Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report–Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Sep 17, 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.–U.S. House Committee on Financial Services Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee Hearing: Oversight of the Financial Stability Oversight Council. To view the meeting notice, click here. To view the Committee memorandum, click here.
3:00 p.m.–Florida Workers’ Compensation Insurance Guaranty Association Board of Directors meeting. Tallahassee, Florida. To view the meeting notice, click here.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Florida Property Casualty Association: Private insurers the best option
Florida-based companies are among the only private insurers willing to write new policies, and they are backed by some of the largest reinsurance companies in the world, explains Florida Property Casualty Association Executive Director William Stander in a letter to the Sun-Sentinel editor.
State Representative Darryl Rouson lands gig at Clearwater Personal Injury law firm
More than a year after leaving one high-profile law firm, State Representative Darryl Rouson announced that he has joined a Clearwater-based personal injury firm, Tampa Bay Times’ Tia Mitchell reports via the “Naked Politics” blog.
Florida Ranks Third in Uninsured Residents
Florida has one of the highest numbers of residents without health insurance in the country. New figures released from the U.S. Census Bureau found that 20% of Floridians lacked health insurance last year, WTSL-TV reports.
Scott calls for scrutiny of Big Sugar development plan
Governor Rick Scott has called for state regulators to pay “special attention” to potential effects on the Everglades that could come from sugar industry development plans for farmland south of Lake Okeechobee, Sun-Sentinel’s Andy Reid reports.
GOP House District 65 hopeful Chris Sprowls opens six-point lead over Carl Zimmerman
Republican Chris Sprowls has opened his lead to six points against Democratic State Rep. Carl “Z” Zimmerman in House District 65, Phil Ammann reports via SaintPetersBlog.com.
10 Central Florida cities with restrictions on medical marijuana
Florida’s Orange County isn’t alone in considering restrictions to where medical marijuana outfits can set up shop, Orlando Business Journal’s Abraham Aboraya explains.
For-profit firms muscle out homeowner preservation groups, report says
Thousands of defaulted Florida mortgages have been auctioned to the highest bidder in a landmark federal program that critics say is benefiting for-profit Wall Street firms instead of borrowers trying to stay in their homes, Kimberly Miller reports for the Palm Beach Post.
Florida universities need $45 million to offset changes to Bright Futures scholarship program
When Florida lawmakers made it harder to earn a Bright Futures scholarship, they celebrated the cost savings. But the changes to the eligibility criteria may actually come with an unforeseen price tag, the Miami Herald’s Kathleen McGrory reports via the “Naked Politics” blog.
Florida’s failed charter schools: Few dollars, little sense doom dozens of charters
As part of its wide-ranging investigation of Florida’s charter school system, the Daily News found dozens of Sunshine State schools have been shuttered due to poor financial planning, lax recordkeeping and fiscal mismanagement – with little consequence for those responsible, Jacob Carpenter reports for Naples Daily News.
Captain Citrus to the Rescue of Struggling Florida Industry
Florida’s homegrown superhero, Captain Citrus, has undergone a $1 million head-to-toe makeover with the help of comic-book giant Marvel Entertainment, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Jim Turner reports via SunshineStateNews.com.
U.S. House Passes Measure to Ease Insurance Capital Standards Under Dodd-Frank
The Federal Reserve would get more flexibility to set separate capital standards for systemically important insurance companies under legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives, Bloomberg’s Cheyenne Hopkins reports via Insurance Journal.
State Farm denied new trial on $14.5M defamation verdict
The $14.5 million defamation verdict awarded against State Farm Fire & Casualty Co. in favor of a contractor who accused the insurer of defaming him remains in place after the Indiana Court of Appeals rejected the company’s claim that fraud requires a new trial. Jennifer Nelson reports for the Indiana Business Journal.
BP Hopes Missing Comma Triggers $750 Million Transocean Spill Insurance
BP Plc, which already has paid more than $28 billion for the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill, seeks to get a $750 million chunk of that back by convincing a Texas court that a missing comma may give the oil company access to Transocean Ltd.’s insurance policies on the Deepwater Horizon, Bloomberg’s Margaret Cronin Fisk and R.G. Ratcliffe report via Insurance Journal.
Mississippi Wind Pool Ending Rate Break for Large Firms
Large businesses and government agencies have been getting a big break on premiums in Mississippi’s coastal insurer of last resort, but it’s coming to an end, Insurance Journal reports.
Insurance Licensing to Halt in Arkansas for 10 Days in October
Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Jay Bradford is alerting insurance agents, agencies and others that the Arkansas Insurance Department is converting to a new State Based Systems, which will mean a temporary stoppage in the processing of appointments, renewals and issuing of licenses beginning on October 10, 2014, Insurance Journal reports.
Sinkholes Continue Taking a Toll in Southeast
The Southeastern U.S. is prime territory for the geological phenomena – a potentially costly game of subterranean roulette. Associated Press’ Bruce Schreiner reports via Insurance Journal.
German Court Overturns Uber Ban After Finding No Emergency
Uber Technologies Inc. won the reversal of a nationwide ban of the company’s ride-hailing app after judges said a group of taxi dispatchers improperly used emergency procedures to obtain the initial court order, National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com reports.
Cyber-Risk Is The Most Important For Reinsurers, Guy Carpenter Reports
Cyber, terrorism, compensation structures for long-term bodily injury, and casualty catastrophes are the most urgent risks facing the reinsurance sector today, according to Guy Carpenter & Co., National Underwriter’s Melissa Hillebrand reports for PropertyCasualty360.com.
Latino Workers Dying at Higher Rates in Job Accidents, Report Shows
As Latino workers take on more and more of the nation’s toughest and dirtiest jobs, they increasingly are paying for it with their lives, Fair Warning reports via Advisen.com.
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