Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Thursday, October 13

Oct 13, 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

 

  • (CANCELED) 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.

 

 

Daily Insurance-Related News

 

THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA:  Citizens Property Insurance approves scaled back sinkhole rates

Following through on a decision made by the Office of Insurance Regulation last month, the board of governors for Citizens Property Insurance Corp. on Wednesday approved statewide residential on Wednesday approved statewide residential sinkhole premium increases of 32.8 percent.

 

Property insurer’s board ratifies rate increases

The state’s largest property insurer authorized rate increases for nearly 1.5 million policyholders on Wednesday that could cost some homeowners needing sinkhole protection up to several hundred dollars more each year.

 

Weiss Ratings give low grades to 35 Florida property insurers

The number of troubled property and casualty insurers in Florida has increased, according to Jupiter-based Weiss Ratings.

 

Letter to the Editor:  New model for insurance rates

While the most recent proposals to limit the use of credit scores in setting insurance rates are a vast improvement over previous efforts to ban the practice completely, any legislation that seeks to regulate the use of insurance scoring has to be careful not to overreach and weaken the practice until it becomes useless.

 

Florida Governor Scott approves $45.6 million courts loan

Expected revenue shortfall left the state’s court system in a financial bind, so Florida Chief Justice Charles Canady requested money to keep the courts functioning.

 

Governor Rick Scott begins laying out legislative agenda

Rolling back taxes and streamlining business permitting are among the priorities in the first wave of Governor Rick Scott’s legislative agenda.

 

Appeal court rules college tuition rates to be set by Legislature

A three-judge panel rules unanimously that the Legislature has the authority to set the tuition rates at state universities despite constitutional provisions that make the state Board of Governors “fully responsible for the management of the whole university system.”

 

State senator files bill to expand early voting

State Senator Nan Rich, D-Sunrise, has introduced a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would expand early voting sites around the state.

 

Governor Rick Scott reappoints 3 Florida ethics commissioners

Three members of the Florida Ethics Commission are staying on through June 2013.

 

THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA:  Florida Senators Latvala, Gardiner, Benacquisto break the $100,000 fundraising mark during 3Q

A quartet of Senate Republicans made the $100,000 club in the third quarter to lead their chamber in fundraising efforts for the three months that ended September 30, reports Michael Peltier of the News Service of Florida.

 

Blog:  Congress slams Miami Veterans Administration hospital at hearing

The House committee that oversees veteran’s affairs disputed a top official’s assertion Wednesday that the Miami Veterans Administration hospital “has continued to move in a positive direction.”

 

Farmers’ Filing Would Raise Homeowners Rates in Texas by Nearly 10 percent

Farmers Insurance plans to hike homeowner premiums in Texas by nearly 10 percent next year.

 

National Council on Compensation Insurance Releases Study on Workers’ Compensation Excess Loss Development

The new study on excess loss development adds 4 calendar years of large loss experience to a 2007 paper.

 

 

 

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