Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Wednesday, February 6
Feb 6, 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
10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.–Senate Banking and Insurance Committee meeting. Toni Jennings Committee Room, 110 Senate Office Building, Tallahassee, Florida. Discussion and testimony only on Citizens Property Insurance Corporation and Personal Injury Protection, and Senate Bill 166. To view the meeting notice, click here. To view the meeting materials, click here. To view the expanded agenda, click here.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Florida Supreme Court Rules Arbitration Clauses Apply to Fraud Claims
The Florida Supreme Court says contract clauses requiring arbitration to settle related disputes include fraud claims.
Blog: Federal Bailout of Florida Is Far From a Sure Thing
As Florida’s 2013 legislative session draws near, state lawmakers once again are preparing to examine reforms to the Sunshine State’s property insurance system.
Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s intended role is to be a residual market and serve as the state’s insurer of last resort.
Editorial: Cap Citizens Property Insurance premium hikes
Citizens Insurance is a hard company to like, but if its leaders are to be believed, Floridians are about to see it take a more “moderate” approach to hiking premiums and slashing coverage.
Copper theft costs city thousands
Despite a metal theft law enacted last year in Florida, authorities said thieves continue to steal and cost others money.
Florida Chiropractor Sentenced In $1.9 Million Staged Accident Scheme
Crime was a poor investment for a Boca Raton, Florida chiropractic physician who will spend the next 4.5 years behind bars after copping to her role in a staged auto accident ring.
Will Florida Supreme Court Make DUI Breathalyzers Inadmissible?
The Florida Supreme Court heard oral arguments Tuesday in a case that could have ramifications for the tens of thousands of drivers who are subjected to breathalyzer exams every year in the Sunshine State.
Traffic woes: South Florida roads among most congested in U.S.
South Florida’s traffic conditions worsened slightly this past year, according to the latest survey of the cities with the worst road congestion in the country.
Governor Rick Scott’s top budget-writer says that a growing number of Republican governors opting to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare, are not impacting the administration’s decisions.
Hold off on new state trauma centers, panel warns
A committee of national experts conducting a review of Florida’s trauma system has recommended a statewide moratorium on new trauma centers.
Florida House gets first look at Governor Rick Scott budget; McKeel scrutinizes state worker pay
House budget chief Representative Seth McKeel expressed concern about paying different classes of state workers different raises and bonuses in Governor Rick Scott’s budget.
- Florida lawmakers give mild criticism of Governor Scott budget
- Blog: House Republicans open up new line of attack on Governor Scott’s teacher pay plan
Duke Energy announces closing of Crystal River nuclear power plant
Seldom, if ever, has an attempt to save $15 million cost so many, so much.
Lawmakers vow more scrutiny of economic-incentive money
With mounting evidence of companies gaming Florida’s economic-development system, lawmakers are advancing legislation that would apply more scrutiny to whether the state’s myriad tax-cuts, incentives and breaks are creating real economic benefits.
Florida Senators go to ethics school
For a little more than an hour on Tuesday, two dozen state senators listened attentively to a lecture on how to stay on the safe side of Florida’s constantly evolving political ethics standards.
GOP proposal: Give Governor Scott power to remove county election supervisors if problems arise
Targeting five counties that saw the worst problems during the 2012 elections, Florida legislators are considering giving Governor Rick Scott and his administration broader power to remove elections supervisors or put them on probation.
Florida lawmakers push to tax online purchases
There’s a new twist this year in the annual push to make online retailers collect sales tax from Florida buyers.
House Introduces Terrorism Risk Insurance Act Extension, but Tough Road Seen for Passage
The House today introduced legislation that would extend the current Terrorism Risk Insurance Act until the end of 2019.
Change for Bad Faith Rule in Texas?
One of the axioms of Texas bad faith law has always been that there is no bad faith where a carrier has not breached its duties to the insured.
New York Governor Proposes to Spend Up to $400 Million to Buy Out Storm-Wrecked Homes
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo wants to spend up to $400 million to buy and demolish homes wrecked by Superstorm Sandy and permanently preserve the land as undeveloped coastline.
Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Thomas Leonardi has recently been named chairman of the International Committee of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Insurers Hit Consumer Federation of America Auto Insurance Complaints
The new auto insurance pricing study from the Consumer Federation of America is getting roundly criticized by insurance industry representatives.
Leonard Re-elected Chair of ACORD Board of Directors
John Leonard, president and CEO of Maine Employers Mutual Insurance Company has been re-elected 2013 chair by the ACORD Board of Directors.
Demotech’s Petrelli named to American Society of Workers’ Comp Professionals Board of Directors
The American Society of Workers Comp Professionals, Inc. Board of Directors acts as an insurance information resource for issues that arise and affect the field of workers compensation.
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