Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Monday, April 25
Apr 25, 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
Florida’s 2011 Regular Legislative Session
- Click here for today’s Senate block calendar
- Click here for today’s House of Representatives block calendar
9:45 a.m.–Senate Committee on Judiciary
- CS/SB 1930 relating to Motor Vehicle Personal Injury Protection Insurance by the Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance; Senator Ellyn Bogdanoff
- CS/SB 1694 relating to Motor Vehicle Personal Injury Protection Insurance by the Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance; Senator Garrett Richter
11:45 a.m.–House Health and Human Services Committee
- CS/CS/HB 967 relating to Personal Injury Protection Insurance by House Civil Justice Subcommittee; House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee; State Representative Mike Horner
- CS/HB 1411 relating to Motor Vehicle Personal Injury Protection Insurance by House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee; State Representative Boyd
1:15 p.m.–Senate Committee on Budget
- CS/CS/SB 1816 relating to Surplus Lines by the Senate Budget Subcommittee on Finance and Tax; Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance; Senator Mike Fasano
- CS/CS/SB 178 relating to Commercial Insurance Rates by the Senate Committees on Commerce and Tourism, Banking and Insurance; Senator Steve Oelrich
- SB 1330 relating to Residential Property Insurance by Senator Alan Hays
- CS/SB 1714 relating to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation by the Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance; Senator Alan Hays
- CS/SB 1590 relating to Medical Malpractice Actions by the Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance; Senator Alan Hays
- CS/SB 858 relating to Agriculture by Senate Committee on Agriculture; Senator Alan Hays
The long-running fight about attorneys’ fees in workers-compensation cases could head back to the Florida Supreme Court — after legal fees in a Port Charlotte case amounted to $6.84 an hour.
Blog: Florida Governor Rick Scott’s secret plan to blow up Citizens Property Insurance
Governor Rick Scott has secretly pushed to kill Citizens Property Insurance before his first term ends, a goal that alarmed even representatives of private insurance companies seeking to remove Citizens as a competitor, the Herald-Tribune has learned.
Wake up and good morning. Once again, the message from our own legislators and the property insurance industry is smoke and mirrors. Here’s our freshman governor Rick Scott secretly pushing to kill Citizens Property Insurance before his first term ends and to let insurance rates soar in Florida — all in the name of free market competition.
Saying he wants to hear from Governor Rick Scott’s office and industry lobbyists, a state senator is trying to delay a committee vote today on a bill that would dramatically increase state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. rates while dropping some customers.
Legislature to take up insurance overhaul bills
When lawmakers return to Tallahassee next week, they’ll resume work on a six-pack of bills that would overhaul property Insurance for Florida consumers, particularly the 24,000 Keys residents and business owners who are among 1.3 million statewide covered by Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
Floodplain variance back in FEMA’s court
Now that the Monroe County Commission has decided against rescinding a variance that allows a paraplegic man to live in a downstairs apartment below the floodplain, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is trying to figure out its next move.
Miramar will pay to replace Wilma-damaged police headquarters
The city has given up a 5-year fight with FEMA and Insurance companies over who should pay to replace the old storm-damaged police headquarters, an official said this week. Miramar will pay, said Assistant Chief of Police Ray Black.
Opinion: Gathering storm — Reform needed in insurance law
You may have read about Florida’s property Insurance troubles and wondered where to turn for stability.
Manatee Homeowners say river is getting too close for comfort
Living close to the river can have a steep price if the river decides it wants to live closer to you. It’s a lesson one Lakewood Ranch woman is learning.
Citizens’ methods of calculating rebuilding costs raise some premiums
Citizens Property Insurance is calculating the costs of rebuilding homes in a new way, and it’s driving up some policyholders’ premiums.
Hear that ticking sound? It’s the clock running out on Florida’s luck.
Citizens grows into strongest insurer in Florida
You’ve probably heard that Citizens Property Insurance Co., with 32,000 policyholders in Brevard County, teeters on the brink of financial collapse.
Florida, other states reach insurance agreement with John Hancock
Nearly two dozen states have reached an agreement with John Hancock Life Insurance Co. to settle a dispute over how the Boston insurer pays life insurance policies and annuities.
Personal Injury Protection bills veil insurance industry’s true intentions
Special-interest groups funded by the powerful insurance industry and so-called “consumer groups” are part of the insurance industry’s public relations engine, which is using the seemingly admirable mantra of reducing PIP fraud to disguise their real intentions of making it easier to delay or deny payments on legitimate PIP claims.
