Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Monday, November 2
Nov 2, 2009
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People losing Keystone policies will be offered coverage
Some 5,400 Florida homeowners who lose their insurance next week because of the collapse of American Keystone will receive offers of coverage from a competitor.
Florida Insurance Commissioner to meet with House Democratic Caucus
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty will meet with members of the Florida House Democratic Caucus at noon on Tuesday, Nov. 3 for a presentation and to take questions about the status of the state’s property insurance market.
Citizens Property rates headed up, or maybe down, depending on where you live
Homeowners in much of St. Petersburg and Hillsborough County can expect refreshingly deep cuts in their Citizens Property Insurance premiums.
Fort Myers-based Oswald Trippe merging with BB&T Insurance
Oswald Trippe & Co., a Fort Myers-based insurance agency, is merging with BB&T Insurance Services, according to a statement released today by Oswald Trippe.
State Representative Peter Nehr: State needs to check windstorm mitigation credits
It is my belief, and the belief of many of my fellow state representatives, that if homeowners spend money protecting their homes against hurricanes, and the improvements they made reduce their risk of loss, they should get a discount on their insurance premium.
DeBary residents in flooded homes keep wary eye on lakes
Donald McGrath wakes up each morning eyeing the water levels of the lake behind his house.
Liability questions concern local CERT unit
Ron Scheiman’s relieved that hurricane season is over because his community hasn’t been protected by its 13 emergency volunteers since June.
South Florida home buyers leery about Chinese drywall
Home buyers in South Florida are petrified of tainted Chinese drywall.
Some rule out entire neighborhoods or houses and condos built within the past seven years.
Turning blind eye to rising sea levels dangerous
That certain place wasn’t Florida. It was Australia that was consumed with worry over the catastrophic effects a 30- or 40-inch rise in sea level could bring to its 21,000-mile shoreline.
Mike Colodny: Florida Regulators Found a White Knight in Ascendant Insurance
Picking up where an ailing insurance company left off may not sound like an immediate recipe for success. But Pablo Cejas is hoping Ascendant Commercial Insurance will thrive where two Hialeah-based insurers failed.
Fla. lawmakers propose banning felons owning pain clinics
Hoping to close a loophole that has helped make South Florida the hub of black-market prescription painkillers, two Democratic state lawmakers are proposing legislation to ban convicted felons from holding an ownership stake in pain clinics distributing narcotics.
Florida State Senator Wants Clinical Trial Claims Covered
A powerful Florida state senator wants insurance companies and HMOs to stop denying coverage of routine medical treatment, such as doctor’s visits and X-rays, for Florida cancer patients participating in clinical trials.
DBPR to crack down on unlicensed practices
The Department of Business and Professional Regulation is planning statewide sweeps and stings this week to combat unlicensed business activity.
Stimulus spending accounts for 30,000 jobs in Florida, government says
Florida has gained or held onto 30,000 jobs as a result of federal stimulus spending.
Column: In Florida’s grim economic landscape, politicians court business groups
Capture our state economy in a TV series and November 2006 was Florida: Heroes. November 2009 is Florida: Lost.
Plan re-emerges to shift water resources across Florida
Two reports suggest a commission to oversee water redistribution.
Gambling stalemate gets dicey for state
Some lawmakers are concerned that the tribe essentially is being awarded a statewide monopoly on highly profitable table games, including blackjack, and slots.
Brevard’s senator on the fast track
Once a benchwarmer, Haridopolos is set to take the lead
Mike Haridopolos stands before a classroom of undergraduates, comparing the leadership styles of Florida’s modern-day governors from Claude Kirk to Charlie Crist: Democrat Reubin Askew chasing down lawmakers at a Tallahassee bar to get their votes; Republican Jeb Bush summoning lawmakers to his office to bring them in line.
N.Y. race could foreshadow Fla. primary
In what looks like a victory for the same conservative forces backing Marco Rubio in Florida, the Republican Party nominee dropped out of a special election to fill a vacant House seat in New York on Saturday.
Caucus wants to lure film industry to Florida
Florida’s Film, Entertainment and Television Caucus will make its debut Tuesday in Tallahassee as an advocate for the movie and TV business, aided by actor Jeffrey Donovan of the hit USA Network show “Burn Notice,” which is filmed in Miami.
Texas, the new Florida, lures seniors with sun, low cost living
After trying out Atlanta, Miami and Pasadena, Calif., Lilian Junco decided this was the place to retire. Being near her son was the first attraction, but soon she was drawn in by the same combination of features that has lured tens of thousands of others from out of state Gulf Coast living, plus super-low costs.
North Carolina Workers’ Compensation Rates Cut 9.6%
North Carolina workers’ compensation rates paid by employers are going down.
Texas Homeowners push insurers to pay them as contractors
Some homeowners who organized their own home repairs after Hurricane Ike say they’re missing out on an insurance benefit a general contractor would receive for the same work.
PCI Calls For Refinements To Proposed Systemic Risk Bill
The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America submitted testimony Thursday calling for needed refinements to the discussion draft of the proposed Financial Stability Improvement Act of 2009 released earlier this week and suggesting a three-part test for systemic risk.
Homeowners Coverage Can Be Affected By Residency Lapses
While the economic crisis has created a homeowners’ insurance affordability problem for consumers, a residence left vacant could create homeowner policy gaps, according to a report issued by the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America’s Virtual University.
USAA Real Estate buys stake in retail centers including some in Dallas-Fort Worth
San Antonio-based USAA Real Estate Co. said Friday that its affiliates have purchased a partial interest in a portfolio of shopping centers owned with Regency Centers Corp.
Beazley Builds Builders’ Risk Business
Beazley is pleased to announce the expansion of its US property business with the creation of a dedicated Builders’ Risk team.
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