Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Wednesday, June 11

 

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Hundreds of ex-Poe policyholders sue state

Nearly 600 lawsuits were filed in South Florida against the state agency that’s handling claims for the three defunct Poe Financial insurance companies in order to beat a June 2 deadline.

Insurance rates rise to pay off 2005 hurricane claims

Floridians will pay an extra $1 per $100 of insurance premiums for an additional two years — until 2015 — under a plan approved Tuesday by Gov. Charlie Crist and the Cabinet to pay off claims from 2005 hurricanes.

Insurance Bills Take Another Storm Hit

The bills for the wicked hurricane seasons of 2004 and 2005 are still coming in, and Floridians with insurance policies covering everything from autos to boats to homes will have to dig deeper to cover the tab.

EDITORIAL: Let Citizens keep money

Given the new forecasts for what a bad hurricane season could cost, Floridians more than ever should wish for a quiet summer and fall.

Fair weather best for insurance cost

The Southern expression “the good Lord willing and the creek don’t rise” is an apt one for Florida’s insurance picture as the state heads into yet another hurricane season.

OPINION: Who Could Be Loyal To An Insurance Company?

Recently, I received a statement that forewarned me the yearly premium on my homeowner insurance policy would become due in July.

OPINION: Life in Bonita: Some things in life are free

Florida has entered the 2008 storm season. Both the wind and insurance rates are usually on everybody’s mind.

FEMA wary of freezer burn

Criticized by a congressman, a watchdog group and leaders on the Gulf Coast for a policy of not delivering ice to the general public after a hurricane, a FEMA official on Tuesday explained the agency’s policies.

Driving less may save on auto rates

With the economy turning down and gas prices zooming up, some drivers choose to spend a lot less time behind the wheel.

Medicare discovers free market, baffles beneficiaries

Ruth Kleiner of Delray Beach, who has emphysema, got a letter the other day from the company that delivers her portable oxygen tanks. She read it three times, but still wasn’t sure what to make of it.

Crist won’t veto Jackson Memorial Hospital money

Gov. Charlie Crist said he’ll use his veto pen sparingly, promising not to cut money for water and road projects or for Jackson Memorial Hospital.

A year after he chopped a record $459 million from the state budget, Gov. Charlie Crist said Tuesday that he wouldn’t try a repeat because legislators already trimmed billions in state money and deeper cuts could be harmful to the already teetering economy.

State Attorney General undergoes heart surgery

Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum underwent brief, successful surgery this morning to clear a blocked coronary artery.

Ex-legislator seeks spot on state Supreme Court

Dudley Goodlette had a successful career in the Florida Legislature. His latest assignment was giving legal advice to the Taxation and Budget Reform Commission.

Bailey to withdraw from state House District 81 race due to business obligations

Robert E. Bailey, running as an independent, will withdraw from the state House District 81 race, saying overseas business would keep him out of the country during most of the campaign.

U.S. Rep. Wexler calling for impeachment of President Bush

Calling it “a sworn duty” of Congress to act, U.S. Rep. Robert Wexler signed on Tuesday to Articles of Impeachment for President Bush.

Civil lawsuit stirs up Buchanan brouhaha

A civil lawsuit naming an auto dealership owned by U.S. Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Sarasota, has turned into a political brouhaha months before the freshman congressman faces re-election in November.

Optical-scan voting nears South Florida debut

After the 2000 debacle proved that punch cards were too old, and voter skepticism showed that touch screens were too new, South Florida election officials are looking for their new optical-scan systems to be like that fabled third bowl of porridge: just right.

Crist vows to veto destructive sea-grass bill

Environmental groups were breathing easier and at least one lawmaker was miffed after Gov. Charlie Crist said Tuesday that he will veto a bill that critics warn would devastate the sea grasses that are the lifeblood of the marine habitat.

Panel eyes energy alternatives in Florida

Amid rising costs, businesses aim to improve fuel efficiency in Florida.

Rising energy costs are rapidly pushing the green movement into the mainstream as businesses as large as Wal-Mart and as small as neighborhood laundries become serious about cutting waste.

Witnesses Mull Insurance Office Bill

State insurance regulators today said that they could accept a bill that would establish a federal Office of Insurance Information, while state lawmakers talked about the role state regulators would play at the OII.

EU Plan to Shake up Insurance Industry

The European Commission has proposed shaking up how the European Union’s insurance sector covers risk.

Analyzing the Innocent Co-Insured Exception to Intentional Acts in Community Property States

There are three theories that dominate the issue of whether an innocent co-insured should be entitled to recover under a fire insurance policy for the acts of a wrongdoing co-insured: the “old rule,” the “rebuttable presumption rule,” and the “modern rule.”

N.Y. Grapples With Rules For Self-Insured Comp Groups

Negotiations to craft legislation that deals with a series of defaults by New York employer groups that self-insure for workers’ compensation claims are underway at the state capitol in Albany, with a deadline for action approaching rapidly.