Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Thursday, January 16
Jan 16, 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
9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.–Florida Department of Financial Services, Division of Workers’ Compensation Rule Development Workshop. Proposed amendments to Rules 69L-5.209, 5.215, 5.219 and 5.222, F.A.C. relate to the determination of a self-insurer’s net worth. To view the Workshop notice, click here.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Top regulator claims insurance rates falling in Florida
A report released Wednesday by Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty contends that property insurance rates are “trending downward.” A copy of the report is included in this story by The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer.
State Representative Larry Ahern files House version of private flood insurance legislation
State Representative Larry Ahern filed a Florida House initiative on Wednesday that would begin to set up a private marketplace for flood insurance in Florida, SaintPetersBlog.com’s Phil Ammann reports.
Florida’s Brown & Brown to Acquire Flood, Specialty Insurer The Wright Group
Florida-based national insurance broker Brown & Brown, Inc. has agreed to acquire The Wright Insurance Group, LLC for $602.5 million from Aquiline Capital Partners, Wright’s lead equity partner, Insurance Journal reports.
Bill would ban insurance companies from discriminating against Florida gun owners
The gun lobby flexed its considerable muscle again Tuesday when the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee passed a bill to prohibit insurance companies from discriminating against gun owners by charging them more, or canceling their policies, because they own a gun, the Miami Herald’s Mary Ellen Klas reports via the Bradenton Herald.
Jackson Health System trying to figure out why the surge in uninsured patients
Officials at Jackson Health System say they do not know what has caused a surge of uninsured patients to flood emergency rooms in the past few months, leading to nearly a $1 million loss for December, the Miami Herald’s Dan Chang reports.
Certificate of need proposal moving through the Legislature
A House committee on Wednesday approved a proposal to repeal a moratorium on new nursing homes, giving the plan its second unanimous vote this week, The Florida Current’s James Call reports.
Members of the Black Legislative Caucus said they scratched the meeting to make a statement about economic opportunities. In a letter to Scott, Rep. Alan Williams cited the governor’s budget vetoes and a lack of his engagement on the caucus’ priorities for canceling what he said would be a “fruitless” meeting, The Florida Current’s James Call reports.
There’s a higher amount of traffic than usual about some big shifts in Gov. Rick Scott’s office, his campaign and the Republican Party of Florida. The announcement could happen as early as Friday. Still, consider this all informed speculation based on multiple sources, the Miami Herald’s Marc Caputo blogs on “Naked Politics.”
Florida legislators hear push for alternatives to incarcerating youths
Advocates for juvenile justice reform told state senators Wednesday that more time and money need to be spent on alternatives to incarcerating underage offenders, Christopher Hong reports for the Florida Times-Union.
Florida may create its own IT department to deal exclusively with its consistently troubled $63 million unemployment website, SaintPetersBlog’s Phil Ammann comments on a story by THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Jim Turner.
Proposal Would Ease Worries of Amusement Arcades
Senator Kelli Stargel has filed a measure aimed at helping amusement arcade owners worried about a law passed last year that put Internet cafes out of business, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Dara Kam reports via SunshineStateNews.com.
Spending Bill Delays Hike in Federal Flood Insurance
Sharp increases in flood insurance premiums for many U.S. homeowners will be delayed for at least nine months under a provision of the $1 trillion government spending bill that was approved on Wednesday by the U.S. House of Representatives, Thompson Reuters reports for MoneyNews.com.
United Nations Explores Climate Change Solutions
Governments may have to extract greenhouse gases from the air to limit global warming, Insurance Journal reports.
Chief of Uninsured Louisiana Police Department Asked to Step Down
Citing liability issues, the mayor of Sorrento, La., and four of five Town Council members are calling for Police Chief Earl Theriot Jr. to resign on the same day that Theriot and Assistant Chief Ricky Smith started daytime patrols without insurance coverage amid a running public dispute over the police department’s future, the Associated Press reports via Insurance Journal.
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