Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Friday, May 18

Insurance Funds Ready, But Hope For No Big Storms

FORT LAUDERDALE – Florida’s private and public insurers are ready financially to face the 2007 hurricane season but residents will pay heavily in the future if a major hurricane strikes South Florida this year.

 

Editorial Opinion: Fixing Florida’s Insurance Mess

If Tampa Bay area residents don’t like Florida’s property insurance environment, they only have to wait. Things will get worse. With Gov. Charlie Crist’s leadership, the Legislature has so damaged Florida’s insurance markets that it now seems only federal laws opening the state’s market to outside competition can help the state’s residents in the long term.

 

Two top weather service officials resign

The top two leaders of the National Weather Service announced their resignations Friday, two days after the director of the National Hurricane Center blasted federal overseers for attempting to diminish both agencies’ identity and absorb their budgets.

 

Hurricane chief slams NOAA for spending $4 million on anniversary celebrations

Bill Proenza, the new director of the National Hurricane Center, has lashed out at his superiors in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, saying the agency is more concerned with image building than bolstering storm forecasting.

 

Congressman wants FEMA trailer hearings

A Louisiana congressman is calling for hearings on the government’s response to formaldehyde fumes in trailers provided to storm victims by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

 

Will auto insurance become optional?

After Oct. 1, Florida drivers will no longer be required to carry auto insurance.

That’s the unintended consequence of lawmakers’ inaction during the regular legislative session that ended two weeks ago.

 

Lawmakers may face auto insurance issue in June

TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Charlie Crist could ask Florida lawmakers next month to wade back into a messy debate about whether the state’s auto-insurance system should undergo major changes.

 

New tool to help gauge strength of hurricanes

MIAMI — Most hurricane forecasters are haunted by the same recurring nightmare: Just before a relatively weak storm strikes land, it explodes into a monster, allowing little time to raise the alarm.

 

$89M down the state drain

CFO Alex Sink pulls the plug on Aspire, a failed privatization project.

TALLAHASSEE – The state of Florida on Thursday declared its effort to privatize its accounting systems an expensive failure, as Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink suspended all work on the 3-year-old project.

 

Lemac Offers Catastrophe Coverage

Los Angeles-based Lemac & Associates has added new markets for catastrophe insurance on major damage earthquake, wind, flood and terrorism risk exposures.

 

On Eve of Hurricane Season, U.S. Mandates Safety Labels on Generators

Nine words could save lives this hurricane season: “Using a generator indoors can kill you in minutes.”

 

Fed to Focus Attention on Mortgage Abuse

WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says the central bank is considering tougher rules to crack down on abusive practices by mortgage lenders. But he says the economy should escape without significant harm from the problems in the subprime market.

 

Tax cuts not for everyone

A House plan wouldn’t help many at the lower end.

A leading legislative proposal to trim Florida’s property-tax bills would save the average homeowner about $1,500, or more than 50 percent. But the savings would not be distributed evenly.

 

Allstate CEO: Shift to Less Risky Business Will Take Years to Do

Allstate Corp. CEO Thomas Wilson said at the insurer’s annual meeting this week that the company’s shift away from catastrophe-prone areas and into products other than homeowners insurance will take years to complete.

 

Groups oppose coal-powered FPL plant

Glades County facility would pollute South Florida, they say

TALLAHASSEE · A coal-fired power plant that Florida’s largest utility plans to build on the western shore of Lake Okeechobee will emit toxic mercury, contribute to global warming and pose environmental hazards for South Florida and the Everglades, opponents said Thursday.

 

Editorial: Advisory primary insults Floridians

The Democratic National Committee is under no obligation to rescue Florida from its imprudent decision to vault its presidential primary to Jan. 29. But this intramural squabble will inevitably move beyond the partisans and into the polling place, and that’s where the showdown gets dicey. A statewide nominating caucus might satisfy the requirement for a later date, but it would also render the primary election as advisory only. That’s an insult to voters and the worst of the available options.

 

Tyco to Pay $3 Billion to Settle Shareholders’ Lawsuit

Tyco International Ltd. has agreed to pay about $3 billion to settle shareholder claims from one of the largest corporate fraud cases ever, ending uncertainty over the outcome of the legal battle as it prepares to split into three companies.

 

Consumer Group Blocks Class Action Settlement Against Mercury Insurance Involving Coupons

For the second time, a proposed settlement of a class action lawsuit against an insurance company for tens of millions of dollars in illegal overcharges was rejected by the Los Angeles Superior Court on Tuesday in part because it would have allowed the company to pay in the form of coupons that required the policyholders to buy more insurance from the company.

 

What’s Happened to the Lawyers Who Worked for Spitzer?

After reining in Wall Street analysts, curbing mutual fund trading abuses and corralling some of the biggest insurance companies in the industry, what do you do for an encore?

 

In Search for a New Sheriff, One Stands Out

As New York attorney general, Eliot Spitzer won national attention by becoming the new sheriff in finance, taking on Wall Street and mutual funds and the insurance industry.

 

In Bid for Better Care, Surgery With a Warranty

What if medical care came with a 90-day warranty?

That is what a hospital group in central Pennsylvania is trying to learn in an experiment that some experts say is a radically new way to encourage hospitals and doctors to provide high-quality care that can avoid costly mistakes.