Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Thursday, December 18

Dec 18, 2008

 

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Compact seeks to expand autism coverage

Insurance companies, HMOs and employers must determine whether they will sign a new compact to extend benefits for persons with autism to those with other developmental disabilities.

 

Florida High Court Nixes Business Liability Waivers Affecting Minor Children

The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that a parent can’t execute an injury liability waiver for a minor child when the liability release involves participation in a commercial, as opposed to community or nonprofit, activity.

 

Title insurer takes its chances in Florida

A depressed real estate marketplace wouldn’t seem like the best time to invest $10 million into a title insurance company, especially when thousands of competitors are going out of business.

 

Opinion:  Will losses spark Florida rate increases?

Property and casualty insurers throughout the country are posting some of the worst performance results in quite some time thanks to a double whammy of investment and catastrophe losses.

 

Brown & Brown adds Alexander & Bolton in Louisiana

Brown & Brown Inc. continues to expand with the asset acquisition of Alexander & Bolton Inc. The Alexandria, La.-based agency was founded in 1890 and reports $1.3 million in annual revenue, a release said. It focuses on property and casualty insurance, as well as health and life insurance in Louisiana.

 

Brown & Brown Acquires New Mexico’s Charter Insurance

Brown & Brown Inc. announced the asset acquisition of Charter Insurance Services, Inc. in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

 

On-call neurosurgeon plan would cost Palm Beach County $1.1 million a year

Surviving a stroke: priceless.

Ensuring that a neurosurgeon in Palm Beach County is available to help you survive: $1.1 million a year.

 

Architect of Medicaid Reform returns to AHCA

Tom Arnold, one of the chief architects of Florida’s Medicaid Reform project under former Gov. Jeb Bush, has returned to the Agency for Health Care Administration as its top lobbyist.

 

Panel to expand Fla. Supreme Court nominee pool

A sharply divided state panel on Wednesday agreed to grant Gov. Charlie Crist’s request for a more diverse pool of nominees for an opening on the Florida Supreme Court.

 

Hurdles remain for Florida-U.S. Sugar land deal

Skeptical lawmakers and a House committee review loom among upcoming hurdles for the state’s controversial Big Sugar land buy.

The lead negotiator for the state’s Big Sugar deal acknowledged Wednesday that serious hurdles remain, including figuring out whether water managers can afford to pay $1.34 billion in the middle of the worst economic crisis in decades.

 

Florida’s economic slide to continue

Florida’s economy is going to get worse before it gets better, and lawmakers will have to deal with a $2.3 billion shortfall to balance the $66 billion budget, economists told lawmakers Wednesday. ‘The story here is what a difference a few years makes,’ Amy Baker, the Legislature’s chief economic forecaster, told grim-faced House members during a rare December floor session.

 

Florida Opportunity Fund seeks partners in venture-capital push

Enterprise Florida has launched the latest stage of its effort to establish a new investment pipeline for start-up companies, officials said Tuesday.

 

Commission Commits To Fighting Greening

The Florida Citrus Commission has made a down payment of up to $15 million on a multi-year battle against the fatal citrus greening disease that threatens the existence of Florida’s best-known agriculture industry.

 

Want to display a retired space shuttle? NASA puts cost at $42 million _ and counting

NASA’s soon-to-be-retired space shuttles are up for grabs.

 

NAIC Disappointed With Anti-Consumer Ruling

SEC Adopts Rule 151A

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) expressed disappointment with the U.S.

 

‘Watchdogs’ Tout Reinsurance Early Warning System

International insurance watchdogs are working on a system to help safeguard reinsurers’ stability when they are hit by major catastrophes such as hurricanes, regulators said on Wednesday.

 

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