Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Monday, March 22
Mar 22, 2010
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Blog: Florida Cabinet Deals with Property Insurance and Legoland
Gov. Charlie Crist and the Florida Cabinet will meet at 2 p.m. on Wednesday in the Cabinet meeting room where one of the most important items deals directly with the state’s property insurance market.
Insurers losing money despite lack of storms
Most insurance companies in the red even with Florida’s dearth of hurricanes
After four hurricane-free years in central and South Florida, insurance companies should have been raking in the profits. All that premium money pouring in – and no big catastrophe claims checks going out.
Interview: Small Florida insurer focused on big picture
The hurricane threat to Florida’s coastal homes is a problem the market can solve without government subsidy or taxpayer risk, Ross Buchmueller says.
Tough test forged bonds between St. Petersburg’s American Strategic Insurance, employees
American Strategic Insurance Corp. was a scrappy startup in flood-prone Snell Isle when Hurricane Charley hit.
Response: Sunshine insurer provides facts
The March 14 article “Not saving for a rainy day,” referred to Sunshine State Insurance Co. and U.S. RE Corp. and stated that “profit goes to the man behind both ventures, Tal Piccione.” This is not true.
Florida ports bill would aid insurers but not policyholders
A stimulus plan that Florida lawmakers are considering for state ports would be paid for with a tax break for insurance companies, but insurers would not have to pass the savings to policyholders under a provision in the bill.
Buried on Page 161 of the Obama administration’s 2011 budget is the obscurely labeled tax proposal entitled “deduction disallowance for excess non-taxed reinsurance premiums paid to affiliates.” It could cost Floridians billions of dollars over the next few decades while generating only about $50 million in federal revenue per year.
Courts seek to resolve no-fault insurance dispute over MRIs
There could be some resolution in sight for insurers and imaging centers in Florida that have been battling for more than two years over reimbursements for patients injured in car accidents.
Panhandle sweep nets 19 arrests for staged accidents
Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink made the announcement Monday, saying the arrests were made in Ft. Myers, Miami, Orlando, Pensacola, Tampa and West Palm Beach. The claims were filed under personal injury protection coverage, automobile insurance that pays medical expenses, and lost wages in some cases, due to accidents regardless of whose at fault. Since July, investigators have arrested 259 people for such fraud.
Florida lawmakers target red-light cameras
A bill giving cities the green light on red-light cameras and grandfathering in existing cameras is making its way through the Florida Legislature in Tallahassee.
Update: Florida Attorney General McCollum to file suit after health-care bill signed
As soon as President Obama signs the new health care bill, Attorney General Bill McCollum said he will have a federal lawsuit ready to challenge its constitutionality.
Blog: Florida House committees pass measures aimed at blocking federal health care bill
The Republican-led Florida House Health Care Regulation Policy Committee approved an amendment for the November ballot that would prohibit Floridians from being forced to buy health insurance.
Florida leaders react to health care vote
The morning after the House vote on national health care, reaction among Florida political leaders is falling along predictable partisan lines.
Huge shift to HMOs; Florida lawmakers prepare colossal Medicaid change
As the health-care debate rages nationally, Florida’s Republican legislative leadership is laying the groundwork for seismic changes to how the state pays for the health care of the poor, sick and elderly.
Florida seniors set to lose Medicare Advantage perk
The health care bill that the U.S. Senate passed on Christmas Eve included a gift to 800,000 Florida seniors who have Medicare Advantage plans rather than traditional Medicare.
Blue Cross of Florida executive defends rate increase, pushes cost cuts
The Jacksonville Business Journal sat down with Randy Kammer, vice president of regulatory affairs and public policy for BCBSF, the state’s largest insurer, to get her take on cost containment, reform and politics amid a heated national debate.
Health insurance premiums for Florida families increased 89 percent in 8 years, study says
Middle-class families in Florida are barely hanging on with costs of their private health insurance, according to a new analysis. The cost of their family coverage expense went up 89 percent between 2000 and 2008, the analysis said.
PolitiFact: Alex Sink’s claim of $1.2 million refund after insurance complaints is true
“As Florida’s CFO, I shut down (Larry) Krakow’s scam and refunded more than $1.2 million to Josephine (Passinissi) and other victims of this con man.”
New EPA rules label a dozen more Collier, Lee waterways as polluted, analysis shows
More Southwest Florida streams and canals would violate water quality standards under a proposal by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to limit pollution in Florida waters, according to a Naples Daily News analysis.
