Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Friday, July 22
Jul 22, 2011
To go directly to the section of your choice, click on a hyperlink below. Other hyperlinks to meeting information, bills and news are noted in bold type.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related Events
There are no insurance-related events scheduled for today.
Blog: Florida insurance regulators hear merits of proposed medical-malpractice buyout
Regulators dug Thursday into the proposed sale of Florida’s largest medical-malpractice insurer, with supporters saying the deal won’t threaten competition in the market.
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: Westscott brings experience to insurance advocate position
Cracking down on automobile insurance fraud and strengthening the property insurance market will help consumers in the long run and be at the top of her priority list, the state’s newest insurance consumer advocate said Thursday.
Wall Street Journal: Florida Bolsters Hurricane Coffers
Just in time for the worst of hurricane season, Florida’s state-run property insurer fattened its financial cushion with one of the nation’s biggest municipal-bond offerings so far this year.
1st Quarter 2011 Review of Florida Property Writers Released by Demotech, Inc.
As a recognized industry leader providing Financial Stability Ratings for the Property & Casualty insurance industry, Demotech, Inc. has released the Florida Quarterly Review – 1st Quarter 2011 at the request of reinsurance brokers, regulators, agents, consumers, lenders and the Florida domiciled property writers themselves.
Massive Lake County Sinkhole Continues To Swallow Building
A large sinkhole has been swallowing downtown Leesburg and many neighbors said they are concerned.
New fire station opens near Palencia
Summary: St. Johns County Fire Station 15 has opened, which should mean better response times and lower insurance rates in the U.S. 1 North corridor.
Florida reportedly sells drivers’ information for $63 million
Florida drivers are helping the Sunshine State rake in millions and might not even know about it, a Miami television station reports.
Hospital commission confused over which facilities should be examined
Governor Rick Scott called for a review of government operated or taxpayer funded hospitals around the state.
Health plan a huge problem for Jackson Health System
The JMH Health Plan, the insurance wing of the Jackson Health System, has become a huge money-loser that must be fixed quickly, board members were told Thursday.
Controversial Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Introduced to Florida
Bureau began Thursday to ‘take over enforcement of all major consumer laws’
Representatives from the Consumer Federation of the Southeast and Florida Public Interest Research Group announced Thursday in Tallahassee the creation of a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to stand up for the American people and hold Wall Street accountable for its actions.
Governor Rick Scott’s office tweaks public-records cost structure
Governor Rick Scott’s office has tweaked its public-records cost structure, a move that in practice should reduce the charges for documents.
Blog: Redistricting meetings move to I-4 corridor next week
Lawmakers next week take the discussion of how to redesign the states political map to one of the areas most in need of updating to account for demographic change and the area probably most closely watched because of its current political competitiveness.
Blog: Former Florida House Speaker Allan Bense considering entering U.S. Senate race
Former Florida House Speaker Allan Bense is considering entering the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, after numerous “very high-profile” Republicans urged him to in the wake of Mike Haridopolos quitting the race.
Economists skip summer estimate for state revenue
State economists are skipping their summer estimate of Florida’s general revenue.
New Florida study tracks ex-felons after they won back voting rights
The Florida Parole Commission says that roughly 11 percent of ex-felons who had their civil rights restored wound up back in prison or under state supervision.
Florida Attorney General’s office fires back at its former foreclosure investigators
The Florida Attorney general’s office released a cutting statement Thursday criticizing the work of two former state foreclosure fraud investigators after a week of national attention paid to the duo’s forced resignations.
Dean or Interim Dean at Florida State University since 1991, Donald Weidner has been a successful fundraiser and skilled navigator of Florida’s choppy political waters, at the same time presiding over some of the best faculty.
New Surplus Lines Law In Effect Today
The implementation deadline for the Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act has arrived.
- As Surplus-Lines Law Takes Effect, States Still Unprepared
- Nevada Joins Multistate Insurance Tax Sharing Plan
Texas Governor Signs Windstorm Bill, Measure Affecting Surplus Lines
Legislative measures passed during the special session of the 82nd Legislature that impact the insurance industry in Texas have been signed by the governor.
Former South Carolina Insurance Director to Lead Texas Insurance Office
Eleanor Kitzman, a former director of the South Carolina Department of Insurance, has been appointed insurance commissioner in Texas.
Texas Residual Markets Settle Claim Disputes
The Texas Department of Insurance ended a claims dispute with the state’s residual insurers, agreeing to settle claims with interest payments for more than 700 customers.
Audit: Louisiana Home Elevation Program Improperly Monitored
A $750 million Louisiana hurricane recovery program that doles out money for home elevations is being criticized for ineffective management and monitoring by the state agencies that oversee it.
U.K. regulator levies record fine against Willis for lax anti-bribery controls
The Financial Services Authority has fined Willis Ltd. nearly £6.9 million ($11.1 million) for failings in its anti-bribery and anti-corruption systems and controls, the financial regulator said Thursday.
National Center for Policy Analysis: 2011 Property and Casualty Insurance Report Card
In this report by the Heartland Institute, researchers ask two basic questions about property and casualty insurance products: How free are consumers to choose the property and casualty insurance products they want?
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