Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Tuesday, June 22
Jun 22, 2010
To view a complete story, click on a headline below:
American Integrity Offers Premium Discounts for Newer Manufactured Homes
American Integrity Insurance Company announced today that it is reducing its rates by an average of 10 percent statewide for customers who live in manufactured homes that are 10 years or newer in certain non- coastal Florida regions.
Florida Association of Insurance Agents: Governor’s veto hurts Florida
By vetoing Senate Bill 2044, Gov. Charlie Crist succeeded in placing Florida’s home insurance market – the one he created and populated with small domestic carriers – on the verge of collapse.
Chinese Drywall Jury Assigned North Miami Company Five Percent of Blame
Rationing, demand spurred use of Chinese drywall
If the disease that overcomes homes because of defective drywall could be likened to a heinous epidemic, Patient Zero might be a North Miami importer on a mission to find the building material during a severe shortage in 2004.
DEA accuses Broward company of supplying painkillers to ‘pill mills’
Sunrise Wholesale Inc. surrenders federal license
A Sunrise company surrendered its license to sell narcotic medications after a federal agency accused it of improperly supplying painkillers to South Florida clinics, officials said Monday.
Wall Street Journal: Regulators Rein In Murky Life Policies in Florida, Other States
The life-insurance business was good to Steven M. Brasner for much of the past decade, so good that he and his wife named their motor yachts after it. Their first, a 34-footer, they christened “Preferred Risk.” Its 50-foot replacement: “STOLI on the Docks.”
Florida Approves MedMal Direct to Sell Malpractice Insurance
Jacksonville-based MedMal Direct Insurance Co. has officially launched operations as a medical malpractice insurance company in Florida.
Governor Crist Requests BP Electronic Claim Records
To evaluate the BP claims process and measure the economic impact of losses to Florida, Governor Charlie Crist requested that BP provide the State with electronic files of all Florida-related BP claims, to be updated on a weekly basis.
Panhandle counties ask Crist to seek $14 million for job growth
The six Panhandle counties feeling the brunt of the oil spill are asking Gov. Charlie Crist to seek $14 million from BP to help them spur job growth in industries unrelated to tourism.
Sunshine State News: Florida Years Away from Calculating Economic Losses From Oil Spill
Task force admits it has no frame of reference for this
Florida has absolutely no frame of reference for the Deepwater Horizon oil spill or its effect on the state economy. And officials admit it will take years — not weeks or months — before they can respond to all the claims likely to come from the disaster.
Sunshine State News: Kendrick Meek and Jeff Greene Engage in Fierce First Debate
U.S. Rep. Kendrick Meek and billionaire real estate investor Jeff Greene, the two leading candidates seeking the Democratic nomination for the U.S Senate race, met on Tuesday morning in their first debate.
Blog: Bad news for Meek — Orlando Dems raising money for Crist
Not a particularly cheery week so far U.S. Rep. and U.S. Senate candidate Kendrick Meek.
Tea Party fields questionable candidates – and takes flak for it
Christopher Crawford is a 22-year-old from Orlando whose only reported assets are a 1991 Acura Integra worth $2,000 and an IKEA couch. But as of last week, he’s a Tea Party candidate for a Florida Senate seat centered 400 miles away in the Panhandle.
Must Gov. Crist fill vacant judge post?
Gov. seeks state Supreme Court’s advice on Ackerman
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist is in a quandary: In May, Crist decided not to replace Escambia County Judge David Ackerman, who stepped down last month, because Ackerman plans to return to work in February.
Florida loses 4,500 construction jobs
Florida lost 4,500 construction jobs, a 1.2 percent drop, from April to May, Associated General Contractors of America reported.
Surplus Lines Reforms OK’d By Financial Services Conferees
Regulation of the surplus lines industry will be modernized and substantively streamlined under a provision of financial services reform legislation approved by House-Senate conferees.
Mississippi Insurance Dept. Lists Consumer Complaints Online
The Missouri Department of Insurance says you can browse some 11,000 consumer complaints online.
North Carolina homes with wind resistance to earn insurance credits
N.C. Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin has approved discounts on windstorm coverage for homeowners who make their houses more resistant to hurricanes, and increased them from those originally proposed by the state’s insurance companies.
Insurer Aegon to sell Transamerica Reinsurance arm in US, restructure British operations
Aegon NV, the bailed-out Dutch insurer, said Tuesday it is looking to sell the life reinsurance arm of its U.S.-based subsidiary Transamerica and that it will restructure operations in Britain.
Montpelier Re affirms $20M Gulf oil losses
Global property and casualty insurer Montpelier Re Holdings Ltd. said Tuesday a subsidiary has won an arbitration decision that will pay $2.5 million in interest.
Hearings on Insurance Donations to Georgia’s Oxendine Cancelled
A Fulton County Superior Court judge has halted a scheduled hearing next week by the State Ethics Commission on State Mutual Insurance Company’s $120,000 political contributions to John Oxendine, current insurance commissioner and Republican candidate for governor in Georgia.
U.K. to increase insurance premium tax
The tax paid on insurance purchased for risks in the United Kingdom will increase from its current 5% to 6% effective July 1, U.K. Chancellor George Osborne said Tuesday.
UK Regulatory Consultant Analyzes Financial Services Regime Change
The UK’s new Chancellor (Finance Minister) George Osborne has announced plans to fundamentally reform the way financial services, including insurance, are to be regulated
A.M. Best: Insurer financial impairments triple since 2007: Best
U.S. property/casualty insurance company financial impairments more than tripled since 2007, according to a report released Tuesday by Oldwick, N.J.-based A.M. Best Co. Inc.
To unsubscribe from this newsletter, please send an email to bellis@cftlaw.com.