Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report–Wednesday, July 23
Jul 23, 2014
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
10:00 a.m.–Florida Board of Employee Leasing Companies Board meeting; 10:00 a.m. To view the meeting notice, click here. To view the agenda, click here.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Florida Frets That, With Proposed Rate Cut, Citizens Could Be Too Competitive
Florida Property and Casualty Association Executive Director William Stander said he has heard rumblings through the industry over what the rate cut could mean for insurers’ expansion plans, Michael Adams reports for Insurance Journal.
“Hurricane Tax” on Insurance To End
An extra charge on property-insurance and auto-insurance policies to cover claims paid for the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons will end January 1, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Jim Turner reports via the Lakeland Ledger.
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty: Florida home insurance market is strong
The Florida homeowners insurance market is the strongest it has been in 10 years, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty writes in the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Florida packing plant’s employees accused of workers’ comp fraud
The vast majority of workers at a Naples, Florida, produce packing plant are accused in a scheme to commit workers compensation fraud, the Florida Department of Financial Services said Tuesday. Stephanie Goldberg reports for Business Insurance.
Fortress Clash With Life Insurers Spills Into State Legislatures, Including Florida
Fortress Investment Corporation, a private equity and hedge fund manager that purchased life insurance policies on the secondary market, has proposed rules to make it harder to cancel policies with a face value of $1 billion or more, and to mandate the return of premiums if coverage is voided. Efforts at legislation on life settlements have stalled in states such as Florida and Connecticut, Kelly Gilblom reports for Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
With billions for Floridians at stake, courts issue dueling rulings on health care law
An estimated 931,000 Floridians could lose $4.8 billion in subsidies to buy health insurance if a federal appeals court decision Tuesday striking down a major part of President Obama’s signature health care law is upheld, Jodie Tillman reports for Tampa Bay Times.
State of Florida sues for $20 million from failed Digital Domain project
The state of Florida has filed a lawsuit seeking to recoup millions of taxpayer dollars provided to the failed Digital Domain film visual effects company, the Associated Press reports via SaintPetersBlog.com.
Second medical marijuana law workshop scheduled in Tallahassee for August 1
A second workshop on Florida’s new medical marijuana law is scheduled for Aug. 1 in Tallahassee. Linda McMullen, director of the state’s Office of Compassionate Use, expects a draft rule to be ready for release by the end of this week, James Call reports for SaintPetersBlog.com.
Several dozen minors crossing the U.S. border sent to Florida for housing
At least 36 unaccompanied minors who are among the thousands pouring across the U.S.-Mexico border are headed to Florida, a fact that Governor Rick Scott’s administration says it was unaware of until contacted Tuesday by the Scripps-Tribune Capital Bureau.
Florida Governor’s Race Grows Increasingly Acrimonious
Florida’s gubernatorial race is growing as hot as the Sunshine State in July as Republicans and Democrats launched blistering attacks on Tuesday, Kevin Derby reports for SunshineStateNews.com.
Charlie Crist’s bid for governor will get big cash infusion from state matching program
Democrat Charlie Crist says he can’t raise as much money as Republican Gov. Rick Scott, but he can close the gap thanks to a big subsidy from Florida taxpayers, Tampa Bay Times’ Steve Bousquet reports.
Governor Rick Scott statewide tour pushes permanent sales tax cuts
Governor Rick Scott wants to remove the sales tax on manufacturing machinery purchases permanently, a temporary tax cut the governor also urged last year, Phil Ammann reports for SaintPetersBlog.com.
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Tuesday that University of Florida professor Mark Flannery will be its chief economist and director of its Division of Economic and Risk analysis, Jeff Schweers reports for the Gainesville Sun.
After 150 Years of Rolling Them, Tampa Is Close to No Cigars
The Food and Drug Administration may introduce strict, expensive regulations on cigars that could close the last working cigar factory in Tampa, Lizette Alvarez reports for the New York Times.
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau tackles prepaid card complaints
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau will begin looking into complaints about prepaid cards, the agency announced Monday. TheHill.com’s Tim Devaney reports.
Travelers ordered to abide by $500 million asbestos pact
Travelers Cos. must pay more than $500 million to victims of asbestos-related diseases under settlement proposal first approved by a judge in 2004, a federal appeals court in New York ruled. Bloomberg’s Christie Smythe reports.
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