Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Thursday, February 4
Feb 4, 2010
Above: Febuary 4, 2010 Florida Today cartoon by Jeff Parker
Click on a headline to read a complete story:
Governor Crist Says No To Proposed Insurance Deregulation Bill
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist announced he would veto legislation that would allow specified insurers to use rates for homeowners insurance not subject to approval from the Office of Insurance Regulation.
State Farm, Florida’s biggest auto insurer, files for 9.2 percent rate increase
Cost-sensitive Floridians have another increase to worry about: The price for auto insurance is trending up.
New flood zone maps are coming soon in Collier
The National Flood Insurance Program has a new motto: Everyone lives in a flood zone.
Des Champs & Gregory President: Watch the math on wind deductibles
Todays class will be about wind. While your agent monitors the insurance industry in Florida, it has become painfully obvious that hurricanes and government regulation are equally dangerous.
Raymond James ordered to pay $12 million, forced to restate earnings
An arbitration panel has ordered Raymond James Financial to pay $12 million, saying it was liable in a case involving broker raiding.
Hotelier Harris Rosen wants to send houses to Haiti
In a back hallway at the Rosen Shingle Creek hotel, a little periwinkle house with front porch, window shutters, living room and kitchen awaits a family in Haiti to call it home.
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: Eye docs and optometrists, Round I
A heavily-lobbied and closely watched bill that would allow optomestrists to prescribe certain oral medications on Wednesday narrowly cleared its first hurdle in the Senate where the bill died last year.
After a day of doubt, Lynch wins Florida’s Dist. 19 Republican primary
After a long night of election uncertainty, Republican Edward Lynch emerged Wednesday as the victor in the special congressional primary, eking out a narrow win over Joe Budd.
Lawmakers work to soften unemployment tax increase
Tens of thousands of Florida businesses will get hit with higher unemployment-compensation taxes this spring.
Blog: Panel issues growth recommendations, struggles for money
A state panel created by the Legislature to make recommendations on growth management and quality of life issues has produced its fourth annual report while it struggles with lack of state funding.
Editorial: What about Florida’s growing debt?
Florida is forbidden to run a deficit. But the state can — and does — borrow money, usually to fund long-term capital projects such as highways and schools.
Florida GOP fundraiser’s hefty pay riles donors
For the past year, Delmar Johnson mixed and mingled with the well-heeled and powerful, chasing checks from large Republican donors from fishing piers in Key West to a football stadium in Boston.
Could Destin’s mayor fill Sansom’s seat?
The Emerald Coast Association of Realtors is endorsing Destin Mayor Craig Barker to the Florida House of Representatives for the House District 4.
State staff accused of stealing
Four employees of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and a vendor are charged with conspiring to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars from the agency, authorities said Wednesday.
Florida Property Appraisers brace for ‘almost explosive’ tax season
If you thought 2009 was a property tax whammy, better brace yourself for the double-whammy of 2010.
Hanover to drop Louisiana Policies
The Hanover Insurance Group plans to shut down two of the three property insurance companies it operates in Louisiana and shift about half of those 15,500 policyholders to another company, insurance officials said Wednesday.
Illinois Supreme Court rules malpractice cap ‘invalid’
The Illinois Supreme Court struck down the state’s medical malpractice law today, saying it violates separation of powers by allowing lawmakers to interfere with a judge’s ability to reduce verdicts.
New York Insurers Outline Remedies For No-Fault System Problems
A New York insurers’ group plans to tell a legislative panel that bogus medical mills and unscrupulous medical providers, mostly in the New York City area, are inflating no-fault auto insurance costs.
South Carolina Eyes Lawsuit Limits to Help Economy
South Carolina’s economic recovery could be helped by new limits on lawsuits, claims a business group as state lawmakers consider legislation to do just that.
Report: Economic Benefits of Levees Outweigh Flooding Costs
Despite the massive flooding resulting from levee breaches and storm surge during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the economic benefits provided by flood control measures in Southeast Louisiana far outweigh the costs of widespread damage from flooding, according to one researcher.
Toyota Recall A Subrogation Issue? Allstate Looks At Cases
Big auto insurers will be examining past auto accident claims involving Toyota vehicles for possible subrogation action, an insurance arbitration executive predicted, as Allstate said it has a case review underway.
Cash-strapped owners mull closing captives to tap capital
Economy, soft market hit alternative risk sector
Economic problems coupled with a continued soft traditional insurance market are tempting some captive owners to shut down the facilities to access cash tied up in capital, several captive experts say.
Insurance: trapped by law and by policy
Some things last only so long. After years of repairing a small appliance, replacement eventually became the only logical alternative, so off I went to the local mega store to buy a new one. Simple enough exercise, but while I was checking out, the clerk asked me a question that is quite typical now-a-days: Would you like insurance?
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