Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Tuesday, August 16
Aug 16, 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
9:00 a.m.– Florida Cabinet meeting. To view the agenda, click here.
- Florida Office of Insurance Regulation; to view the hearing notice, click here
- For final adoption
- 69O-137.001: Annual and Quarterly Reporting Requirements
- Briefing on Personal Injury Protection Insurance
- For final adoption
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.
10:30 a.m.–Florida Department of Insurance Agent and Agency Services Proposed Rule Hearing. Amendments to proposed Rule 69B-162.011 would reflect certain provisions of Section 626.99(4)(c), F.S., which requires cover pages for fixed and variable annuity contracts. The cover pages must include consumer information about the circumstances under which an annuity contract may be cancelled for an unconditional refund, as well as specific cautionary language informing consumers of the policy risks, features and related contact sources for additional information or complaints. To view the hearing notice, click here.
1:30 p.m.–Florida Department of Revenue Rule Development Workshop
- Among other actions, the proposed Rules (below) would incorporate statutory changes to forms used by the DOR in the administration of the insurance premium taxes, fees, and surcharges. To view the hearing notice, click here.
- 12B-8.001: Premium Tax; Rate and Computation
- 12B-8.0012: Insurance Policy Surcharge; Rate and Computation
- 12B-8.003: Tax Statement; Overpayments
- 12B-8.006: State Fire Marshal Regulatory Assessment and Surcharge; Levy and Amount
- 12B-8.007: Deposit of Certain Tax Receipts; Refund of Improper Payments
- 12B-8.016: Retaliatory Provisions
- The proposed Rules (below) would incorporate changes to the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program made by Chapter 2011-123, L.O.F., which extends the period for which authorized tax credits may be taken from three years to five years, eliminates the 75 percent limitation on the corporate income tax and insurance premium tax credits, and allows taxpayers who have previously rescinded a tax credit more than once to obtain approval to rescind an outstanding tax credit. To view the hearing notice, click here.
Tampa Lawmakers Hold Rallies Against Insurance Rate Hikes
Senator Mike Fasano leads charge against proposed sinkhole premium increases
Senator Mike Fasano, R-New Port Richey, won a small battle last week in the fight against proposed rate increases for state-backed Citizens Property Insurance, but now he’s looking to win the war.
Governor Rick Scott eyes car policy change
Nixing personal injury may spell boon, doom
Efforts to revise or even scrap Florida’s no-fault auto insurance system could lower insurance premiums for well-insured drivers, but could drive up the cost of bare-bones policies, industry experts said.
St. Johns County studies pier decay
Within weeks, St. Johns County plans to launch a thorough engineering study of St. Augustine Pier’s structural integrity due to its noticeably cracking concrete, stains from rusting rebar and the corroded metal stanchions holding it up.
Healthy Kids Corporation Announces New Improvements
No matter what, Tracie Pitre refuses to let her kids lose their health Insurance benefits through the Florida KidCare program.
Deaths in Florida from oxycodone, other pain killers keep climbing
New data shows that prescription drug deaths in Florida increased nearly 9 percent last year compared with 2009 despite aggressive efforts by law enforcement to educate people about the dangers and to crack down on illegal distribution.
Privatization of prisons aims to save more than $20 million
Florida is moving forward with a timetable to turn over prison operations in the southern half of the state to a private contractor, after the Legislature approved the plan designed to save millions of dollars.
Public workers form their own Political Action Committee
It won’t be a big political-action committee with millions of dollars to spread around among powerful legislators and the political parties, but a group of public employees is forming a Political Action Committee to speak out for government workers in Florida.
Hillsborough County Commissioner Sharpe will challenge Castor for seat in Congress
At a time when members of Congress from both parties appear dug in firm, Mark Sharpe says he wants to be a “bridge builder.”
Blog: Congressman Allen West considering bid for U.S. Senate
U.S. Representative Allen West, R-Plantation, said Tuesday evening he’s willing to think about seeking the Republican nomination for U.S. Senate in 2012.
State looking at millions in land buys paid from dwindling Florida Forever program
Governor Rick Scott in June vetoed new spending authority for the land-buying program as part of cutting out what he called “special interest” spending.
A former political aide to Senate President Mike Haridopolos, who weeks ago called off his campaign for U.S. Senate, has landed a new job at the Florida Department of Transportation.
Standard & Poor’s lowers water district’s bond rating because of new state law requiring tax cuts
The same new budget-slashing law that resulted in dozens of layoffs at the South Florida Water Management District has also prompted Standard & Poor’s to lower the district’s credit rating.
Study of route from Orlando to Immokalee being considered
State transportation officials are interested in studying a new route to link the Orlando area with Immokalee.
Governor Scott asks media to change his image – literally
Governor Rick Scott’s office has been working on softening his image lately and now wants to literally change the governor’s image.
RMS Releases New Version of its Data Quality Toolkit for Enhanced Exposure Data Management
Risk Management Solutions unveils the latest version of its Data Quality Toolkit, which enables reinsurers to assess, manage, and improve the quality of their exposure data.
Insurers may escape capital surcharges from global regulators
New rules to ensure no insurance company is too big to fail are set to be drawn up in time for the 2012 meeting of G20 leaders, although unlike banks they may not include capital surcharges, according to industry supervisors.
Guy Carpenter Expects No Uptick in Insurer Merger and Acquisition Activity
Merger and acquisition activity remains on the same pace it has been on for the past three years, according to a report from reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter.
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please send an email to Brooke Ellis at bellis@cftlaw.com.