Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Tuesday, Oct. 30

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Insurance failures spawn new levy on Florida policies

The $500 million tab for cleaning up the biggest insurance company collapse in Florida history is about to get bigger. And that means all policyholders are going to pay more: about $250 million more.

 

State OKs 2 percent insurance surcharge due to 2004-05 storms

Floridians with homeowner, commercial and liability insurance polices will pay a third 2 percent surcharge to help cover claims against four insurers that went belly up after a series of hurricanes in 2004 and 2005.

 

Governor starts selling tax-cut proposal

Still hoarse from a marathon lobbying session, Gov. Charlie Crist takes a victory lap today and launches his campaign for a $12 billion property tax package the Legislature approved Monday night.

 

Rep. Frank Pushes To Redo Senate TRIA Bill

WASHINGTON —The House won’t accept the Senate version of legislation providing a federal backup on terrorism risk insurance and will instead vote to extend the current program until April 30, a key congressman said today.

 

House Leader: 120-Day Extension for Federal Terrorism Insurance Possible

A key House leader says he will push for a 120-day extension of the federal terrorism reinsurance program that expires at year’s end rather than simply accept the Senate bill that is narrower in scope than the House bill.

 

Citizens Property to hand off policies

Four Florida insurance companies are slated to assume thousands of policies from Citizens Property Insurance, taking the state-backed insurer, which is also Florida’s largest, back to its pre-2007 numbers.

 

Slower Growth And Higher Costs Will Not Write Florida’s Obituary

A slowdown in growth and a correction in housing prices highlight the question posed by a headline last month in The Wall Street Journal: ‘Is Florida Over?’ A listing of Florida’s many woes gives the impression that half the state is ready to pack up and move to less-expensive Tennessee or South Carolina.

 

A Bermuda Insurer To Offer La. Coverage

Bermuda startup company Ironshore Insurance Ltd. and Louisiana officials announced that the insurer has been approved by the state’s regulators to provide property and catastrophe insurance.

 

Insurance group sees 14,000 claims from California fires

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Roughly 14,000 insurance claims have been filed from last week’s fire and wind storms in California, according to a research group for the property casualty insurance industry.

 

Home builders to pay $1.4M settlement

Six home builders, including Hollywood’s Tousa ( TOA), agreed to pay $1.4 million to resolve federal allegations they illegally established title insurance companies that took payments amounting to kickbacks.

 

5 charged in hurricane scam

ORLANDO – -Five local men who live far from the destructive paths of hurricanes Katrina and Rita are charged with defrauding the Federal Emergency Management Agency, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

 

State Representative Peter Nehr:  Nursing homes are more than profits

Vivian Hewitt’s mother, Alice Garcia, was a resident at the Habana Healthcare Center, a nursing home in Tampa. She died after she developed a pressure sore that became infected with feces due to what Vivian believes was negligent care.

 

Our view: Strength in numbers

That’s the message Florida should send other states that are starting to wake up to the fact they’re getting ripped off by the property insurance industry’s greed.

 

Buyers of long-term insurance get younger

The average age of people buying long-term care insurance benefits dropped below 60 for the first time after falling steadily for more than 10 years.

 

FEMA treats us to new trick

Heckuva job, FEMA. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has a pathetic track record of claiming it is effectively responding to natural disasters when the reality is often quite different.

 

FAU fundraisers consider life insurance policies for donors

BOCA RATON — Florida Atlantic University’s foundation will explore an innovative fundraising plan in which life insurance policies are taken out on donors who make the school the beneficiary when they die.

 

Pay a premium, get a private firefighter

RANCHO SANTA FE, Calif. Bryce Carrier’s cellphone rang at 3 a.m.: Help! The fire is almost to my house.

 

N.J. Court: Underinsured Motorist Policy Covers Drive-by Shooting Victim

A woman injured by a bullet from a drive-by shooting is entitled to recover under her uninsured motorist coverage, even though she was not in her car at the time of the shooting, according to a New Jersey Appellate Division ruling.

 

Two New Orleans clinics outspend on patient care

Two New Orleans primary-care centers that have received millions in federal money to provide basic medical services to low-income residents spent twice as much per patient last year as most other federally sponsored clinics in Louisiana, a USA TODAY analysis shows.

 

Questions emerge about WellCare transactions

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Questions emerged on Tuesday about transactions between beleaguered Inc (WCG.N) and an offshore entity, further hurting the health insurer’s battered stock price.

 

AHCA stops WellCare expansion

Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration will delay pending requests by WellCare Health Plans Inc. and its affiliated companies to expand into new service areas.

 

Cigna and NY Agree on Doctor Rankings

ALBANY, N.Y. Cigna Corp. agreed to provide customers with more information about how the insurer recommends doctors, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced Monday.

 

Mexican truckers: We’ve been driving in U.S. for years

Mexico City The American truckers, environmentalists and politicians who are sounding the alarm about the potential dangers of allowing Mexican tractor-trailers onto U.S. interstate highways rarely mention an important fact: Hundreds of Mexican-plated trucks already deliver cargo all over the United States, and have done so for years.

 

Big brother eyes your car

Just hours after City Councilman Stephen Joost sat down last week for an interview about his plan to install cameras at several intersections in Jacksonville, he learned his brother was injured when the driver of the car he was riding in ran a red light.

 

Should You Buy Drugs From Your Doctor? It Depends on Several Factors

If your doctor offers to sell you the drugs you need, should you buy? There’s no single right answer. But consider this advice from experts: Weigh the cost against anticipated time savings. You’ll usually pay more to buy a drug at your doctor’s office.