Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Monday, Sept. 24

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Insurance fight heats up

Deadline nears for insurers to file their new premiums

The fiercest part of Florida’s long insurance battle is beginning.  With thousands of policy cancellations about to hit mailboxes, the stakes couldn’t be higher as politicians, regulators and the nation’s largest insurers square off over rate cuts ordered by the Legislature.

 

Milliman Says Wash. Bad Faith Bill Is Costly

Approval by Washington state voters of a measure increasing damages for bad-faith activity by an insurer would raise insurance rates for businesses and families up to $650 million annually, according to a research firm.

 

State’s bet on storm season is paying off

Florida took a big gamble going into this year’s hurricane season.  Trying to cut insurance rates, the state agreed to pick up as much as $32 billion in risk — that is $10 billion more than the state’s total debt.

 

Insurance Reform Relief Appears Fleeting

Florida’s grand plan to lower home insurance rates was simple: Lower insurance companies’ cost of doing business in Florida and require the industry to pass the savings on to customers.

 

Fraud is no answer to sinkhole risk, cost

The sinkhole-repair industry shouldn’t be encouraging insurance fraud to fatten its bottom line. That is an accurate interpretation of advice offered in a Sept. 16 advertisement that told homeowners to file insurance claims “even if you do not believe that you have a sinkhole problem.”

 

Fleeting Relief?

Florida’s grand plan to lower home insurance rates was simple: Lower insurance companies’ cost of doing business in Florida and require the industry to pass the savings on to customers.

 

TRIREA Gets Insurance Buyer Backing

WASHINGTON —Two groups representing purchasers of commercial insurance are voicing strong backing for the House measure passed last week that would extend government support to insurers after major terrorism losses.

 

State Officials Investigating 2 Property Insurers

TALLAHASSEE – Cincinnati Financial Corp. has told shareholders that two property insurance companies it controls are under investigation by Florida officials looking into whether insurers are complying with a new law requiring rate reductions.

 

Fireman’s Fund Offers Policy for Historic Commercial Properties

Fireman’s Fund Insurance Co. introduced a new insurance product designed to meet the unique needs of historic and vintage commercial properties. Historic Property-Gard by Fireman’s Fund is a comprehensive insurance product for historic buildings, which includes tax recapture coverage.

 

Louisiana Rating Bureau Brawl Continues

Louisiana Insurance Commissioner Jim Donelon, continuing his criticism of the state’s rating bureau/management organization, said Friday that the entity should not seek a court ruling to determine whether it is a private or public operation.

 

Senate passes $23 billion in water projects, despite veto threat

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Senate, ignoring a veto threat from the White House, authorized $23 billion in water projects Monday, including work to restore the hurricane-ravaged Louisiana coast and Florida’s Everglades.

 

Wilma repair bill a shocker in SW Broward

Some 300 Southwest Broward homeowners who lost big chunks of backyards to Hurricane Wilma believed that the total cost of a temporary fix would be covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

 

State GOP uses Democrats’ primary dispute to seek new members

The Republican Party of Florida is using the feud between state and national Democrats over Florida’s early presidential primary as an opportunity to convert voters to the GOP, saying in a mailer that Democrats’ votes won’t count in the election.

 

McBurney will have to learn quickly

Budget session his introduction to Capitol

TALLAHASSEE – Charles McBurney won a lopsided victory in a special election Tuesday to replace Rep. Mark Mahon in the state House of Representatives.

 

ASCO pushes cancer survivors’ checklist

You’ve finished the surgery, the radiation, the chemotherapy. You’re a winner, a cancer survivor. Now what? A new push is on to provide patients with “survivor plans,” long-awaited blueprints for the customized follow-up care they’ll require for years.

 

Auto dealers fight economic slowdown

Veteran car dealer Craig Zinn wants to recapture the buzz dealerships enjoyed in the Septembers of old, when manufacturers rolled out their new models.

 

2 Years On, Rita’s Effects Linger in La.

CAMERON, La. — This southwestern Louisiana town may have dried out and cleaned up since getting flattened by Hurricane Rita, but its recovery is moving in slow motion: Nearly everyone still lives in temporary housing.