Joan Collier’s Florida Insurance People, Places, & Products – April 2011 Round-Up
Read fresh information and recaps of this month’s news about Florida’s people, places, and products.
Complaints mount in wake of Florida agent’s arrest
Last week, the Florida Department of Financial Services shuttered Goodnight Insurance on U.S. 41 in Nokomis after receiving 15 complaints alleging owner Debra Kay Wanless took thousands of dollars from elderly residents for homeowners insurance but failed to provide valid policies.
Florida budget negotiations begin in earnest
Budget negotiations between the House and Senate kick off this week, initiating what can be a contentious process.
Florida Governor Scott confident Florida legislature to phase out corporate income tax
Governor Rick Scott expressed confidence Friday that “the most fiscally conservative Legislature in history” will start phasing out Florida’s 5.5-percent corporate income tax.
With presidential election looming, Florida election law rewrite moves forward
With a fast-approaching presidential election expected to bring more than 8.5 million Floridians to the polls, the Legislature is battling over sweeping changes to nearly every aspect of state election law.
Legislature’s deregulation bill sparks outcry
They targeted ballroom dance instructors who preyed on lonely widows, a car repair industry that topped the state’s consumer complaint list and sketchy movers holding possessions hostage for higher fees.
Cliff Stearns, Governor Rick Scott Turn Up Heat on Environmental Protection Agency
Stearns wants agency to defend its standards, Scott wants it out altogether
Florida continues to pile grief on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over the standards it set for the Sunshine State to comply with the federal Clean Water Act.
Bill that sidesteps federal water standards clears House
HB 239 is a response to numeric nutrient criteria adopted in December by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Representative Matt Gaetz sharply criticizes a group from Okaloosa County that showed up to oppose a bill that would restrict access to pretrial release programs.
Big renewable energy bill edges closer to death in House
A bill that would have allowed utilities to recover $375 million for renewable energy projects faces scattered opposition after being left off the agenda for the House State Affairs Committee’s final meeting.
Sprawl, regulations, and corruption cited in partisan vote over growth management
Democrats said HB 7129 would undo 25 years of growth management, returning Florida to the days of urban sprawl.
Streamlined permitting bill now would block local regulation of rock mines
Environmentalist describes strike-all amendment as a “sneak attack.”
While Florida seeks jobs, jobs, jobs, Orlando company plans 1,200 new ones in North Carolina
While Florida’s economic mantra continues to be jobs, jobs, jobs, an Orlando company announced it was adding 1,200 jobs – in North Carolina.
Florida wage growth at lowest level since the Great Depression
Growth of wages in Florida, where pay already lags the nation, has nearly ground to a halt, reaching its lowest level since the Great Depression, according to the state Agency for Workforce Innovation.
Column: Get ready for start of redistricting war
Redistricting battle lines are already forming a week into the yearlong job of redrawing Florida’s legislative and congressional maps.
Florida ranks last in nation in providing dental care for poor kids
Across Florida, schoolchildren, single moms, janitors, busboys and thousands of others go about their daily lives with missing teeth, untreated toothaches and worsening tooth decay.
House Committee To Mark Up Flood Bill; Study Shows Inadequate National Flood Insurance Program Rates
The House Financial Services Committee plans to mark up legislation reauthorizing and reforming the National Flood Program May 12, according to industry officials.
New York workers compensation board assessments on healthy trusts upheld
A state appellate court has upheld the New York State Workers’ Compensation Board’s authority to assess financially healthy group self-insured trusts to pay for the liabilities of defaulted groups.
California takes over workers compensation insurer
California has taken over workers compensation insurer Majestic Insurance Co., Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones announced.
Your April 12 editorial “Systemically Confused” rightly points out that Washington’s efforts to define “systemic risk” in the context of the Dodd-Frank Act have left many scratching their heads. You can count the insurance industry among the confused.
Letter to the Editor: Louisiana Governor can’t just do whatever he wants
Governor Jindal continues to display an autocratic method of leadership. Three of the most obvious examples of his penchant to pursue an individual agenda while paying lip service to a democratic approach are:
Top 10 U.S. Excess/Surplus Insurers
Top 10 U.S. Excess, Surplus Insurers of 2010 by Market Share
A Fight Over How Drugs Are Pitched
Before pharmaceutical company marketers call on a doctor, they do their homework. These salespeople typically pore over electronic profiles bought from data brokers, dossiers that detail the brands and amounts of drugs a particular doctor has prescribed.
Insurer Pushes to Weaken License Test
Primerica Inc., which has the country’s largest life-insurance sales force, had another strong recruiting year in 2010: About 230,000 people signed up to become agents.
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