Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Monday, September 15
Sep 15, 2008
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Florida pension fund, Citizens hold Lehman securities
The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, a prestigious Wall Street firm, will touch Florida’s pension funds and the state-run insurer because both hold its securities.
In a clear warning to Florida’s homeowners insurers, state regulators Friday said they intend to take swift action against any company not giving discounts to policyholders who fortify their homes against storms.
Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson today announced that his office received nearly 2,200 price-gouging calls over the weekend and 816 complaints, with virtually all involving the price of gasoline.
Florida attorney general probes gas-price gouging complaints
AG: Capital’s gas shortages caused by irrational runs by consumers
Attorney General Bill McCollum will subpoena records of four gas retailers as gouging complaints continue even with fuel supplies remaining good in the state.
2 Miami doctors admit roles in $84 million fraud
Two Miami doctors pleaded guilty to Medicare fraud, committed by writing prescriptions for unneeded HIV therapy that a clinic billed for but didn’t deliver.
Two Miami doctors have confessed to plotting with a trio of fugitive brothers in their scheme to defraud Medicare of $110 million by billing the federal health insurance program for bogus treatment for HIV patients.
Florida’s Big Insurance Problem
Florida’s state-sponsored home insurer could stick taxpayers with a huge bill when the next storm hits
When Hurricane Ike took a left on Sept. 8, heading away from Florida, locals breathed a sigh of relief. Not only are their homes on the line with each burst of violent weather but their pocketbooks are increasingly at risk, too. Over the past four years, Florida taxpayers’ vulnerability to a major weather catastrophe has grown.
City, state monitoring water pollution levels from Fay; health issues remain a concern
Following Fay, water-quality issues remain a primary concern  Â
Pollution from floodwaters and sewage spills caused by Tropical Storm Fay should soon be down to acceptable levels, city of Tallahassee officials said, and the city could stop monitoring local lakes for coliform bacteria as early as this week.
You may overpay for flood coverage
Bruce and Charlene Walls of Fruit Cove recently discovered that they have been paying $856 too much for their flood insurance premium.
Florida Health Care outbid for Healthy Kids program
Beginning Oct. 1, nearly 8,000 children in Volusia and Flagler counties will have their health care provided by a different company, which may require finding another doctor.
Attorney General Wants Seminoles To Shut Down Games
Attorney Barry Richard told The Tampa Tribune and other media outlets that the Seminole tribe is going to keep offering the casino games approved in the compact that the Supreme Court has declared invalid.
Local lawmakers in power position when facing cuts
Legislative leaders could spare Manatee
When the Florida Revenue Estimating Conference recently projected an additional $1.8 billion hit to next year’s state budget, this much became clearer than ever: State lawmakers will have their work cut out for them before they even arrive in Tallahassee for their next regular session in 2009.
Florida lawmakers trying to bolster state revenue may turn to bipartisanship
Putting bleak budget numbers before the Florida Legislature’s money managers, Gov. Charlie Crist coined a three-word term that Republicans and Democrats will debate hotly until the economy improves.
Gov. Crist still popular despite state’s economic downturn
Weathering political headwinds and an economy in tailspin, Gov. Charlie Crist remains a well-liked figure cutting across traditional partisan divides as he approaches the two-year mark of his governorship.
Democrat aims to make District 70 race competitive
Few people expected the race for the state House seat covering mid-Sarasota County to be competitive this year.
Public to have say on Alligator Alley plan
Two meetings Tuesday present first opportunity
Opponents of a state plan to lease Alligator Alley will have a chance to speak out against the project for the first time.
Voters will have chance to toss out Florida’s obsolete ‘alien land law’
Discriminatory ban was never put into practice
Florida is the last state in the nation still to have a constitution marked with one remnant of the Jim Crow era: a rule allowing legislators to ban Asian immigrants from owning land.
Buyout May Benefit Florida’s Other Sugar Power
In June, Gov. Charlie Crist announced that Florida would buy one of the state’s two big sugar enterprises, the United States Sugar Corp. He billed the purchase as a “jump-start” in the environmental restoration of the Everglades, which cane growers are accused of polluting with fertilizer runoff.
OP-ED: Shuttle shutdown in 2010 Q&A
Rumors are swirling. Politicians are making promises. Program officials are studying how to retire the shuttle and how to extend its life, at the same time. All the while, thousands of jobs are at stake as the debate builds over whether to retire the fleet in 2010 as planned.
Now that the federal government has bailed out Fannie and Freddie, who’s going to bail out the federal government?
The federal government’s takeover of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (nyse: FRE – news – people ) represents a huge financial tremor. These two institutions now issue 70% of Americans’ mortgages. Their failure would have triggered a complete meltdown in housing and financial markets. So now Uncle Sam is on the hook for $5 trillion, consisting of corporate debt owed by those two institutions and mortgage debt guaranteed by them.
Louisiana Citizens is weathering Gustav well
Insurer has learned lessons post-Katrina
One of the biggest disasters of Hurricane Katrina — the performance of Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corp. — appears to be weathering the storm better in Gustav.
AIG Facing Liquidity Crisis, Seeks $40 Billion Loan from Federal Reserve
Insurer American International Group Inc., working to stave off rating downgrades [See related article] and shore up the capital of its holding company, has made an unprecedented approach to the Federal Reserve seeking $40 billion in short-term financing, the New York Times said.
NCOIL Pleads With House To Reject OII Bill
The leadership of the National Conference of Insurance Legislators is asking in the strongest terms that the U.S. House of Representatives give a thumbs-down this week to legislation that would create an Office of Insurance Information within the Treasury Department.
‘Trial by hurricane’ for Red Cross chief
The disasters hit even before Gail J. McGovern became president and chief executive of the American Red Cross.
From Levees To Nudist Camps, E&S Writers Take On Most Unusual Risks
As the nation nervously looked on, the massive storm surge caused by Hurricane Gustav topped–but did not breach–the weakened New Orleans levee system a couple of weeks ago. That was a huge relief not only to owners of homes and businesses in the area and their insurers, but to one specialty underwriter on the hook for an unusual related risk as well–the professional liability of architects and engineers in charge of fortifying the protective walls.
For Independent Agents, Carriers’ Claims Service is Top Performance Measure
Independent insurance agents want their property/casualty insurance carriers to provide quality claims service above all else, according to an exclusive survey of agents’ attitudes about the insurers their agencies use.
California Legislative Session Positive on Insurance Issues
This year’s California legislative session has been a relatively positive one for property/casualty insurers and their customers, according to the Association of California Insurance Companies.
Oregon Workers’ Compensation Costs To Decrease About 6%
Employers in Oregon will pay nearly 6 percent less on average for workers’ compensation coverage in 2009, the Department of Consumer and Business Services announced.
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