Dade and Broward counties would have their decades-old living wage ordinances repealed and local governments would be banned from enacting similar employment benefits under a bill passed Wednesday by a House committee.
Blog: Florida Department Of Corrections Balloons, Now $95 Million In Red
The cost of downsizing and consolidating Florida’s prison system cost at least $15 million more than expected this year and the Department of Corrections continues to operate in the red, the state’s prisons secretary told lawmakers Wednesday, reports Michael Peltier of the News Service of Florida.
U.S. Supreme Court ruling affects many immigrant convicts in South Florida
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Wednesday shuts the door on appeals for hundreds of Floridians convicted in the past of crimes for which they could be deported.
Legislature invites firms to conduct gambling study
The Florida Legislature released the parameters for the study of the state’s gambling economy and laws Wednesday and invited firms to conduct the analysis.
Senator Thrasher files Internet sweepstakes café moratorium bill
Efforts to ban or regulate Internet sweepstakes cafés in Florida have failed to get through the Legislature in recent years, but now Senator John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine, is taking a different approach to the storefront shops offering slot-like video games.
Blog: Who Are The 25 Most Powerful Politicians In Tampa Bay?
After reading a recent article from Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel about the most powerful pols in Central Florida, I thought it would be interesting to determine who, in fact, are the 25 most powerful politicians in Tampa Bay.
Research Organization Holds First-Ever Indoor Storm
The Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety conducted the first-ever indoor hailstorm February 20.
New Windstorm Rules Drive Texas Engineers Away
Hundreds of engineers have dropped out of a windstorm certification program following legislative changes to become certified by the Texas Department of Insurance.
Louisiana legislators hear from those affected by giant sinkhole
Three legislative committees gathered at the State Capitol to hear from affected parties regarding the giant Louisiana sinkhole in Assumption Parish Tuesday.
Submerged Superstorm Debris Raising Pollution, Boater Safety
On the surface, things look calm and placid. Just beneath the waterline, however, it’s a different story.
New York Officials: Include Hudson Areas in Flood Study
New York officials are calling on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to include Hudson River communities in a $20 million study of flood-prone areas in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.
Standard & Poor’s: USAA Can’t Cash In on Residential Re Catastrophe Bond
U.S. insurer USAA will not be able to cash in on two of its catastrophe bonds, because losses from superstorm Sandy and other 2011 natural disasters were not high enough to trigger a payout, Standard & Poor’s said.
South Dakota: Notice of No Uninsured Motorist Coverage a Must in Personal Umbrella Policies
It has come to the attention of the South Dakota Division of Insurance that uninsured motorist/underinsured motorist coverage is not always included in personal umbrella policies, the department announced.
Houston Suburb Charges Extra to Serve Accidents
A suburban Houston council has decided to charge insurers extra when firefighters and police officers are summoned to accident scenes.
Click here to follow Colodny Fass& Webb on Twitter (@CFTLAWcom)
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please send an e-mail to Brooke Ellis at bellis@cftlaw.com.