Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Tuesday, April 1
Apr 1, 2008
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Florida Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”) Alex Sink announced today that the Florida Department of Financial Services (“DFS”) filed a civil lawsuit against the officers, directors and affiliates of three former Florida insurance companies.
Credit crunch hitting state storm insurance fund
Because of the near-shutdown of the credit markets and rising interest rates, insurers in Florida fear the state’s hurricane catastrophe fund may not live up to its promise if a massive storm hits this hurricane season.
Florida House bill would use Citizens’ fund for insurer loans
A quarter of a billion dollars that state-backed Citizens Property Insurance has set aside to pay claims could be moved to a fund that would instead lend the money to private insurers.
Fla.’s McCarty Retains Focus on Cat Issues
Representing a state known for both its number of hurricanes and a booming population, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has kept a spotlight on natural catastrophe issues at the National Association of Insurance Commissioners as chairman of both the Catastrophe Insurance Working Group and the Property and Casualty Insurance Committee.
Hurricane experts fear intense 2008 season
More than 1,400 emergency managers, government officials and others involved in tropical disasters have converged on Orlando this week for the National Hurricane Conference to prepare for what may be a devastating storm season.
No raises in $65.1 billion Florida House budget
House leaders rolled out a $65.1 billion budget with no pay raises for state employees Monday, along with a stop-gap plan to let Gov. Charlie Crist use reserves and trust funds if Florida’s tax collections continue to fall short.
State House sees no end to budget cuts
Despite a 10 percent cut to their state spending plan for next year, House lawmakers said Monday that a historic run of budget shortfalls might not be over.
Industry Lines Up ‘Pro and Con’ on Bush Plan for Federal Insurance Regulator
Insurance industry groups are lining up quickly with responses to the Bush administration’s proposed overhaul of the way the government regulates the nation’s financial services industries, including insurance.
Florida Health Insurance Consultant Says Medicare Insurance Program is in Serious Trouble
With most of the health insurance debate focusing on universal health care, Medicare Trustees admitted this week that the Medicare Hospital Trust Fund, and the Supplementary Medical Insurance Trust Fund “expenditures are growing more quickly than the rest of the economy – that is troubling news,” according to Morgan Moran of Florida Health Insurance Web, a health insurance consultant.
Crist pitches health insurance plan at hospital
At the neonatal intensive care unit in St. Mary’s Medical Center on Monday, Gov. Charlie Crist hesitatingly peeked inside a clear, lighted incubator.
Haridopolos talks taxes with governor
Sen. Mike Haridopolos, R-Indialantic, had a brief meeting with Gov. Charlie Crist today to discuss the senators opposition to a tax reform proposal that he said amounts to a tax increase.
Tampa Bay area legislators work to get funding for local projects
Even in lean times, some Tampa Bay lawmakers have found ways to carve favored projects into spending bills.
Energy Supply: Keys to the future– Florida Chamber Legislative Priorities
Florida has many top priorities.
Here are some of Florida’s top needs, according to the Florida Chamber of Commerce.
Harold Dyer, five-term state representative, dead at 86
Harold Dyer, a five-term state representative who lost his House seat to another incumbent after new rules carved up his district in the early 1980s, died of heart failure Wednesday. He was 86.
Insurance proposal: Dade teachers pay their share
Miami-Dade public school teachers would have to pay a premium for the most popular health-insurance option under a recommendation by a special magistrate.
A special magistrate has proposed a Solomonic solution to the impasse between the Miami-Dade School District and its teachers: share the increased cost of health insurance.
A plan by the states for dealing with catastrophe risk nationwide, which was looked on unfavorably by insurance trade groups, was put on hold here yesterday by regulators who felt it needed updating and more comment.
Climate Data Reporting Conflict At NAIC Confab
Insurance industry trade groups and advocates for expanded climate change data clashed yesterday at a session here examining proposals for reporting climate change’s fiscal impact on insurers.
Home Insurers’ Income, Race Data Called For
A consumer representative got a positive response from insurance regulators here when he urged them to create a model law requiring insurers to disclose data on the race, sex and income of persons to whom they sell home insurance.
A Regulation For Reinsurers Seen As Illegal
A new framework to modernize U.S. regulation of foreign reinsurers that state regulators are toying with is probably unconstitutional, according to one legal analysis.
The Council Praises Administration OFC Proposal
Leaders of The Council of Insurance Agents & Brokers Monday praised the Bush Administration for its support of the Optional Federal Charter (OFC) for insurance companies and producers, calling the move a turning point in the decades of efforts to modernize insurance regulation.
Flood Insurance Negotiations Still Soggy as Sunset Deadline Nears
Massive storms that swept across the northern Great Plains and powered floodwaters that breached several levees in the lower Mississippi River Valley the week of March 17 may have reignited awareness of protections offered by the National Flood Insurance Program.
Insurers Faulted as Overloading Social Security
The Social Security system is choking on paperwork and spending millions of dollars a year screening dubious applications for disability benefits, according to lawsuits filed by whistle-blowers.
Pets should be part of their owners’ storm plans
Experts learned the importance of keeping animals safe after Hurricane Katrina.
Don’t forget about the animals.
La. Insurer Of Last Resort Handing Business To Private Sector
The Louisiana Insurance Department announced today that it has set up a process for private insurers to assume coverage of homeowners now protected by the state-created property insurer of last resort, Louisiana Citizens Property Insurance Corporation.
2,000 Katrina-Affected Mississippi Families Move from Trailers to Cottages
Thousands of Mississippians who lost their homes during Hurricane Katrina have moved out of federally-provided travel trailers and mobile homes and into Mississippi Cottages, according to Gov. Haley Barbour
DINALLO: Insurers Target Target Travelers to Israel
New York’s insurance regulator is trying to sway insurers across the US to halt their controversial practice of denying life insurance to people traveling to Israel – particularly at Passover.
Massachusets: It’s opening day for auto insurers
The first automobile insurance policies that take advantage of the state’s newly deregulated system take effect today, giving motorists a taste of competitive rate-setting after 30 years of strict regulation.
California Legislature Considers Insurance Bills
California’s legislature is considering several insurance-related bills this session. Following is a synopsis, as summarized by the Association of California Insurance Companies, of bills still pending.
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