Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Wednesday, Nov. 7

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Nelson offers national disaster bill

Sen. Bill Nelson has introduced a bill that would create a national catastrophe fund.

 

Catastrophe fund bill’s progress

The House is expected to vote on a bill sponsored by Reps. Tim Mahoney, D-Palm Beach Gardens, and Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton, to create a national catastrophe insurance fund to cover massive losses from natural disaster.

 

GOP’s Chaney Takes Miss. Commissioner Tilt

Republican candidate Mike Chaney has won a hotly contested election for the post of Mississippi insurance commissioner, defeating Democrat Gary Anderson, according to unofficial results.

 

Catastrophe fund grabs spotlight after fires

The massive wildfires in Southern California have raised the profile of legislation that would create a national catastrophe fund and potentially curb soaring insurance rates for homeowners in states hit regularly by natural disasters.

 

4-way House race is no contest (with results)

Lake Mary developer Chris Dorworth cruised to an easy victory Tuesday in the race for state House District 34.

 

TRIA Cost Assessed By Budget Office

WASHINGTON—The Congressional Budget Office estimated this week that the Senate version of legislation designed to extend the federal backstop on terrorism risk insurance would cost an estimated one-third less than companion House legislation.

 

Our view on flood control: Despite Katrina, business as usual on water projects

Suppose you need a new car. You want to spend $14,000. Your spouse argues for $15,000. Then you go to the showroom and you compromise – by driving away in a $23,000 vehicle.

 

New advocate for helping disabled in disaster

Coordination between disability advocates and the state’s emergency management agency has been a hit-and-miss affair for years, with a lack of awareness and communication hampering efforts and splintering resources.

 

Your views: Castles made of sand

Live along beach at your own risk.  A recent headline read, ‘Shorelines take a major hit, Tropical storm not the only cause of erosion.’ Indisputably, the beaches were doing just fine before anyone built anything near them.

 

District: Drought likely to worsen

South Florida’s drought is expected to worsen over the next few months, meaning the area’s holiday present this year may be a return to severe water restrictions.

 

State Farm Causation Language Upheld By 5th Circuit

A federal appeals court panel in New Orleans rejected a lower court’s ruling yesterday that permitted a Mississippi couple to pursue a hurricane damage claim even when policy-excluded flood damage was involved.

 

Jury gets case in insurance trial over Katrina damage

Jurors began deliberating Wednesday in the first federal trial in Louisiana against State Farm Insurance Cos. for a couple’s lawsuit over Hurricane Katrina damage.

 

Court backs State Farm in Katrina claim denials

A federal appeals court today upheld policy language that a major insurer has used to deny hundreds of policyholders’ claims on the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina.

 

New shutter regulations not an open-and-shut issue

Question: I live in a 144-unit condominium complex. About 25 of us had board-approved white hurricane shutters installed prior to December 2006 when there were no rules in regard to closing and opening them.

 

PCI Insurers Urge State Regulators to Drop Securities Rating Assessment

The Property Casualty Insurers Association of America (PCI) is urging the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to eliminate the annual $1.58 million Securities Valuation Office (SVO) industry assessment.

 

Governor Crist Cancels Meeting With Petrobras
 
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Governor Charlie Crist today did not meet with Petrobras as previously scheduled due to their business dealings with Iran.

 

As co-payments rise, so do tempers

Think you are being ripped off by your medical insurance company? Why can Wal-Mart or Target sell a generic drug for $4, yet your prescription co-payment is $10 or $15?

 

Insurers Trounced In Wash. Bad Faith Referendum

Despite heavy spending by insurance interests, Washington State voters yesterday approved a measure by a 14 percentage point margin that eases requirements for filing bad faith actions against carriers.

 

Fires during surgery a bigger risk than thought, data show

During gallbladder surgery at North Shore Medical Center four years ago, Antoinette DiPhillipo became a victim of a little-known medical hazard: A flash fire ignited on her midsection.

 

Cop killer Wilk must pay more than $4.35 million in restitution

Kenneth Wilk must pay more than $4.35 million in restitution for the murder of Broward Sheriff’s Deputy Todd Fatta and the attempted murder of Lt. Angelo Cedeo, a federal judge ordered Tuesday.

 

Bean announces for King’s district

TALLAHASSEE – Fernandina Beach lawmaker Aaron Bean has officially kicked off the race for one of the most prized legislative seats in Northeast Florida – Jim King’s Senate District 8, which runs through prime coastal communities from the Georgia line to Daytona International Speedway.

 

State-by-state lookahead: What’s at stake in 2008

The GOP is expected to easily hold the Senate seat of Idaho’s Larry Craig, who is retiring after pleading guilty in an airport sex sting.

 

Waiting to be judged, Rep. Bob Allen watches slow selection

A Brevard County judge found it difficult Monday to find impartial jurors to try state Rep. Bob Allen on charges that he offered to perform oral sex on an undercover officer in a public bathroom for $20.

 

Firms Adjusting To Sarbanes-Oxley, Survey Finds

A growing number of firms have completed the transition to life under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the federal law governing financial disclosures and accounting, according to a survey released yesterday.