Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Friday, Aug. 17

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DOT releases bridge inspection summaries
 
TALLAHASSEE — Florida’s transportation chief agreed late Friday to make bridge inspection reports public.

 

Jim Greer:  Crist’s record, vision prove critics off base

Sam Rashid’s recent column (“Platitudes are not enough, Charlie,” Aug. 12) condemning Gov. Charlie Crist was based on personal politics, not the facts. For example, his opening statement declares that Crist’s “new friend du jour is California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.”

 

Spitzer Veto Of Credit Check Bill Draws Insurers’ Praise

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s recent veto of legislation to limit use of credit scores generated from consumer mortgage and auto loan inquiries is drawing praise from insurance industry trade groups.

 

Fake accident claims lead to fraud arrests

State regulators announced 11 insurance fraud arrests in Miami on Thursday, including a mother-son team that set up an auto-body shop to handle more than 70 fake accident claims in the past four years and a woman who inflated a Hurricane Wilma repair.

 

Statewide coalition urges Crist, lawmakers to retain PIP requirement

Thirty-seven organizations have banded together to petition Gov. Charlie Crist and the state Legislature to act during the upcoming special session to retain the requirement that all drivers must carry personal injury protection insurance or some alternative auto insurance.

 

Countrywide’s Mortgage Problems Spill Onto Insurer

Citing residential mortgage sector problems plaguing the parent company of Balboa Insurance Group, A.M. Best Co. put the insurer’s financial strength rating of “A” (excellent) under review yesterday.

 

Earmark interchange removed from Fla. road plan

FORT MYERS, Fla. — An Interstate 75 interchange study in southwest Florida that would have been paid for by a controversial congressional earmark has been removed from a regional road plan.

 

Bilirakis Already In Cross Hairs

WASHINGTON – Eight months into GOP Rep. Gus Bilirakis’ congressional career, two area Democrats are eyeing runs for his U.S. House seat in 2008.

 

Ask The Governor: Sales tax exemptions may be next on reform list

 Q Why didn’t you push the Legislature to repeal the billions of dollars in sales tax exemptions offered to companies? I have seen the list of exemptions and it appears to be lobbyists and special interests that rule the Capitol. Why don’t you concentrate on that reform and distribute those savings to local communities that do drop property taxes? That would have real and immediate impact statewide.

 

When Teens Are STOPPED, Parents Know

BROOKSVILLE – Hernando County Sheriff Richard Nugent kicked off a program Wednesday that helps parents keep tabs on their teenage drivers – the first of its type in the Bay area.

 

N.Y. AG Cuomo Takes Issue with Health Insurers’ Physician Rankings

New York Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo has warned two major health insurers, Aetna and Cigna Healthcare, that their physician ranking programs, as currently designed, “are likely to confuse or even deceive consumers.”

 

Nursing homes may face cut in Medicare

Long-term-care advocates said Thursday they face $2.7 billion in anticipated cuts to Medicare funding over the next five years, which they say would impact Florida’s nursing home residents the hardest in the nation.

 

Couple On Trial In Katrina Deaths

ST. FRANCISVILLE, La. – Jurors hearing the homicide case against a couple who own a nursing home where 35 people died after Hurricane Katrina saw photos Thursday of bodies lying in muck and storm-tossed debris.

 

Lawmakers query insurer over $44 million boost

Bulk of 31.6 percent rate jump goes toward dark view of Fla. hurricanes

TALLAHASSEE — Florida regulators grilled The Hartford on its request for a $44 million rate increase, questioning its efforts to collect a 15 percent profit for itself as well as similar rewards for its re-insurers.

 

Law Firms Target Subprime Hedge Funds

Four plaintiffs securities litigation law firms have joined together to represent institutional and retail customers of Bear Stearns and purchasers of Bear Stearns Companies, Inc.’s subprime mortgage hedge funds which have recently collapsed.

 

Richter: State insurance reform bill flawed

Homeowners insurance rates are not dropping as much as expected from a reform bill that was recently passed in a special legislative session, state Rep. Garrett Richter told an East Naples crowd Thursday.

 

Bush Administration Opposes ‘Scheme Liability’ in Key Investor Lawsuit

The Bush Administration took the side of defendant companies in a Supreme Court case that could determine the fate of other investor lawsuits, including one linked to the Enron scandal.

 

Progressive Fined For Overcharging

Washington state regulators have fined auto insurer Progressive over $150,000 for a second instance of charging improper premiums to policyholders within two years.

 

NCOIL VP To NAIC: Let’s Discuss Open Meetings

An official of a state legislators’ group, who has vocally opposed closed-door sessions by the nation’s insurance regulators’ organization, is renewing his effort to establish dialogue between the two bodies.

 

Airline Sues Google Over Keyword Ads

DALLAS — American Airlines is suing Google Inc. over the Internet company’s sale of keywords ads for rivals triggered by its own trademarks.

 

Hold the Kibble: Fat Cats and Dogs Cost Pet Insurer $14 Million

A fat cat, or dog, may result in a fat bill.

Veterinary Pet Insurance (VPI), the nation’s oldest and largest provider of pet health insurance, recently reviewed policyholder data to find that it reimbursed more than $14 million last year for claims with links to pet obesity. Claims related to obesity represented seven percent of all medical claims submitted to VPI in 2006.