Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Monday, June 1
Jun 1, 2009
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Businesses hail workers’-comp legal fee cap
Business interests hailed Gov. Charlie Crist’s signing Friday of a bill that will undo a court ruling and restore caps on fees for lawyers who represent workers in compensation appeals for on-the-job injuries.
State allows safe-home program to lapse
After eight hurricanes smashed into Florida in 2004 and 2005, then-Gov. Jeb Bush and other state leaders searched for ways to brace for future storms.
Blog: Hays pleads for insurance bill
State Rep. Alan Hays is one of the most-outspoken members of the Legislature when it comes to property-insurance issues.
RenRe adds to Florida capacity with $70 million Timicuan Re II launch
Alongside traditional reinsurance capacity entering the Florida market at the 1.6 renewal, Bermudian reinsurer RenaissanceRe has relaunched its Timicuan Re sidecar with $10mn seed capacity and $60mn of third party equity investment, despite difficult market conditions for the vehicles.
A.M. Best Comments on Insurers’ Potential Exposure to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund
Based on the recently revised projected claims-paying capacity of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF), A.M. Best has updated its treatment of reinsurance provided to rated entities from this structure.
Shore Dwellers Say ‘What, Me Worry?’ To Storms, Survey Finds
Coastal residents are still largely uninformed, unworried and unprepared for a major hurricane, a survey has found.
Editorial: This Storm Season, a Few Signs of Hope
With the start of another hurricane season today, Floridians still must count on favorable weather patterns and luck rather than a reliable property insurance market to make it through the next six months.
Column: Property insurance hook digs deeper into us all
Ever noticed how we’re all on the hook to be billed more, and more often, for potential debts we never personally incurred? They are piling up fast. Here are three looming examples.
Foreclosures add to area’s hurricane vulnerability
Mike Manikchand points toward his neighbors — a half-dozen empty, foreclosed-upon homes, sitting on weed-strewn yards — and he wonders: What will happen if a hurricane slams into Southwest Florida this year? His simple answer: “A lot of these places will get destroyed.”
State has a limit on hurricane payouts: $22.8 billion
Here is a breakdown from the state Board of Administration of Florida’s ability to pay claims after a major hurricane – plus a look at how the system was created.
Insurance Up Before Storms Start
As the 2009 hurricane season arrives, many homeowners are finding insurance is either more expensive, or harder to get.
Is Florida deregulating property insurance rates?
One would think having a water-front view from your backyard would be priceless. But, Gardner Bayless says, it comes with a cost.
Storm Curtains Containing Honeywell Spectra Fiber Now Certified To Withstand Category 5 Hurricanes
Honeywell announced today that hurricane-resistant storm curtains containing Honeywell Spectra fiber have been certified under Florida building code to withstand winds of up to 175 mph, the equivalent of a Category 5 hurricane.
Citizens claims paying ability bolstered by pre-event liquidity financing
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, in preparing for the 2009 Hurricane Season, encourages its policyholders and all Floridians to be prepared.
Shoring up Citizens sensible, but Crist should veto deregulation measure
We’re all crossing our fingers Brevard County and Florida are spared hits from destructive hurricanes in 2009, as happened the last several years.
ProtectingAmerica.org: It’s time to stand behind national catastrophe fund
Florida’s homeowners would save about $4 billion on their annual homeowners’ insurance bills if Congress were to enact legislation endorsed by the state’s policymakers and embraced by President Barack Obama.
Attorney General, American Red Cross: Prepare For Hurricane Season Early To Prevent Scams
On the opening day of the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season, Attorney General Bill McCollum joined the American Red Cross to encourage Florida residents and guests to prepare early for hurricanes, thereby avoiding scams like price gouging when storms develop.
As storm season starts, dollars for beach protection dry up
As hurricane season opens Monday, people who handle erosion on Florida’s beaches have an extra reason to want a quiet season.
Apathy, economy hinder storm biz
Home protection industry touts savings, discounts on upgrades
What do relatively inactive hurricane seasons and a poor economy produce? A limited amount of precautionary spending on hurricane upgrades, says Thomas Johnston, president of the Lantana-based International Hurricane Protection Association.
Daytona Beach gets $2 million, Volusia $1 million in disaster funds
The Florida Housing Finance Corp., will give $2 million in disaster funds to the city of Daytona Beach and another $1 million to Volusia County to help flood victims.
Spotters provide eyes on stormy skies where radar is blind
On July 1, 1986, a bolt of lightning struck Dan Fisher’s right shoulder as he rode his motorcycle on Interstate 95 near the overpass at Fiske Boulevard in Rockledge.
Curse of defective drywall forces Florida families to flee homes
There’s something rotten in Homestead.
Could drywall disaster boost the housing market?
In the middle of a severe slump in the housing market, a recession, a locked-up credit market and a sea of foreclosures, the South Florida housing market is taking another hit.
Editorial: Hurricane season prep not enough
Today marks the official start of the Atlantic hurricane season, and in Florida that means it’s time to prepare and pray – not necessarily in that order.
