Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Tuesday, May 24
May 24, 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
May 24-25–Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund 2011 Participating Insurers Workshop; To access registration information, click here.
Governor Scott, Florida begin annual hurricane exercise
Florida began its sometimes annual hurricane exercise Monday after skipping the practice storm last year because officials were busy with a real emergency – the Gulf of Mexico oil spill.
Florida Property Bill Helps, But Citizens Competition Will Keep Large Insurers Away
The property-insurance reform bill recently signed in Florida will help improve insurers’ bottom lines, but large homeowners insurers are unlikely to expand their presence in the state due to continued competition from the insurer of last resort, according to Moody’s.
Florida Insurance Law Tightens Filing Windows, Combats Fraud
Florida’s homeowners Insurance market hasn’t been the same since Hurricane Andrew slammed the state in 1992.
Enjoying the calm before the storm? Sorry. Time is about to expire.
Blog: Ten cheapest cars to insure in Florida
Ten different car models, some with multiple versions based on class or series, made Insure.com’s 2011 list of the 30 cheapest vehicles to insure in Florida.
Public Service Commission executive director resigns before he’s pushed out by chairman
Timothy J. Devlin, a 35-year agency veteran, submitted a one-sentence memorandum that said PSC Chairman Art Graham had initiated an effort to remove him.
U.S. Senator Rubio blocks Obama’s nominee for Vietnamese ambassador
Freshman senator, Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, has blocked President Obama’s nominee for ambassador to Vietnam.
$4.6B in federal stimulus stays unspent in Florida
More than two years after the controversial federal-stimulus program began, Florida has yet to spend more than $4.6 billion of its stimulus money, even as the state starts seeing new layoffs of teachers and others paid with stimulus money the past two years.
Transportation groups step on pedal in calling for veto of trust fund sweep
Several groups joined on Monday to deliver a petition of nearly 3,600 signatures and a letter asking Governor Rick Scott to veto a proposed $150 million transfer from the state’s road-building fund.
State may force wireless company to refund $2 million incentive
Clearwire was given a $2 million incentive in 2010 in order to expand its operations in Northwest Florida.
Florida budget likely to lead to job losses – at least in the short run
The $69.7 billion state budget now before Governor Rick Scott will send tremors through Florida’s struggling economy, with school districts, hospitals and other big employers soon cutting jobs and programs because of a sharp drop in taxpayer dollars, economists say.
Blog: Governor Scott to sign Representative Dana Young’s ports bill
Governor Rick Scott plans to sign a measure on Tuesday doing away with what backers say are duplicative or un-needed security requirements at sea ports, reports the News Service of Florida.
Group hunting for ‘turkeys’ in Florida’s budget
Florida TaxWatch is conducting its annual ‘turkey’ hunt.
State law limits citizens ability to get amendments on ballot
A controversial new law has made it easier for the Legislature — but harder for citizens — to change Florida’s constitution.
Governor Rick Scott says he won’t run for president
Florida Governor Rick Scott has added his name to the list of prominent Republicans who say they are not running for president.
Blog: Former Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty’s first Florida event as a presidential candidate
He is the son of a truck driver with a record of slashing spending, taking on public employee unions and quoting the Will Ferrell movie Talladega Nights: The Ricky Bobby Story.
Texas Senate passes Texas Windstorm Insurance Association revamp bill
The Texas Senate has passed its version of a bill to revamp the state’s windstorm fund that insures coastal properties against hurricane damage.
The Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of New York reports it will file its appeal of a court decision upholding Regulation 194 in the next several weeks.
Tennessee legislators approve revamp of captive insurer law
The Tennessee House and Senate have passed a measure rewriting the state’s existing captive insurance law and replacing it with one that, among other things, would allow the formation of protected cell captives, branch captives and special-purpose financial captives.
Study: Car insurance premiums jump 18 percent after one ticket
U.S. drivers saw their auto Insurance premiums rise an average of 18 percent in 2010 if they had a single moving violation that showed up on their record, insurance.com says in a new report.
Insurance Information Institute: Workers’ Compensation 2011 Overview and Outlook
This PowerPoint report, presented by Robert Hartwig, president of the Insurance Information Institute, focuses on the strong link between workers compensation exposure and performance and the economy and labor market.
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