Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Wednesday, August 28, 2013
Aug 28, 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
2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.—Citizens Information Systems Advisory Committee meeting. Teleconference: 866-361-7525; participant code: 4869641229#. To view the meeting notice, click here.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
American Consumer Institute for Citizen Research: Insurance storm is brewing this hurricane season
Although the waters have been seemingly quiet this hurricane season, experts continue to monitor the waves off of Africa and disturbances that form in the Caribbean, with hurricane preparedness kits in hand, this is also the time for Floridians to realize the state’s vulnerability from a financial perspective, says Steve Pociask, president of the American Consumer Institute Center for Citizen Research in this Ft. Myers News-Press editorial opinion.
Florida Wildlife Federation: Don’t let Congress sink Sandy’s valuable lessons
One would think that after Hurricane Sandy and all of the other natural disasters that have hit America’s coastlines our elected officials would try to reduce the risks of beach towns in the path of storms, Florida Wildlife Federation’s Manley Fuller writes in this Tallahassee Democrat Editorial Opinion.
Sarasota area spared heaviest of Florida’s rains
Heavier downpours in the Panhandle and parts of South Florida have caused major environmental and economic problems, with some areas recording 30 or more inches of rain in the last 60 days alone, Zac Anderson reports for Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
FPL beefs up substations to withstand storm surge
With destruction from Superstorm Sandy in mind, Florida Power & Light is shoring up 14 electrical substations in Miami-Dade and Broward counties and another 11 across South Florida that are vulnerable to damage from storm surge, Curtis Morgan reports for the Miami Herald.
Jim Boyd says Florida Legislature will give Medicaid expansion more attention
The Florida Legislature failed to reach a deal to expand Medicaid under President Barack Obama’s Affordable Health Care Act last spring, Jeremy Wallace reports for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Drug Database Changes Under Fire
Proposed changes to a state-run prescription drug database won’t do anything to protect patient privacy, civil rights lawyers argued on Tuesday, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’S Dara Kam reports via SunshineStateNews.com.
Blog: Candidates qualify to replace Fasano in Florida House
Now that qualifying has ended, the ballot is set to replace former Rep. Mike Fasano, who stepped down from his House seat to become Pasco County’s tax collector, Tampa Bay Times’ Tia Mitchell writes on the Miami Herald’s Naked Politics blog.
Gayle Harrell Remains a Force in Tallahassee Despite Not Running for Congress
Gayle Harrell slammed the door on running for Congress Tuesday, announcing she is seeking another term in the Florida House, Jeff Henderson reports for SunshineStateNews.com.
Open South Florida House Race Gets More Crowded as Ben Sorensen Joins Democratic Primary
A new candidate has jumped into the increasingly crowded Democratic primary to replace term-limited Rep. Joe Gibbons, D-Pembroke Park, in representing parts of Broward and Miami-Dade counties in Tallahassee, Kevin Derby reports for SunshineStateNews.com.
Insurance Information Institute: Residual Markets Becoming Policyholders’ First Choice
This special report from the Insurance Information Institute analyzes the changes taking place within the residual property market, which consists of a myriad of different programs in place across the United States to provide insurance to high-risk policyholders who may have difficulty obtaining coverage from the standard market.
Federal Catastrophe Reserving Legislation Pushed by D.C. Regulator
Federal catastrophe reserving legislation is re-emerging with William White, the District of Columbia’s insurance, banking and securities commissioner, telling fellow regulators that a bill is expected to be introduced this fall from Rep. Eleanor Holmes-Norton, D-Wash.,D.C., Elizabeth Festa reports for National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com.
G20 Says U.S. Could Improve Financial Risk Spotting
The United States could improve how it spots and prevents risks in the financial system from turning into destabilising crises, a global regulatory task force said on Tuesday, Huw Jones reports for Reuters via National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com.
A.M. Best: Reinsurers face pricing pressure due to excess capacity
Reinsurance firms are “capable of absorbing significant losses from a combination of events” but are also facing pricing pressure because of investments from third-party capital, a new report from A.M. Best Company suggests. Canadian Underwriter reports.
New product allows policyholders to mark valuables with their DNA
Canadian Underwriter reports that, after several years of development, a Canadian company is launching a product that uses a consumer’s DNA to mark valuable assets, a tool it says insurers can use to track items after loss or theft.
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