Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Thursday, May 22
May 22, 2008
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Allstate wants state Supreme Court to clarify legal issues
The ban on selling new insurance policies has been lifted and Allstate has promised to cooperate with state regulators.
AIG faces lawsuit by Florida pension fund
A Florida pension fund has filed a lawsuit against American International Group Inc (AIG.N: Quote, Profile, Research) and four top officials, including Chief Executive Martin Sullivan, for allegedly issuing false and misleading statements relating to the insurer’s finances that inflated the prices of AIG securities.
June 2 deadline on Poe Financial claims
Homeowners insured by one of the three Poe Financial companies — Atlantic Preferred, Florida Preferred and Southern Family — have until June 2 to resolve any open claims.
Three Bay area insurers get OK to take out Citizens policies
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation approved the plans of six insurance companies, including three from the Tampa Bay area, to remove 100,000 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. in June.
Wholesale Broker Westrope Launches Florida Operation
Kansas City, Mo.-based Westrope established a new office in Brandon, Florida.
2005 hurricane insurance claims languish
Nearly three years after the storms of 2005 hit South Florida, hundreds of homeowners are still staring at unrepaired damage and wrangling with their insurers over unresolved claims.
New Florida Law Allows Low-Cost Health Policies
With considerable fanfare, Gov. Charlie Crist traveled the length of his state on Wednesday to sign a bill aimed at providing low-cost health coverage to the uninsured by allowing the sale of stripped-down insurance policies.
Revenue collection still dragging
Florida’s financial woes continued in April as tax collections fell $91.7 million – nearly 4 percent – below a recently revised revenue estimate.
EDITORIAL: Carrying Tallahassee’s Workload
The failure of the Legislature, once again, to pass a law allowing the use of cameras to ticket red-light runners places the responsibility back in the hands of local government.
Gov. Charlie Crist will be Arizona-bound this weekend for a sitdown with John McCain and other pols who could be on the Republican senator’s short list for running mate.
Lawsuit seeks to force DNC to seat Florida delegates
Steve Geller, a Democrat who’s the minority leader in Florida’s state senate, filed a lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee on Thursday.
Hering sues to run against Keller
Orlando businessman Bob Hering has filed a lawsuit to get his candidacy for the 8th Congressional District seat reconsidered.
Dade GOP incumbents pull out of debates
South Florida congressional Republicans backed out of next week’s debates. Their opponents say they’re hiding.
Miami’s three Cuban-American Republicans in Congress have scrapped plans to participate in a series of debates with their Democratic challengers.
Former Rep. Bob Allen appeals his conviction
Former Rep. Bob Allen sat stoically in the courtroom Wednesday, one hand resting on his wife’s knee, as attorneys again described the sex-solicitation case that led to his conviction and forced his resignation from the state Legislature.
Mississippi Court Agrees to Hear Katrina Insurance Issue
The Mississippi Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether an insurance policy can be interpreted in a wind versus water dispute over Hurricane Katrina claims.
Insurers’ use of credit scores to set rates is challenged in Washington
What does your credit score have to do with what you pay for automobile or homeowner insurance? How about your education or your job?
Credit Score Ban Would Be Disruptive, Congress Told
Five insurance industry trade groups defended carriers’ utilization of credit records to set personal lines insurance rates and warned that barring their use would create major disruptions in the marketplace.
NAIC Testifies on the Use of Credit-Based Insurance Scores
On behalf of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty testified before the U.S. House Financial Services Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing titled, “The Impact of Credit-Based Insurance Scoring on the Availability and Affordability of Insurance.â€
FTC Testifies Before U.S. House Subcommittee On Progress Of Credit-based Insurance Score Study
The Federal Trade Commission today provided Congress with an update on the progress of its study on the use of credit-based insurance scores in homeowners insurance.
PCI To States: Reform Insurance Or See Fed Controls
Congress will likely impose a level federal insurance regulation soon unless states act promptly to institute meaningful reform, the head of a property-casualty insurance trade group told state regulators at a meeting here yesterday.
RMS Launches New Catastrophe Modeling Analysis Service
Risk Management Solutions (RMS) has unveiled its new RMS RiskAnalytics operation, which provides a team of highly skilled analysts to perform catastrophe modeling activities as a seamless extension of a company’s in-house department.
While many coastal residents find it hard to forget the experience of living through a hurricane, as a new storm season approaches many may be experiencing a case of amnesia about basic preparedness strategies according to a new survey out today from Allstate.
Bush signs bill outlawing genetic discrimination
President Bush on Wednesday signed legislation to protect people from losing their jobs or health insurance when genetic testing reveals they are susceptible to costly diseases.
Nobel Peace Prize Winners Honor Catastrophe Model Pioneer Clark
Karen Clark, who developed the first hurricane catastrophe model, has been recognized by a climate change group that won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize.
Border agents won’t slow hurricane evacuations
Speaking at a hurricane preparedness gathering Tuesday at FEMA headquarters in Washington, Chertoff said he wanted to ‘drive a stake through the heart of a misapprehension which is out there.’
More Questions Are Raised About Moody’s Ratings
The Moody’s Corporation is investigating whether it assigned top-flight credit ratings to certain securities because of computer errors, the company said Wednesday, raising new questions about the credibility of its assessments.
Leaking levee in New Orleans alarms experts
Despite more than $22 million in repairs, a levee that broke with catastrophic effect during Hurricane Katrina is leaking again because of the mushy ground on which New Orleans was built, raising serious questions about the reliability of the city’s flood defenses.
Texas Review Board Says Insurance Department Works, Offers Changes
Staff of the Texas Sunset Advisory Commission says the Texas Department of Insurance functions well but that the state’s “overall approach to insurance regulation,” may need tweaking.
Texas Regulators OK Reinsurance Plan for Wind Pool
Texas Insurance Commissioner Mike Geeslin has approved the Texas Windstorm Association’s request for increased reinsurance for the 2008 hurricane season.