Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Tuesday, April 9
Apr 9, 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
1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.–Florida Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance meeting. To view the complete agenda, click here. Confirmation of Citizens Property Insurance Executive Director Barry Gilway. Consideration of the following bills:
- SB 860 relating to Workers’ Compensation System Administration
- SB 1498 relating to Sinkhole Insurance
- SB 418 relating to Insurance
- SB 1408 relating to Captive Insurance
- SPB 7152 relating to Motor Vehicle Liability Insurance
- SPB 7150 relating to Public Records/Insurance Policies
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
State of Florida says Allianz subsidiary committed fraud
Florida regulators have filed a lawsuit accusing financial services giant Allianz of gutting a Miami property insurer, falsifying its documents and then cashing in on more than $20 million in fees as the company plunged into insolvency.
Wall Street Journal: Florida’s Sort-Of Republicans
The Sunshine State has a Republican governor and a Republican-controlled state Legislature.
Pension Funds Looking for Higher Yields from Catastrophe Bonds
Pension funds are turning to specialist bonds that bet on the likelihood of a natural disaster, in a search for yield and returns that are not correlated to the rest of the market.
Florida Consumer Action Network: Support Catastrophe Fund reform bill
Each session, we have lawmakers who work on Florida’s homeowner insurance issues.
Tom Feeney: Preserve tax credit for insurance companies
The relentless focus Governor Rick Scott and the Florida Legislature have placed on rebuilding Florida’s economy and growing its workforce has yielded unheralded success.
Governor Scott says fix not kill PIP, but repeal effort gathers steam on auto insurance
Governor Rick Scott said Monday he would prefer to mend instead of end the state’s no-fault auto insurance system, but the state Senate is scheduled to resume a workshop today to scrap what some lawmakers see as a 1970s-era dinosaur that effectively forces Florida drivers to pay twice for medical insurance – at more than $2 billion a year.
Florida Justices Face Another PIP Conundrum: Medical Fees
Florida’s high court is poised to decide how much money insurers owe some medical providers in cases where an auto policy does not specifically state that the fees will be based on a fee schedule approved by state lawmakers in 2008.
Statewide texting ban clears last hurdle in Florida Senate
A statewide ban on texting while driving is now one more step closer to becoming law.
Florida insurer refunds $312,551 to Marylanders
A Florida insurance company has repaid $312,551 to thousands of Marylanders after overcharging them on life and health benefits, the Maryland Insurance Administration said Monday.
NCCI says Florida disability ruling could raise workers compensation costs
A Florida appellate court decision that struck down a state time limit on temporary total disability benefits could raise the state’s workers compensation costs by $65 million, according to an estimate from NCCI Holdings Inc.
Health insurance endeavor in Florida may be dubious
While health care reform begins to take hold on a national level, several counties throughout the U.S. are looking to make health insurance more accessible to consumers on their own.
Sick-leave preemption bill clears final Senate committee
A bill to create a task force to recommend a statewide employee medical leave policy and which would prohibit local ordinances Monday continued its march to the Senate floor.
Legislation that would require five year plans for restoring Florida’s springs is likely dead this session after an amendment was withdrawn last week, the Senate bill sponsor said.
Senate panel OKs restrictions for welfare cash
A Florida Senate committee has approved a bill that would prohibit welfare recipients from using debit-like electronic cards to access cash benefits at strip clubs, liquor stores and gambling establishments.
While a special election on June 11 will determine who replaces the late Clay Ford in the Florida House of Representatives, there’s more at stake than just who will represent District 2.
For Both Parties in 2014, Lieutenant Governor Slot Could Be a Plum
John Nance Gardner, who spent eight years as vice president under Franklin Delano Roosevelt, colorfully described the vice presidency as “not worth a bucket of warm piss.”
Former Florida Lieutenant Governor Toni Jennings says politics have changed
Toni Jennings began her professional career as a teacher at Killarney Elementary School in Orlando.
Tyco: No proof Lilly thieves used security report
A security company being sued over the theft of $60 million worth of pharmaceuticals from an Eli Lilly and Co. warehouse in Connecticut in 2010 insists there is no proof the thieves used a report it prepared detailing the building’s security weaknesses.
Oklahoma House Approves $30,000 Roofer Bond Proposal
A proposal forcing the state’s roofers to secure a $30,000 bond to get a state license returned to life on April 3 after the Oklahoma House narrowly approved the measure aimed at what one lawmaker called “one of most disgusting industries in the state.”
A federal judge in Mississippi has dismissed a part of a claim brought by two former independent insurance agents accusing State Farm of defrauding the federal government with two engineering firms.
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