Editorial: This storm season, a few signs of hope
With the start of another hurricane season today, Floridians still must count on favorable weather patterns and luck rather than a reliable property insurance market to make it through the next six months.
Disaster recovery can be emotionally taxing
Even businesses with the most complete recovery plans can expect a lot of emotional stress after unexpected disasters strike.
When a fire destroyed the Manhattan office of Atlantis Health Plan, the company was so well-prepared it lost just one day of work. But that didn’t make disaster recovery easy.
Florida has no data 3 years into Medicaid trial
Nearly three years into a Medicaid privatization program former Gov. Jeb Bush said could be a national model, state officials say they do not have crucial data to measure the program’s effectiveness, including how many patients’ treatments and prescriptions have been approved or denied.
Florida Democrats — at Fontainebleau Hotel– get behind Alex Sink
In a major mood shift, Democrats and star candidate Alex Sink gathered at the Fontainebleau with hopes of wresting the governor’s office from the GOP.
Florida Democrats have attended many a Jefferson-Jackson dinner where the flow of cocktails was crucial to keeping the mood upbeat.
Column: Here’s why voters are the victims as governor’s race solidifies
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist had barely announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate before insiders from both political parties decided to anoint their gubernatorial nominees – Attorney General Bill McCollum for the Republicans and Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink for the Democrats.
Republicans clamor for Florida House seat
With Republican state Rep. Ellyn Bogdanoff running for the state Senate, the field is wide open to fill her House seat next year, already offering a potentially spirited Republican primary.
Florida officials’ salaries to be cut 2 percent
Though Gov. Charlie Crist bragged state worker pay wouldn’t be cut, his salary and that of a thousand other officials will still be reduced.
When Gov. Charlie Crist proudly announced that he was vetoing a pay cut for 28,000 state workers, there were some salaries he couldn’t save from the budget ax: his own, state Cabinet members’ and those of about 1,000 judges, prosecutors and public defenders in the state.
Most Floridians will pay new fees
When he signed a $66.5 billion budget, Gov. Charlie Crist stopped just short of bragging about maintaining most state programs without raising taxes.
Dockery Already Big Hit in Polk GOP
When state Sen. Paula Dockery walked, fashionably late, into the Polk County Republican Executive Committee meeting Thursday night at the County Administration Building, most of the 60 or so members present stood up.
State Rep. Brown may join race for U.S. Senate
Shaking up an already volatile election cycle in Florida, Democratic Rep. Corrine Brown of Jacksonville said Saturday she is seriously looking at jumping into the Senate race.
GM to shut Jacksonville distribution center
General Motors Corp. will shut down a distribution center in Jacksonville as it goes through Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
Florida Senate president Jeff Atwater’s old bank dubbed one of Fla’s weakest
Riverside National Bank of Florida, where Senate president and Republican candidate for state CFO Jeff Atwater worked, has been named one of the seven weakest in Florida.
Senate Bill 360 is a new spin on state growth
Gov. Charlie Crist faces one of the thorniest decisions of his tenure when he must act on a bill Capitol insiders simply call “360.”
With no lease bids, Alligator Alley in limbo
Friday would have marked a milestone in the history of Alligator Alley, but because no one submitted a bid to lease the storied highway its fate remains uncertain.
Ever since engineers conceived of Alligator Alley more than four decades ago, the 78-mile toll road that slices across the Everglades from Weston to Naples has spawned controversy.
Scam alert: Investment fraud on the rise in Florida
Some friends turned John and Betty Manke on to Wealth Pools – a “can’t miss” investment, or so the couple was told.
Guy Carpenter ForeCat Updates U.S. Landfall Rates for 2009 Hurricane Season
Throughout the year, Guy Carpenter’s CAT-i service has been releasing estimates of hurricane landfall rates in the United States calculated by GC ForeCat; the fifth and final 2009 GC ForeCat update was released on May 22, unchanged from April.
FEMA Plans Found Lacking By GAO
The Federal Emergency Management Agency must accelerate development of its plan to improve the nation’s ability to respond to a national catastrophe, the Government Accountability Office said.
Texas House Sends Windstorm Reforms to Conference
The Texas House approved a conference committee report on Saturday to hammer out windstorm insurance reform legislation with senators.
Travelers Insurance to Replace Citi on Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Travelers Companies, Inc. (TRV) is taking the place of Citigroup, Inc. (C) effective with the opening of trading on June 8, 2009.
FSA extends short-selling rules
Rules obliging investors to disclose short selling of banking and insurance shares will be extended beyond their planned expiration date of June 30, the Services Authority said on Monday.
Court Scores Insured For Settlement Effort Without Carrier
A federal bankruptcy court has sided with Travelers Insurance Company over an attempt by an insured to reach a settlement with asbestos claimants without the approval of the carrier in a scheme the court said could financially benefit the insured.
Insurers Ready As Hurricane Season Unfurls
Insurance specialists tend to be a gloomy lot.
More Consumers Use the Internet to Gather Reliable Information About Insurance
More than 85 percent of consumers surveyed view the Internet as a good source of information for insurance, according to a new LIMRA report.
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