Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Monday, December 7
Dec 7, 2009
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Blog: Lawmakers to revive property insurance deregulation
Florida lawmakers will make a major announcement Tuesday about Florida’s property insurance market.
Palm Beach Tainted drywall victims may get tax break from property appraiser calculation
More than 500 Palm Beach County homeowners whose property is tainted with Chinese drywall have filed petitions with the county’s value adjustment board hoping to lower their tax bills this year.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation today announced that Commissioner Kevin McCarty was elected to the position of vice president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Florida insurance regulator earns NAIC’s highest individual honor
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners today presented Dr. Raymond Spudeck, Senior Research Economist with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, with the organization’s most prestigious individual honor.
Flood warning continues for the Apalachicola River
A flood warning continues for the Apalachicola River near Blountstown.
Florida’s Brightway Insurance Continues Hot Growth
Jacksonville-based Brightway Insurance agency announced it would open three new offices in Jacksonville and six statewide in the first quarter 2010.
West Palm Beach-based Metropolitan Health CEO to step down
Metropolitan Health Networks Chairman and CEO Michael Earley said he would step down by March 31, unless the company finds a new CEO before then.
Fla. may ban texting while driving
Stop clicking and drive. Or the law might come after you.
Florida’s WellCare takes on former execs
Nearly two years after being forced out following an FBI raid, the former top executives of Tampa’s WellCare Health Plans Inc. can expect to be charged with misconduct by the company they once led.
Federal trial will decide changes in Florida’s child Medicaid program
A federal trial that begins in Miami on Monday could effect the medical care of 1.4 million Florida children.
South Florida Medicare fraud rampant, report says
South Florida received about half a billion dollars from in home health care payments intended for the sickest patients in 2008, which is more than the rest of the country combined, according to a report released Monday.
Column: Paid insurance? That was then, this is now
When the state makes a deal with its employees, how long should promises be kept?
Florida’s Patriot Risk Management Helps to connect learning and careers
There was not a future butcher, baker or candlestick maker in the bunch. But there were plenty of police officers, teachers, business owners, soldiers and beauty technicians in teacher Kim Gilliam’s second-grade class at Lloyd Estates Elementary School in Oakland Park.
TV Host Grace Cited in Florida Wrongful Death Suit Over Suicide
A Harvard professor says CNN Headline News host Nancy Grace’s relentless questioning of a Florida mother three years ago contributed to her suicide, according to a filing in the family’s wrongful death case.
Fla. House passes commuter-high speed rail bill
Legislation that would clear the way for creating a commuter rail system in central Florida zipped through the House at bullet-train speed Monday, but it was headed for an uncertain fate in the Senate.
- Rail session creates some compromising situations for lawmakers
- Troutman: Legislative scandals motivated me to skip rail vote, not J.D.
- Future of South Florida’s Tri-Rail in hands of legislators in Tallahassee
- Will legal caveat defeat SunRail?
State Representative Michael Scionti will not seek reelection to a third term in the Florida House of Representatives for Legislative District 58 and announces that he has been appointed by President Barack Obama to serve as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intergovernmental Affairs and Homeland Defense.
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: Lawson looking at CFO race
With Florida Democrats still looking for somebody to run for Chief Financial Officer, Sen. Al Lawson said Monday that the search may end with him. http://www.newsserviceflorida.com/public/
U.S. Supreme Court to decide: Were Tampa police clear about suspect’s Miranda rights?
Inside a small interview room at the Tampa Police Department in August 2004, an officer read Kevin Dewayne Powell his rights.
Air Kottkamp, McCollum, Sink cleared for take-off
The Florida Commission on Ethics has dismissed an ethics complaint against Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp over his use of state planes, but ethics commissioners plan to recommend legislative changes to state law that permits public officials to fly freely.
Ethics commission seeks to initiate investigations, increase fines
The Florida Commission on Ethics wants to initiate its own investigations, increase ten-fold the fines it can impose on public officials and lower the bar for proving unethical conduct.
Florida Unemployment Rate Drops Slightly
A lower unemployment rate and far fewer job losses last month raised hopes Friday for a sustained economic recovery.
Haridopolos planning for a conservative ‘New Senate’
In a spacious, glass-enclosed office where an autographed photo of President Barack Obama sits on the coffee table, future state Senate President Mike Haridopolos prepares lesson plans, grades papers – and plots the next conservative movement in Florida.
Palm Beach County pushing state to allow more local gambling
Palm Beach County wants to be a bigger player in Florida’s growing gambling industry.
Moody’s says no Dubai-linked rating moves on US insurers
Ratings agency Moody’s said on Monday it did not expect to take any ratings actions against U.S. insurance companies because of Dubai World’s $26 billion restructuring.
Louisiana Non-Resident Producer Licensing Goes Fully Electronic Jan. 1
The Louisiana Department of Insurance is reminding insurers and agents that all non-resident licensing and license renewal requests must be submitted electronically beginning Jan. 1, 2010.
West Virginia Court Sides with Insurer on Antitrust Claim by Cancelled Agent
An insurance company has won a victory over one of its former West Virginia agents who claimed the insurer violated state antitrust law when it cancelled his contracts to sell its life and property/casualty insurance products.
Credit Score Action Delayed By NAIC, Say Consumer Reps
Consumer advocates again criticized the National Association of Insurance Commissioners for dragging its feet on credit scoring while attending quickly to issues of concern to the insurance industry.
State regulators consider alternative options for troubled insurers
White Paper Highlights Alternatives to Traditional Receivership
The Restructuring Mechanisms for Troubled Companies Subgroup of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners unanimously adopted the White Paper on Alternative Mechanisms for Troubled Companies during its meeting at the NAIC Winter National Meeting here.
New Jersey Insurers Could Become Fire Fighters de Facto, and Face ‘Alarming’ Bills
As ominous as a fire bell in the night is the news that Passaic, New Jersey Mayor Alex Blanco is considering billing insurance companies for fire department services.
PCI Releases New Natural Catastrophe Guidebook
With the end of hurricane season this week, the Property Casualty Insurers Association of America looks to get a jump-start on advancing sound public-policy solutions to natural catastrophe issues well before next year’s hurricane season begins.
Insurance group disputes liability accounting proposal
A group representing insurers and reinsurers voiced objections Friday to a paper on measuring insurance company liabilities that the group feels might influence accounting discussions under way between the International Accounting Standards Board and the Financial Accounting Standards Board.
Four More Deals To Take Cat Bond Issuance Past $3 Billion
Total issuance of catastrophe bonds this year should surpass the $3 billion target earmarked by many market analysts, with four more cat bond deals still to close before the year’s end, according to market sources.
Guy Carpenter Selected as Reinsurance Broker of the Year
Guy Carpenter & Company has been honored as “Reinsurance Broker of the Year” in Reinsurance magazine’s Readers’ Awards 2009.
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