Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Tuesday, February 18
Feb 18, 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
10:00 a.m.–Florida Division of Insurance Agent and Agency Services Rule Development Workshop. Proposed Rule 69B-162.011 would be amended to conform with revisions to Section 627.4554, F.S., as enacted by SB 166. SB 166 substantially revised Florida consumer protection laws relating to the sales of annuities by incorporating the 2010 National Association of Insurance Commissioners (“NAIC”) Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation. The proposed Rule extends protections previously afforded senior consumers in annuity transactions to consumers of any age. Forms DFS-H1-1980 and DFS-H1-1981 would be revised to reflect the standards, procedures and guidelines of the 2010 NAIC Annuity Suitability Model Regulation, and Section 627.4554, F.S. To view the Workshop notice, click here.
2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.–Florida Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance meeting. Agenda includes Workshop on Citizens Property Insurance Corporation and consideration of the following bill:
- SB 346 relating to Florida Insurance Guaranty Association
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Florida’s sinkhole study began last week, starting with several north Florida counties, Garin Flowers reports for WCTV-TV.
Hit-and-run epidemic engulfs Manatee County
The Florida Highway Patrol reported Monday there were 78,000 hit-and-run crashes last year in Florida — including almost 800 in Manatee County — involving people who left the scene of an accident causing injury or property damage, Bradenton Herald’s Richard Dymond reports.
Florida led world with 23 shark attacks in 2013
Florida was the world leader in unprovoked shark attacks last year with 23, easily most in the United States and more than twice the number as any other country, Associated Press reports via the Tampa Tribune.
Local Florida Tax Offices Might Process Gun License Applications
Gun owners would be able to apply for concealed weapons licenses at their local tax collector’s offices under a National Rifle Association-backed measure approved unanimously by the Senate Agriculture Committee yesterday, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Dara Kam reports via SunshineStateNews.com.
Emails show Florida officials celebrated launch of unemployment website as it failed for claimants
A review of state emails shows state officials celebrating the successful October 15 launch of the online benefits site, but for most unemployed users it was a fiasco, the Miami Herald’s Michael Van Sickler reports.
When lawmakers passed a $63 million “modernization” of the state’s unemployment compensation system in 2011, proponents promised it would “improve the claims, benefits and appeals process.” So far, the opposite has been true, Florida Times-Union’s Matt Dixon reports.
Florida businesses can demand your social media logins. Should that be legal?
Florida lawmakers are advancing a measure that tries to ban employers from requiring that workers or prospective employees turn over user-names, passwords or other means to access their social media accounts, the Orlando Sentinel’s Aaron Deslatte reports.
Florida Senate panel votes to ban biometric data collection in schools
A key Senate committee voted to stop public school systems from collecting “biometric” data on students, despite warnings that unplugging the computerized systems will waste money and make it harder to move hundreds of kids through lunchroom lines, The Florida Current’s Bill Cotterell reports.
Rick Scott Holds the Cards in Gambling Deal
House and Senate leaders are reaching consensus on a plan that would allow stand-alone casinos in South Florida, if voters approve. But the proposal hinges on whether Governor Rick Scott, who’s playing his cards close to his vest, seals a deal with the Seminole Tribe THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Dara Kam reports via SunshineStateNews.com.
Personal lines insurers and their captive and independent agents will be paying close attention this week as the House works to craft a politically acceptable bill that will delay or reduce National Flood Insurance Program premium increases mandated by a 2012 law, Arthur Postal writes for National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com.
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