Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Wednesday, December 4
Dec 4, 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
8:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.–Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Information Systems Advisory Committee meeting. Teleconference: (866) 361-7525; participant code: 4869641229#. To view the meeting notice, click here.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Ft. Lauderdale Company’s Water-Based Asset Marking Technology Hits the U.S.
A new, water-based forensic marking technology promises to reduce property crimes by 50-60 percent, Denise Johnson reports for ClaimsJournal.com.
Florida’s Guarantee Insurance Company Announces $28 Million Capital Infusion
Guarantee Insurance Company, a leading provider of workers’ compensation insurance, today announced that it has closed a financing transaction resulting in a $28 million capital infusion, ClaimsJournal.com reports.
With more than 51,000 homeowners in Pinellas County buying flood insurance, the recovery of the local real estate market is at risk from soaring insurance premiums, local officials say, Christopher O’Donnell reports for the Tampa Tribune.
Weatherford slams Medicaid expansion in op-ed
The decision by Florida lawmakers not to expand Medicaid may be a stalled issue heading into the 2014 legislative session with Republican House Speaker Will Weatherford signaling in a recent editorial he hasn’t changed his mind, Associated Press reports via the Miami Herald.
Miami’s Lennar awarded $1 billion in civil defamation and conspiracy case
A federal civil jury awarded Miami-based Lennar Corp. $1 billion in damages against California developer Nicolas Marsch III and his Briarwood Capital LLC for defamation and conspiracy to extort money from the giant homebuilder, Miami Herald’s Martha Brannigan reports.
Charlie Crist’s much-heralded campaign chief leaves before he officially starts
The Tampa Bay Times is reporting that Charlie Crist’s much-heralded campaign manager, Bill Hyers, has already left the new Democrat’s campaign for governor, blogs Marc Caputo for the Miami Herald’s “Naked Politics.”
Florida fails in judicial financial disclosure
Despite the lack of information in the public records, an investigation found nearly three dozen conflicts, questionable gifts and entanglements among top judges around the country. Christopher Zubak-Skees reports on what the Center for Public Integrity found in Florida.
Zephyrhills Mayor to Run for Will Weatherford’s Pasco County House Seat
Mayor Danny Burgess of Zephyrhills announced Tuesday that he is running as a Republican for the Florida House of Representatives seat which covers most of Pasco County, Kevin Derby and Allison Nielson report for SunshineStateNews.com.
Florida regulators approve raising electric bills for FPL consumers next year
Florida’s Public Service Commission on Tuesday approved a $4.90 monthly increase for Florida Power & Light’s residential customers using 1,000 kilowatt hours starting in January, bringing the total bill to $100.01, Mary Ellen Klas reports for the Miami Herald.
Florida Supreme Court hears Daytona Beach Kennel Club gaming case
The Florida Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday on the constitutionality of a law allowing the Daytona Beach Kennel Club to open a satellite card room in Volusia County without any live racing, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Dara Kam reports via the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
Civil War passions still run deep as Union supporters propose monument on Confederate site
Passions ran high at a public hearing on a proposed Civil War monument last night, at one point erupting in a spontaneous chorus of “Dixie” led by a black man, H.K. Edgerton, who called Union soldiers rapists and wielded his large Confederate flag like a conductor’s baton as the audience sang, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Margie Menzel reports via the Miami Herald.
Final Volcker Rule Expected Next Week
At least three U.S. regulators will meet on Dec. 10 to adopt the final version of the Volcker rule banning banks from making speculative bets with their own money, according to three people familiar with the planning, Bloomberg’s Carla Main reports.
Ratio of Auto Insurance Expenditure-to-Income Down, but Is Coverage Affordable?
An Insurance Research Council (IRC) study finds that the average auto-insurance expenditure in relation to median income has declined from the 1990s into the 2000s, but a consumer representative warns against confusing improvement with actual affordability. Phil Gusman reports for National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com.
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