Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Wednesday, February 25
Feb 25, 2009
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Bernanke Says Federal Regulators Lack Power Over Insurers
Federal regulators lack the power to deal appropriately with insurers and other non-banking institutions that get into the kind of financial trouble that can pose grave risks to the entire economy, and legislation is needed to fix this, the Federal Reserve Board chairman said.
- Testimony Given by the Honorable Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
- Monetary Policy Report to Congress
Commercial Insurance To Benefit From Stimulus Package
Workers’ compensation will likely be the principle property-casualty line to benefit most from the economic stimulus package signed into law by President Barack Obama, according to Insurance Information Institute president Robert Hartwig.
Florida Chamber Summit: Curb On Higher Rates Could Push Insurers Out of Florida
State Farm won’t be the last property insurer to pull up stakes in Florida if insurance companies aren’t allowed to charge their customers higher rates, industry experts said Tuesday.
Lawmakers Scramble to Nullify Workers’ Compensation Fee Hike
A late 2008 Florida Supreme Court ruling may have businesses reaching deeper into their pockets to cover workers’ compensation insurance.
Lawmakers to Consider Reducing Fla. Pollution
With much of this peninsular state situated at or below sea level, parts of Florida could disappear under water if global warming predictions indicating significant sea level rise come true.
CEI Names Vermont Best, Florida Worst for State Insurance Regulation
Arizona, Idaho, Utah and Vermont offer the most open and competitive regulatory environments for property insurance, according to a forthcoming state-by-state survey conducted by the libertarian Competitive Enterprise Institute.
CFO Sink’s Crackdown on Insurance Fraud Leads to Prestigious Accreditation
Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink today saw her Division of Insurance Fraud receive full accreditation from the Commission for Florida Law Enforcement Accreditation at a ceremony in Tampa.
Nebraska Trial in Florida Countrywide Insolvency Case Put on Hold
The Nebraska Supreme Court has ordered a judge to put a new trial on hold in a multimillion-dollar insurance dispute and follow the high court’s ruling from last summer.
Brevard Residents Attend Citizens Insurance Forum
About 60 Brevard County residents attended a Citizens Property Insurance Corp. forum Tuesday at Brevard County Commission chambers to question the company’s executives.
EDITORIAL: The Last Insurer Standing
It looks as though the only major property insurer committed to stay in Florida is Florida’s own Citizen’s Property Insurance Corporation.
Palmetto Students Learn About Investing, Insurance
Students from Palmetto High School recently visited the offices of Bradenton Insurance as part of Project InVest.
EDITORIAL: Corrosive Building Material–Chinese-Drywall Doubts
Who checks drywall for safety? That question seems basic, considering that Americans are surrounded by drywall, night and day, in their homes and businesses.
Broward County Wants Out of Fla. Medicaid Pilot
The largest county in Florida’s Medicaid privatization experiment wants out of the troubled program amid complaints that residents are getting shoddy medical treatment.
Palm Beach County Physical Therapist Arrested for Defrauding Medicaid Program Out of Over $100,000
Attorney General Bill McCollum announced today the arrest of a Palm Beach County man for defrauding the Florida Medicaid program out of over $100,000.
WellCare drug-plan members left reeling from last week’s federal crackdown on the Tampa company are not stuck in WellCare for the rest of 2009, after all.
Attorney General Bill McCollum today presented the Capital Chapter of the American Red Cross with a check for $40,000 from a price gouging settlement his office reached earlier this month.
Fla. Lt. Gov. Kottkamp Faces Ethics Complaint
A Pinellas County activist said Tuesday that he is filing an ethics complaint against Lt. Gov. Jeff Kottkamp over the cost to the state of flying and driving Kottkamp between his Fort Myers home and Tallahassee.
U.S. Sugar Board Enacts ‘Poison Pill’ Against Hostile Takeover
U.S. Sugar Corp.’s board of directors has taken action to protect the shareholders in the event of a hostile takeover, senior vice president Robert Coker said yesterday.
State OKs Rail Contract Despite High Bid Price
The Florida Department of Transportation decided Tuesday to award a key SunRail construction contract for $163.3 million — a number that’s higher than a bid threshold the state established but within the project budget, DOT administrators said.
Florida Unemployed Overloading System
If you think it can’t get any worse than losing your job, think again.
Tax Hike Not an Option for Florida House Republicans
Fiercely opposed to the idea of raising taxes, Republican leaders in the Florida House urged finding other ways to combat Florida’s $5 billion-plus budget deficit.
House Republicans face a billion-dollar challenge: addressing a severe budget shortfall without raising taxes.
Crist Looms Over Little-Known Crop of Democrats in Florida
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist’s now-public deliberations over whether to enter the state’s Senate race have put things completely on hold for Republicans interested in the seat.
Veteran Journalist Takes Aim at Crist’s Budget
Gary Fineout, a veteran reporter of the Florida Legislature, critiques Gov. Charlie Crist’s budget.
Crist In A Fix Over State Court Post
In the next week or so, Gov. Charlie Crist faces one of the toughest political decisions of his tenure as governor: A Supreme Court appointment that pits conservatives in his own party against a minority community Crist is courting.
Gov. Crist Talks About Saving Spring Training in Florida at Governor’s Baseball Dinner
Gov. Charlie Crist said it “breaks my heart” when he sees major-league teams leaving their longtime spring training home in Florida for Arizona and said “we will keep fighting to get more back.”
Commercial Insurance To Benefit From Stimulus Package
Workers’ compensation will likely be the principle property-casualty line to benefit most from the economic stimulus package signed into law by President Barack Obama, according to Insurance Information Institute president Robert Hartwig.
MMC To Focus On Small Agency Acquisitions
Marsh & McLennan’s focus this year will be on building its small-commercial market insurance agency business-a niche the company’s chief executive said should be highly profitable, but which he conceded the mega-brokerage failed miserably to effectively cultivate in the past.
NAIC Task Force Adopts Climate Change Survey
The National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Climate Change and Global Warming Task Force voted to adopt a mandatory “Climate Risk Disclosure Survey” that would query insurers on matters related to global warming and make their answers publicly available.
Flood Insurance Plan To Get Extension
The controversial National Flood Insurance Program would be extended in its current form until Sept. 28 under the omnibus spending bill revealed by House Democrats Monday.
John M. Huff Named Missouri Department of Insurance Director
John M. Huff has been confirmed by the Missouri Senate to become the Director of the Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration.
North Carolina Insurance Chief Warns Against Coastal Rate Freeze
Legislative efforts to freeze big insurance rate increases for coastal homeowners risk making policies less available and more costly for all state residents, North Carolina’s new insurance commissioner said.
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