Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report – Wednesday, January 25, 2017
Jan 25, 2017
Reinsurance opportunity in Florida, nationwide as FEMA pushes for states to pick up disaster costs
The US Federal Emergency Management Agency has provided early calculations of the disaster costs that states could be required pick up before they are eligible for federal assistance, in plans that could encourage more risk transfer to the reinsurance or ILS markets, Trading-Risk.com reports.
Cuban Club, insurer face-off over $1.9M water damage claim
A Texas insurer is taking Ybor City’s venerable Cuban Club to court over the disposition of a nearly $2 million insurance claim dating back to 2014. Phil Ammann reports for SaintPetersBlog.com.
New FEMA flood maps show more Jacksonville Beach streets are at risk
The latest maps were redrafted and finished this past summer, but had a delayed release due to Hurricane Hermine and Hurricane Matthew. The biggest changes affect Jacksonville Beach. Erica Bennett reports for ActionNewsJax.com.
Lawmakers to weigh costs, benefits of no-fault insurance repeal
If Florida’s legislature repeals the requirement that motorists purchase no-fault personal injury protection insurance, average motorists will save $81 per policy, a recent study concluded. The Sun-Sentinel’s Ron Hurtibise reports.
Motorist alleges State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance denied coverage
A Seminole County resident alleges his insurer wrongfully failed to pay underinsured motorist coverage. Jenie Mallari-Torres reports for the Florida Record.
Last year was deadliest on Florida’s roadways in nine years
Last year was the deadliest on Florida’s roadways since 2007, an increase that law enforcement officials attribute to distracted, aggressive and impaired drivers. Brian Ballou reports for the Sun-Sentinel.
Red-light camera ban passes House subcommittee
This year’s effort to ban red-light cameras in Florida was approved by the Florida House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee after testimony that the records shows the cameras don’t appear to be reducing traffic accidents and their primary purpose seems to be revenue that’s not doing much to improve highway safety. Scott Powers reports for FloridaPolitics.com.
Broward homeowners demand state pay them $20.6 million for citrus trees
About 55,000 Broward households are demanding in court that the state to pay them $20.6 million for fruit trees destroyed in the fight against citrus canker. David Fleshler reports for the Sun-Sentinel.
Insurance company sues Tampa “entrepreneur of the year” for unpaid workers’ comp premiums
A Tampa businesswoman faces trouble with her California insurance company, which claims she owes $627K in workers’ compensation premiums. Phil Ammann reports for FloridaPolitics.com.
Scott Takes Aim at Health Care Regulations
Amid a new wave of legal battles about hospital projects, Governor Rick Scott on Tuesday called for eliminating key regulations about building health-care facilities and opening trauma centers. THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Jim Saunders reports via SunshineStateNews.com.
AHCA says a Medicaid HMO will have to return money to state
One of the Medicaid HMOs that provides health care services to patients in Florida will be required to pay the state money under a provision in a law meant to prevent managed care plans from making a windfall off the health care program that pays for the poor, elderly and disabled. Christine Sexton reports for Politico Florida.
Individual seeks reinstatement of disability benefits from Principal Life Insurance
A McLane Co. employee alleges his long-term disability benefits were unlawfully terminated. Wadi Reformado reports for the Florida Record.
Accredited Surety and Casualty Enters Agreement with Miami-Based Cinium Financial Services
ASC is a Florida-domiciled property and casualty insurance company. ASC was purchased in November 2014 by Randall & Quilter as part of its strategy to underwrite admitted business in the United States, Insurance Journal reports.
Rick Scott taps Ryan Matthews as interim DEP chief
Governor Rick Scott announced Matthews appointment Tuesday, just days after FloridaPolitics.com first reported DEP Secretary Jon Steverson was resigning. Steverson’s last day is February 3.
Trump’s Mar-Lago club doubles initiation fee
Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach resort owned by the Trump Organization and expected to serve as “the Winter White House, doubled its initiation fee to $200,000, CNBC reports via the Tampa Bay Times.
Governor Rick Scott’s tax cuts will face big test in state Capitol
Florida Governor Rick Scott began a two-day, six-TV market push Wednesday for $618 million in tax cuts, and some Republicans at the Capitol who would have to vote for it are not exactly on Scott’s bandwagon. The Tampa Bay Times’ Steve Bousquet reports via “The Buzz” blog.
Answer to one community’s toxic algae is economic distress for another
The Florida Senate Appropriations Committee on Natural Resources is drafting a $2.4 billion plan to use tax money to buy land south of Lake Okeechobee to bring fresh water to South Florida and avoid another toxic algae summer. Mary Ellen Klas reports via “The Buzz” blog.
Nearly 19 million Americans live in areas where auto insurance is unaffordable including a large number in the New York region, according to a first-of-its kind study by the U.S. Treasury Department. Reuters’ Suzanne Barlyn reports for Insurance Journal.
Click here to follow Colodny Fass on Twitter (@ColodnyFassLaw)
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please send an e-mail to colodnyfassnews@gmail.com.