Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report – Tuesday, May 17, 2016

 

Assurant to Offer Private Flood Insurance in Florida

The new Assurant Primary Flood Insurance offers structural coverage up to $800,000 and up to $250,000 in contents coverage, Insurance Journal reports.

 

Florida Surplus Lines Service Office Asking Agencies To Update Catastrophe Information

The Florida Surplus Lines Service Office is asking all agencies to update records annually.  Simply log into SLIP and select File Catastrophe Data located under the Reports tab.

 

PCI’s Logan McFaddin:  Florida Residents Should Have a Hurricane Plan

We are fortunate that it’s been 10 years since Florida was hit by a major category 3 or higher hurricane, PCI’s Logan McFaddin writes to Naples Daily News readers.

 

Uber to Get Special Zone at Miami International Airport

Arriving at MIA in an Uber vehicle won’t bring too many limitations, but pick-ups will have new rules, the Miami Herald’s Doug Hanks reports.

 

City of Wilton Manors Urges Feds, Florida to Make Transgender-Related Healthcare More Accessible

The South Florida city of Wilton Manors urged federal and Florida governments to implement Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act and the corresponding proposed Rule to eliminate any and all exclusions from coverage based upon sex, gender identity or gender expression and to require coverage for any and all medically necessary procedures and treatments for gender affirmation or gender reassignment.

 

Standing Water on Property? Mosquito Control May Come After You to Combat Zika

With the rainy season about to arrive and 45 confirmed Zika cases this year, more than any other county in Florida, Miami-Dade commissioners will consider changing the county’s legal code on Tuesday to empower mosquito control workers during public health emergencies to act within two days instead of the current five to clear empty containers and other breeding grounds for the disease-spreading insects when located on private property.  The Miami Herald’s Dan Chang reports.

  

Florida, Alabama Senators Ask Leaders for Help in “Water Wars”

After earlier attempts failed, U.S. senators from Florida and Alabama are working on a new effort to get Congress to intervene in their states’ long-running “water wars” with Georgia, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA reports via SayfieReview.com.

  

Citrus Department Proposes Staff, Tax Cuts

Florida citrus growers could save more than $11 million in taxes they pay on boxes of oranges and grapefruit under a proposed Department of Citrus budget that would trim jobs to meet the demands of a troubled industry.  THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Jim Saunders reports via CBS-Local Miami.

  

Florida Didn’t Bother to Apply for $250 Million in Foreclosure Assistance Funds

Florida automatically received almost $78 million in additional foreclosure prevention funding, but it could have received a lot more if only it had applied.  It could have gotten as much as $250 million more in fact.   Kyle Muzenrieder reports for the Miami New Times.

  

Marijuana Opponents Condemn Latest Florida Effort as “Still a Scam”

The campaign to fight the latest effort to legalize medical marijuana in Florida released an internet spot Monday condemning it as “still a scam to legalize pot,” the Palm Beach Post’s John Kennedy reports via the “Post on Politics” blog.

  

Impact of Pfizer Decision to Stop Selling Death Penalty Drugs Unclear In Florida

Pharmaceutical company Pfizer on Friday announced it would no longer sell its drugs for use in executions,the New York Times reported.  That, the Times wrote, means there are no remaining FDA-approved sources of lethal injection drugs in the country.

  

Don Gaetz Floated for University of West Florida Presidency

When the application window for University of West Florida’s presidency closes in mid-August, members of the school’s search committee expect to see state Senator Don Gaetz’s name on the list of candidates, Jessica Bakeman reports.

  

A $6 Million Facelift for the Florida Senate Chamber

 Florida’s Senate chamber is being upgraded at a cost of $6 million, but it took a while for it to happen, the Tampa Bay Times’ Steve Bousquet reports.

  

Noncompete Agreements a Tricky Target for Obama Administration

A White House report that is critical of noncompete agreements could be influential in state legislatures but is unlikely to lead to federal legislation, experts say. 

 

Outdated SAP Software May Be Vulnerable to Hackers if Not Properly Patched

Europe’s biggest software company, SAP, is the subject of a U.S. security alert over a vulnerability the firm disabled six years ago that can still give outside attackers remote control over older SAP systems if the software is not properly patched, Reuters reports via Insurance Journal.

  

A.M. BestTV:  Bermuda Briefing Preview – Global Reinsurers Face Challenges

In this A.M.BestTV episode, ahead of a May 17 A.M. Best briefing in Bermuda on its revised rating methodology and the state of the global reinsurance market, Robert DeRose, vice president, and Greg Reisner, assistant vice president, review factors shaping today’s reinsurance environment, including investment returns, rates, reserving, capital market competition and catastrophe activity.

  

Re/Insurance CEOs Join Insurance Development Forum, U.N., World Bank Initiative

A group of re/insurance and global broking CEOs are assisting the work of the Insurance Development Forum, which was launched last month to help build resilience to climate risk and natural disasters, while bridging the insurance protection gap for developing nations, Insurance Journal reports.

 

 

 

 

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