Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Friday, February 13

Feb 13, 2009

 

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NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA:  Insurance Commissioner Approves State Farm Withdrawal with Conditions

State Farm, the state’s largest private property insurer, will be allowed to pull out of the Florida property insurance market, the state’s insurance commissioner announced Friday.

 

Florida Imposes Conditions on State Farm Plan Approval

Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has offered a withdrawal plan for State Farm Florida Insurance Co. and its parent company with major conditions that were not in the original plan submitted by the insurer.

 

USAA plans consolidation resulting in hiring of 400 in Tampa

USAA will consolidate its Sacramento, Calif., operations and part of its Norfolk,Va., operations into its Tampa and other locations to reduce its excess real estate capacity.

 

Guy Carpenter Forecast Sees Tiny Increase In Florida Risk

A new report predicting hurricane landfall rates finds slightly decreased chances of a strike on the Florida coastline and a bit less for U.S. Southeast shores as well.

 

Florida regulators examining Stanford Group

The Florida Office of Financial Regulation has opened an examination into Stanford Group Co., an Antigua- and Barbuda-based financial firm with offices in South Florida.

 

Palm Beach County School district employees can’t prove 1,500 kids and spouses are theirs; health benefits cut to those ‘dependents’

Faced with the prospect of having to cough up original birth and marriage records to prove their dependents were legitimate, some school district employees have admitted they included people not entitled to coverage in what was likely an attempt to get them cheap health care.

 

Bradenton Business owner arrested in insurance dispute

Kim became known for waging a relentless campaign against an insurance scam after a customer filed a lawsuit claiming she slipped and fell in his former Bradenton restaurant.

 

COLUMN:  These Web sites can find Florida homeowners insurers

Dear Help!:  As a result of State Farm’s threat to drop homeowners coverage, many Brevard homeowners are shopping for a new insurer.

 

McCollum Presents over $350,000 in Settlement Funds to Central Florida Public Entities

Orange County Public Schools to receive over $300,000 from insurance-related settlement

Attorney General Bill McCollum today presented two Central Florida public entities with checks totaling over $350,000 from an insurance-related settlement reached in 2007.

 

Parimutuels Warn Florida About Tribe Compact

The state’s gaming compact with the Seminole tribe could cost Florida billions of dollars in the long run, parimutuel owners argued on Thursday.

 

State to get less stimulus than hoped, Crist says

Gov. Charlie Crist said Thursday he was still pleased with a compromise federal stimulus plan although Florida likely will get less money than anticipated.

 

GOP seethes over Charlie Crist’s stimulus-plan support

As Democrats lavish praise on Florida’s Republican governor for enthusiastically supporting their economic stimulus package, Republicans are questioning whether Crist damaged his future.

 

Florida Stimulus Shortfall May Boost Democrats

Some Democratic lawmakers hope that Florida’s share of the federal stimulus package will give them a powerful advantage during state budget negotiations this spring.

 

Florida Lawmakers target online sales

Bought a book or a computer online? You might not have paid sales taxes.

 

Forbes puts Miami among ‘Most Miserable Cities’

A Florida Congresswoman is calling out Forbes magazine for including Miami in its list of Top 10 Most Miserable Cities in the country.

 

NAIC, NCOIL Sue To Block EIA Regs

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners and the National Conference of Insurance Legislators are suing to keep the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from regulating equity-indexed annuities as securities.

 

Insurers Get Regulatory Approvals

Requirements Ease at Hartford Financial; Relief for Lincoln National, Too

Hartford Financial Services Group Inc. said state regulators had approved the easing of certain requirements, boosting the capital level of its life-insurance units by nearly $1 billion, or about 20%, while Lincoln National Corp. won approval for about $300 million in relief.

 

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