Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Wednesday, January 7
Jan 7, 2009
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Citizens should hike insurance rates, task force says
Citizens Property Insurance should be allowed to end its three-year rate freeze and start aggressively hiking homeowner insurance rates as soon as next January, a state task force recommends.
Panel: Gradual rate hikes for Citizens insurance
A task force’s initial recommendations to shrinking state-run insurer Citizens include not extending its rate freeze beyond this year.
The FCCI Insurance Group has bought Mississippi Insurance Managers and the remaining 20 percent stake in Brierfield Insurance Co., a property and casualty insurer in Jackson, Miss. FCCI has owned 80 percent of Brierfield, with $30 million in annual premiums, since it opened in 1999. The purchase was part of FCCI’s long-term strategic goals, said president/CEO G.W. Jacobs.
OIR Releases 2008 Workers’ Compensation Annual Report
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (“OIR”) released the 2008 Workers’ Compensation Annual Report on the state of the workers’ compensation insurance market today, January 7, 2009.
Florida’s low-cost insurance program opens with some snags
People wanted cheap insurance through Cover Florida Health Care, but had a hard time finding it the first days of the state’s low-cost insurance program.
Pharmed ex-owners face prison in $5 million fraud
Carlos and Jorge de Céspedes may face seven to nine years in prison if the judge follows recommended guidelines.
Comparing the former owners of Pharmed with the story of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, U.S. District Judge Patricia Seitz concluded Tuesday that guidelines indicate Carlos and Jorge de Céspedes should face seven to nine years in prison.
Rise in prescription drug deaths renews call for state registry
Fatal prescription drug overdoses in Florida jumped more than 20 percent last year. More than 3,000 cases were reported – painkiller addicts, kids stealing Valium from their parents’ medicine cabinets, alcoholics who mix booze with Xanax.
Proposal puts pinch on speeding drivers
Seeking to dilute budget cuts to state courts, state attorneys and public defenders, state lawmakers rolled forward Tuesday with a plan to make speeders and other traffic law violators pay more when they get caught.
Good Morning America: ‘GMA’ Helps 7-Eleven Florida Family Get Life Insurance After 9-Month Battle
Federal Law Shields Insurers and Third-Party Administrators From Punitive Damages Lawsuits
Buying life insurance through an employer seems easy enough. About one-third of Americans get their life insurance that way or through a group policy. But what if tragedy strikes and grieving families can’t get the benefits their loved ones paid for?
Fla. Republicans sticking with no-taxes approach
Budget deficit reduction is taking on a partisan tone in the Florida Legislature.
Legislators are making deeper spending cuts than he wants and he’s not worried about dipping too deeply into Florida’s reserves or sweeping uncommitted cash from trust funds, Gov. Charlie Crist said today.
Without Jeb Bush, Senate race in Florida is wide open
Former Gov. Jeb Bush is taking a pass on Florida’s up-for-grabs U.S. Senate seat in 2010, dashing the hopes of Republicans thirsting for a heavyweight champion and setting the stage for fiercely competitive primaries in both parties.
The Florida House gets 35 new members. All seven new senators served in the House. Here’s a roundup.
Thanks to term limits, there are plenty of fresh faces in Tallahassee this year. The seven new state senators are all veterans of the Florida House of Representatives, but Florida voters elected 35 new lawmakers to the lower chamber.
Florida’s social services could face steep cuts
Advocates say proposed $70M cut will harm health care
For the 79,000 Floridians confined to nursing homes, life is going to get worse, according to advocates who warned Tuesday that the Legislature is going too far in its rush to close a $2.3 billion budget gap.
Lawmakers hear tourism warning
State budget cuts could cripple Florida’s tourism marketing arm, supporters warned Tuesday as lawmakers scrutinized the operations of Visit Florida.
Florida proposes $10-million loan program to help small businesses
Florida Gov. Charlie Crist on Tuesday launched a new economic stimulus plan for small businesses, geared to give companies resources and incentives to expand and create new jobs despite the economic downturn.
Florida House shows support for Israel
Led by South Florida Jewish legislators, the Florida House passed a resolution Monday expressing “solidarity” with Israel and its campaign against the Palestinian group Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Florida Gaming agrees to $16.7 M land swap/purchase with county
Florida Gaming Corp., parent of Miami Jai-Alai, has agreed to acquire nearly 11 acres from Miami-Dade County in a land swap and purchase worth $16.7 million.
Sugar grower challenges state land deal
A rival sugar grower has filed a second legal challenge to the state’s $1.34 billion land deal with the U.S. Sugar Corp.
Florida Trend talked with Jacksonville Mayor John Peyton in November about why and how Jacksonville is bucking the economic downturn.
In recent months, international firms Pilot Pen, Deutsche Bank and Alenia have all announced major expansions there. The city’s wages remain higher than the statewide average, at $884 a week compared to $777. The unemployment rate is 6.6% compared to the statewide average of 6.8%. Economists say Jaxport is one of a few experiencing real growth at this time, thanks to exports.
Get out of jail free? Close enough
Bondsmen make it less expensive to post bail
Bail bond agents are increasingly helping cash-strapped defendants get out of jail with ultra-cheap financing deals, a practice that worries law enforcement officials and insurers, and could endanger public safety.
Louisiana Policyholders To Get Insurer Grant Fund Cash
Louisiana homeowners who have paid an insurance premium over the previous 12 months are in line to receive payments from unused grant fund monies designed to entice private carriers to write property insurance in the state, officials said.
Katrina Settlement Notification Begins
A notification program about a proposed partial settlement began on Jan. 5 as ordered by Judge Stanwood R. Duval, Jr., in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana to alert those affected by flooding due to any failures or overtopping of levees that occurred within the Parishes of Jefferson, Orleans, Plaquemines and St. Bernard, Louisiana resulting from Hurricane Katrina and/or Hurricane Rita.
Insurance on coast faces audits
Efforts are under way to uncover and uproot problems in the coastal home insurance markets in the Carolinas.
COMMENTARY: North Carolina Commissioner’s in Select Company
It’s a select community. Only 11 state insurance commissioners across the country are elected rather than appointed. Wayne Goodwin is now one of the 11. He won the Nov. 4 election to succeed Jim Long, who first won the job in 1984 and stayed 24 years.
Crop Insurers Expect Congress May Ramp Up Oversight
Insurers participating in crop insurance, who have half their costs paid by taxpayers, are concerned they may face increased congressional scrutiny this year including possible hearings regarding their rates and agent commissions.
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