Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Monday, August 18

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Fla. OIR: No Form Mandate For Surplus Lines

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation said today that it interprets Florida law as saying that nonadmitted or surplus lines insurers are not required to file forms reports with the agency, except in very limited situations.

 

Citizens mobilizing extra claims adjusters for Fay

Stung by criticism from its handing of the 2004 and 2005 storm seasons, Citizens Property Insurance Corp. said it has hired 150 temporary claims adjusters to handle damage claims from Tropical Storm Fay.

 

Halt on new insurance policies

Most property insurers, including Citizens Property Insurance, are operating under storm restrictions.

 

Farm Bureau to refile rate hike

Florida Farm Bureau will withdraw its original rate hike request on its homeowners policies and submit a new filing that addresses concerns raised by state regulators, the company said Monday.

 

Florida Insurance Commissioner Names Eric Lingswiler Interim Director of Life and Health Product Review

Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty today announced that he has appointed Eric Lingswiler to the position of interim director of Life and Health Product Review. Mr. Lingswiler will report to Deputy Commissioner for Life and Health Mary Beth Senkewicz.

 

Crist health plan attracts nine bidders

Nine companies, including Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida and UnitedHealthcare, on Monday submitted bids to Gov. Charlie Crist’s Cover Florida health insurance program.

 

Insurer keeps regional focus in tough times

Brad Havemeier knows that when most people think about insurance, they think about writing premium checks once or twice a year.

 

EDITORIAL: Allstate settlement will cut rates

Insurer agrees to save homeowners extra 5.6%, add 100,000 policies

Homeowners insured by Allstate Corp. in Florida will get an additional 5.6 percent rate cut through a settlement state regulators announced Friday.

 

EDITORIAL: Chickens come home to roost at State Farm

Poor State Farm.

In Tallahassee this week, the president of the insurance giant’s Florida subsidiary begged state regulators to appreciate the gravity of the company’s situation.

 

Florida Bankers Association: Protect Florida’s mortgage industry

The stories revealed some startling statistics and heartbreaking stories related to mortgage fraud in our state.

 

Land Law Amendment Targets ‘Vestiges Of Racism’

There’s a new Amendment 1 in Florida, and it doesn’t have anything to do with your tax bill.

 

Disney relaxes restrictions on workers’ guns

Walt Disney World has limited its ban on employee guns at work to the giant resort’s main property only — and with that move Friday received the blessing of Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum.

 

GOP Expected to Hold Onto Florida Legislature

The Republican and Democratic parties are both confident in gaining seats in the GOP-dominated Legislature.

Although the Democrats expect this to be a good year nationally, that political momentum may not filter its way down to state legislative races.

 

State GOP’s endorsements miff locals

Gov. Charlie Crist’s endorsement Friday of Tom Rooney in a hotly contested Republican congressional primary was the second time in the past month that some Treasure Coast GOP activists have felt big-footed by party heavyweights from Tallahassee.

 

U.S. House seats are a battlefield in Florida primaries

Voters will go to the polls across Florida in primaries that are key to one of the most competitive congressional seasons in years.

Joe Garcia says he has already raised $1 million in his fight to take on U.S. Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart in Miami-Dade County. U.S. Rep. Lincoln Diaz-Balart has knocked on an estimated 2,000 doors in Broward County as he defends his seat.

 

Legislative Candidates Aim Conservative Messages at North Polk

Whether a Republican follows state Rep. Dennis Ross into the District 64 House seat isn’t an issue in that active, yet seemingly low-key, Republican primary.

 

Candidate profiles: Florida House District 118

Dwight Bullard

 

Voter’s Guide: State House District 19

The Democratic primary for state House District 19 between state Sen. Gary Siplin and Maurice Woodard has turned into a bizarre but costly advertising war between powerful Tallahassee interests, with each side painting the other as a secret Republican sympathizer.

 

Voter’s Guide: State House District 34

Lake Mary developer Chris Dorworth sailed into the District 34 state House seat in November.

 

District 42 seat there for GOP’s taking

Primary winner will face 2 write-in candidates.

A new face will replace Hugh Gibson as Florida District 42 representative, and it will be a Republican.

 

Democrats eye open state House seat in South Dade

Four candidates are vying to replace term-limited state Rep. Ed Bullard — including his son — for a district that stretches from Florida City to just north of Richmond Heights.

 

Candidates seek House seat held by Pickens

Candidates in the Republican primary for the state House District 21 seat – a pool of three would-be freshman legislators – have varied backgrounds but similar goals.

 

COLUMN: Long coattails, long orders and boiled peanuts

Democrats are questioning the timing of Trey Traviesa’s decision to give up his state House seat because it essentially allowed local Republicans to handpick Traviesa aide Rachel Burgin as the likely successor.

 

On TV early, Bogdanoff says it isn’t a sign she’s in trouble in election

State Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff, a special target of Democrats because she’s the only Broward-based Republican in the state Legislature, is already running television advertising.

 

Supporters of Amendment 5 say they’ll appeal ruling to remove measure from ballot

Supporters of Amendment 5, the $8 billion property tax-swap proposal, said they will file notice Friday that they intend to appeal a Leon circuit judge’s ruling that stripped the measure from the Nov. 4 ballot.

 

Law may help stop metal thieves

A new state law, effective Oct. 1, could help police officers solve future thefts of metal.

 

Federal agency: Fay has no effect on Gulf drilling

Federal regulators say Tropical Storm Fay has not caused any production shutdowns of oil and natural gas drilling in the Gulf Mexico.

 

Insurers Protest Private Lawyers in Former Louisiana AG’s Katrina Case

A judge in Louisiana has asked a state official to review the validity of private attorneys’ contracts to represent Louisiana’s attorney general in a case over the state’s Road Home hurricane recovery program.

 

PCI Asks N.C. Beach Fund For Full Disclosure

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America is calling on the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association to publicly disclose its financial operations a day after a national insurer said it is leaving the market because of assessments.

 

Strange Claims Indeed

While home-fires commonly initiate claims, the way this particular fire started might be unusual.

 

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