Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Tuesday, November 12
Nov 12, 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
There are no insurance-related events scheduled today.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
“Ask Gary” Sues Over News Story
Sarasota chiropractor Gary Kompothecras, who built a chain of car-crash clinics into a multimillion-dollar empire, has filed a libel suit over a Bloomberg News article published in November 2011 accusing him of unethical business practices, Health News Florida reports.
Homeowners insurance bill filed by Florida legislator for gun owners
State Representative Matt Gaetz has now filed legislation that is designed to help to regulate how homeowners insurance companies will be able to treat gun owners, through a bill that is being viewed as a form of pre-emptive strike in Florida, Helen Cutner reports for Live Insurance News.
Florida Residents Talk Flood Insurance
Alarmed and angered by soaring flood insurance rates, Manatee and Sarasota residents jammed a meeting held by U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, ClaimsJournal.com reports.
Florida Wildlife Federation: Lawmakers should consider impact of Florida’s changing coastline
Sea level rise and a changing South Florida coastline is not something the average Floridian thinks about, but the potential impact that residents could experience in their lifetimes should not be overlooked, Florida Wildlife Federation explains in this Sun-Sentinel editorial opinion.
Editorial: Rising seas threaten Florida’s future
The word “resilience” got a serious workout at the fifth Southeast Florida Regional Climate Leadership Summit in Fort Lauderdale last week.
- Three-foot higher sea levels could flood $156 billion of Florida’s real estate
- Regional Climate Leadership Summit held in Broward
- Key West Awash With Plans For Rising Sea Level
Harmful algae invades Florida Keys
Harmful algae emanating from water discharges descending from Lake Okeechobee is killing the Florida Keys’ coral reefs.
Florida’s speed limits could hit 75 mph under proposed legislation
Two unlikely bedfellows are teaming up in a bipartisan effort to raise the speed limit on Florida’s highways, WTSP-TV’s Noah Pransky reports.
Florida Employer Arrested for Failing to Provide Coverage to Electrocuted Workers
CFO Jeff Atwater today announced the arrest of Joel Trujillo on charges of violating a stop work order and a third-degree felony workers’ compensation fraud for allegedly failing to provide adequate coverage to employees of his Naples-based construction company, K.C. Tile and Marble, WorkersCompensation.com reports.
The average cost per claim of outpatient hospital care for injured workers in the Florida workers’ compensation system continued to grow rapidly and was a main driver of growth in medical payments per claim in the state, according to a new study by the Workers Compensation Research Institute, Insurance Journal reports.
Florida House Democratic Leader says Medicaid expansion will be an issue
The incoming leader of Florida House Democrats said he intends to make Medicaid expansion an issue during the spring legislative session and the 2014 election cycle, The Florida Current’s James Call reports.
Homeowner association managers squabble with Florida Bar over duties
Managers of homeowners associations fear a pending decision from the Florida Supreme Court could cement a move by The Florida Bar to declare some of their activities the unlicensed practice of law, The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.
Bondi, Gaetz, Weatherford go to court to block marijuana initiative
Florida Senate President Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, and House Speaker Will Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, Friday filed briefs with the Florida Supreme Court to block a proposed medical marijuana initiative from the 2014 ballot, The Florida Current’s James Call reports.
Florida losing bank branches at fast clip
Florida is one of the leading states for closures of bank branches, according to a study by SNL Financial, South Florida Business Journal’s Brian Bandell reports.
Pew study: Tampa hit bottom of recession harder than other big cities
When it comes to government revenue, Tampa hit the bottom of the Great Recession harder than many big cities, according to a new study from the Pew Charitable Trusts’ American cities project, Tampa Bay Times’ Richard Danielson reports.
NAIC to Eye Guidelines on Unclaimed Property
A key National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) committee agreed late Friday to determine whether guidelines should be developed to provide consistency in the handling of unclaimed death benefits, Arthur Postal reports for National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com.
Study Indicates Use of Predictive Models Widespread in Property Casualty Insurance
A survey of North American insurance professionals reveals widespread use of predictive analytics in the property/casualty insurance industry, with as many as 82 percent responding that they use predictive modeling in one or more lines, Insurance Journal reports.
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