Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Wednesday, Dec. 19

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Insurers may face class-action lawsuit

Railing against the failure of the insurance industry to pass on savings to Floridians after the state took on more of the risk, Gov. Charlie Crist has appointed three high-powered lawyers to file a class-action lawsuit against the industry on behalf of state residents.

 

Crist strikes against insurers

Gov. Charlie Crist is moving forward with a threat to sue property insurers in Florida by asking three trial lawyers to begin exploring a lawsuit, he said Tuesday.

 

Crist studying possibility of suing property insurers over rates

Gov. Charlie Crist has asked three trial lawyers to build a case for a possible class-action lawsuit against property insurers, alleging that the industry hasn’t passed on savings to consumers as required by a new Florida law.

 

Governor taps attorneys to review firms’ compliance with insurance law

Gov. Charlie Crist has asked three prominent trial lawyers to review the insurance industry’s compliance with an 11-month-old law intended to cut homeowners’ rates, and recommend whether or not to sue the insurers.

 
Sink says bad debt dumped on state

It was the first day of November, and Coleman Stipanovich’s world was coming undone. Florida school districts and towns had begun pulling their cash out of the $26-billion money market fund he supervised after they learned it held subprime-tainted debt.

 

State Looks to Change Insurance Competition

A rule change that would lift a competitive disadvantage faced by foreign companies selling backup coverage to property insurers received preliminary approval Tuesday from Gov. Charlie Crist and the state Cabinet.

 

State investment chief considers privatizing investment pool

As an audit committee attempts to unravel how Florida became so heavily invested in subprime-tainted securities, the state’s new investment chief is considering leaving such future decisions to professionals.

 

Bush Gets Terrorism Insurance Extension Bill to Sign

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an extension to the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act (TRIA) by a vote of 360 to 53 in a form closer to what the Bush Administration and the Senate would support than to an original House measure.

 

Judge bars Florida from enforcing law on voter registration

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily halted state officials from enforcing a law that has allegedly kept 14,000 Floridians from registering to vote.

 

Utility now a friend of Crist

As he ran for governorlast year, Charlie Cristcollected nearly $20-million from donors. But when Florida Power & Light Co. offered a huge check, Crist said get lost.

 
S.C. Joins CFCI Against IRS Captive Tax Plan

The South Carolina Department of Insurance announced it has joined the Coalition for Fairness to Captive Insurers (CFCI) to help stop a proposed regulation by the Internal Revenue Service it says could harm the captive industry.

 

S.C. Proposes Standards For Captive Managers

South Carolina officials said they will propose standards for managers of captive insurance operations in the state including specific requirements for character, reputation, financial responsibility and insurance experience. 

 

Insurers think Toyota ad campaign incites fraud

State and national insurance officials say a ad campaign is encouraging viewers to commit fraud.

 

Anti-fraud campaign has local ties

Cheating Medicare made some Florida con artists rich. Now it could leave them broke or in prison. 

 
 
Insurers Seek Bigger Reach in Coverage

Acknowledging that too many people simply cannot obtain health insurance on their own, the insurance industry plans on Wednesday to propose a series of steps the companies say would let more individuals, even those who have health problems, obtain coverage.