Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report–Wednesday, May 28
May 28, 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
3:30 p.m.–Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Consumer Services Committee meeting. Teleconference: (866) 361-7525, conference ID: 6487811620#. To view the meeting materials, click here.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Ocala hurricane expert gives Florida 75 percent chance of a hit in 2014
An Ocala hurricane prediction service warned Tuesday that Florida has a 75 percent chance of getting hit with a hurricane in 2014 – a much higher probability than other forecasters see, reports Joe Callahan for the Ocala StarBanner.
U.S. Can Learn from Florida Climate Change Response
Florida’s state and national politicians are free to question whether climate change exists, but local officials don’t have that luxury. When it floods, people call city hall. Bloomberg’s Editorial Board sounds off via Insurance Journal.
Decade later, Chinese drywall still a problem
Homeowners across Southwest Florida are still finding contaminated Chinese drywall in their residences, almost a decade after the toxic material that has been shown to cause medical problems and corrode appliances was discovered in the region. Josh Salman reports for the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
Florida Insurance Commissioner Asks: Do You Have the Right Insurance for Hurricane Season?
Unfortunately, some Florida residents have not purchased flood insurance to cover their losses, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty writes in a guest column for the Naples Daily News.
Citizens Property Insurance able to weather storms
Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. says it stands in its best financial condition ever: smaller, richer and better able to weather the type of major storm Florida has dodged for eight years, the Sun-Sentinel’s Donna Gehrke-White reports via TCPalm.com.
Lloyd’s Chaucer to Open Miami Office to Build Latin American Business
Chaucer, a specialist Lloyd’s insurance group, said it will open an office in Miami, Florida during the fourth quarter of 2014 to develop Latin American business for Chaucer Syndicate 1084, Insurance Journal reports.
Gallagher Buys Florida’s MGA Insurance Group
Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. said it has acquired MGA Insurance Group of Lakewood Ranch, Florida, Insurance Journal reports.
Florida private insurance market worth looking into
With weeks until the start of the 2014 Atlantic Hurricane season, our elected officials should evaluate current market conditions and restructure the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund to ensure it will be able to meet its obligations this year and in subsequent hurricane seasons, Florida Consumer Action Network Executive Director Bill Newton writes.
Florida Supreme Court orders political operatives to release redistricting docs
The ping pong over secret redistricting documents ended Tuesday as the Florida Supreme Court ruled that 538 pages of emails, maps and planning documents of a GOP political operative must be allowed into the record in the ongoing redistricting trial – but only if the courtroom is closed, the Miami Herald’s Mary Ellen Klas reports.
State Representative Ross Spano Draws Democratic Challenger
State Rep. Ross Spano has drawn a Democratic challenger in his re-election effort for House District 59, one of Florida’s most competitive districts, SaintPetersblog reports.
Miami-Dade Easily Brings Home Most Money in Budget
Miami-Dade County has the most money on the line among Florida’s counties as Gov. Rick Scott decides what to veto from a record election-year budget, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Jim Turner reports via SunshineStateNews.com.
In Florida, as tourism goes, so goes the state, in part because the industry supplies one in six private sector jobs, the New York Times’ Tim Mullaney writes.
Court ruling opens door to gambling expansion
Florida City could be home to Miami Dade’s next poker room and, with time, slot machines, under a loophole in the law affirmed Tuesday by a state appeals court, The Miami Herald’s Mary Ellen Klas reports.
Online news site Florida Current washing out
Florida Current, the online news site published by LobbyTools, is significantly downsizing its operations, while jettisoning two reporters and abandoning its efforts to cover political news, SaintPetersBlog.com’s Peter Schorsch reports.
New York Encourages Use of Telematics for Auto
The New York Department of Financial Services issued a bulletin to auto insurers doing business in New York urging them to adopt “usage-based insurance” programs, Arthur Postal reports for National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com.
Click here to follow Colodny Fass& Webb on Twitter (@CFTLAWcom)
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please send an e-mail to Brooke Ellis at bellis@cftlaw.com.