In Tallahassee today, make-or-break week begins
This is a make-or-break week for Florida legislators as general bills that don’t get heard are dead for the session and budget committees in each chamber vote out their proposed state spending plans.
Florida budget work begins; more cuts planned
State lawmakers are piecing together a budget for next year that makes more cuts to programs and relies on billions more in federal stimulus money to stave off even deeper reductions.
- Much Is at Stake For Florida Workers
- Florida Senate cuts hospital, libary spending; may spare schools
- Florida lawmakers voted to cut worker pay, then gave out staff raises
With growth management vote coming, St. Johns has become focal point
St. Johns residents have arguments on both sides of Amendment 4.
In the debate over Florida growth management, a spotlight is shining on St. Johns County.
Florida Attorney General warns of commercial foreclosure crisis
A day doesn’t go by without some talk of the residential foreclosure crisis in the media. But the severity of that problem could be overshadowing yet a bigger problem looming on the horizon: commercial foreclosure.
Florida Legislature’s gambling discussion still focused on Seminoles
Gov. Crist and lawmakers differ on a deal for Seminoles. Las Vegas Sands Corp. says it could invest $2 billion.
House Speaker Designate Dean Cannon: Expect the Florida House to unveil oil drilling bill
Expect the House to unveil an oil drilling bill by the sixth week of session, Speaker-designate and chief proponent Dean Cannon said this morning.
Bill Sets Florida Workforce Board Ethics
Some spend thousands on food, contract with members.
Evidence that regional job-creation boards have spent some $600,000 on food and drink and contracted to do business with their own members has led to a bill that would set ethics standards for the 24 panels. The measure (SB 1646) won unanimous approval Friday from the Transportation and Economic Development Appropriations Committee.
Panel wants to increase spending for Florida universities
The Senate Higher Education Committee’s plan calls for tougher standards for Bright Futures.
A $7 billion budget for the state’s colleges and universities, which includes tougher standards for Bright Futures scholarships in coming years, was approved Friday by the Senate Higher Education Committee.
Apollo Beach-based SouthShore Community Bank signs consent order
SouthShore Community Bank agreed to boost its capital ratios as part of a consent order with state and federal regulators.
Why did First State Bank of Sarasota fail? Leaders disregarded its risks
First State Bank of Sarasota faults the board of directors and management for failing to control its growth strategy and aggressive lending.
Will Florida get tailpipe tests, 55 mph speed limit to cut air pollution?
Tougher U.S. air-pollution rules, scheduled to take effect this summer, could put hundreds of millions of tax dollars at risk while ushering in lower speed limits, carpool lanes and tailpipe tests in areas with even marginally dirty air — such as Central Florida.
Florida House wants agency chiefs to move to Tallahassee area
Most agency heads and other top state workers would be required to live near the state capital and compile reports every three months of how much they spend on job-related travel under a budget proposal released Friday by the Florida House.
Louisiana’s Rep. Melancon: Chinese Drywall Poses a Fire Hazard
U.S. Congressman Charlie Melancon (LA-03) sent a letter to the nation’s top fire official requesting his assistance in protecting homeowners from toxic Chinese drywall.
Windpool debate rages on at Mississippi Capitol
Lawmakers urge additional funding; governor opposes
Ray Cox said that for years the state’s Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association was his only option for wind insurance on his Waveland home that sits 800 yards from the water.
Former Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance executive Terry Lisotta pleads guilty
Terry Lisotta, who once ran the Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp., has pleaded guilty this morning to one count of theft by fraud.
Bellwether drywall case in hands of Louisiana judge
The fate of thousands of people grappling with flawed Chinese drywall now rests in the hands of a jury of one: U.S. District Court Judge Eldon E. Fallon.
Georgia Court Ends $350K Malpractice Limit
State Supreme Court Overturns 2005 Law Limiting Jury Awards
Georgia’s top court has overturned a state law that set a $350,000 limit on jury awards for malpractice victims’ pain and suffering and other non-economic damages.
Illinois Supreme Court Rules Against Insurer in Underinsured Motorist Case
The Illinois Supreme Court has ruled that an appellate court was correct when it found that an insurance company cannot exclude occupants of an insured vehicle from underinsured motorists coverage.
Insurers question assessments in regulatory reform plan
Executives from competing property/casualty insurers sent a letter Friday to two senators expressing “grave concerns” about financial services regulatory reform legislation that could levy assessments on large insurance companies.
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