Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Monday, July 25
Jul 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
10:30 a.m.–Florida Insurance Guaranty Association Finance and Audit Committee meeting. To view the meeting notice, click here.
State Farm suffers setback over Wilma case in Third District Court
In case against a Miami condo association over Hurricane Wilma damages and related bad-faith claims, State Farm Insurance has suffered a legal setback.
Joan Collier’s Florida People, Places, & Products: July 2011 Round-Up
The Latin American Association of Insurance Agencies has hired Soraya Regalado as the group’s executive manager.
Brown and Brown settles suit against ex-execs who left to launch rival
Brown & Brown Inc. settled its lawsuit this week against several of its former high-ranking employees whom the company accused of using confidential trade secrets to start a competing brokerage.
Fraud investigators see spike in suspicious home kitchen fires
A pattern of suspicious kitchen fires – apparently set by homeowners trying to collect insurance money – has led state investigators and insurance companies to work together to uncover the bogus claims.
Floridians trying to save money on their home insurance premiums can guard against hurricanes at the same time.
In big hurricane, risk for some insurers
Records kept secret by Florida regulators show more than a dozen property insurers – carriers that cover almost one in three insured homes – risk financial ruin in the wake of a catastrophic hurricane.
The roof of a Leesburg business building has collapsed, weeks after a sinkhole gulped part of it.
Letter to the Editor: Owners of manufactured homes have trouble getting insured
Elizabeth Griffin, Port St. Lucie letter: I am concerned about my homeowners Insurance on my manufactured home, which I have lived in since 1984.
Experts sound off on protection against lightning’s effects
Brevard County averages more than 22,000 lightning strikes a year, each with the potential to fry air conditioners, refrigerators and other pricey appliances.
State relaxes law for school fire inspections, but Collier won’t ease up
Both the Collier County School District and Collier County fire departments agree – students and staff members are safe from any imminent fire threat in Collier schools.
All Floridians have been experiencing one of the most severe droughts in recent memory.
Statewide, the extremely dry conditions have contributed to wildfires, environmental stress, crop loss and the tragic loss of life and property.
Florida bicyclists object to plan that would stop funding sidewalks and bike lanes
Ken Bryan remembers a time when senior citizens rode bikes along U.S. 17 in Clay County.
Red-light cameras aren’t the bonanza cities expected
The defendants stood before the hearing officer, traffic citations in hand, each accused of running a red light in Miami Gardens, as captured by one of the city’s 29 intersection cameras.
Blog: After Losing In Florida, R.J. Reynolds Has Limited Options On Tobacco Cases
The Florida Supreme Court yesterday upheld a $28 million verdict against R.J. Reynolds, affirming the first of thousands of cases that will be tried following the dismantling of a statewide class action.
Opposition mounts to Florida’s plan for managed-care for Medicaid patients
Federal officials are receiving plenty of opposition to Florida’s plan to move 3 million Medicaid patients into managed-care plans, but Collier Health Services has a different perspective.
Judge weighs in on Citrus Memorial Health System debate
A Leon County judge released reasons Friday for withholding a special law designed to settle a long-term governance dispute at Citrus Memorial Health System.
Legal battle pits part of medical profession against gun-rights advocates
Four years ago, an experienced gun owner in Pembroke Pines named Reynaldo Gonzalez made an exception he will forever regret.
Florida delegation also digs in on budget talks
Digging in their heels like the rest of Congress, Republicans and Democrats from Florida show little willingness to compromise on tax hikes or benefit cutbacks as the federal government drifts toward a potentially disastrous default.
Blog: Florida’s unemployment rate stays unchanged
The state’s jobless rate stayed at 10.6 percent for the month of June.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to force Florida to clean up its ailing streams, lakes and coastal estuaries has triggered fierce backlash, and the biggest controversy is over how much it would cost to implement new pollution limits.
U.S. Senate approves funding for Florida carrier base
The Senate has approved $235 million in construction spending for Florida military bases.
Regulators shut 2 banks in Florida, 1 in Colorado
Regulators on Friday shut down two small banks in Florida and one in Colorado, bringing to 58 the number of U.S. bank failures this year, well behind last year’s pace.
Florida Governor Rick Scott Talking Up Benefits of Deal with Panama, Colombia
Governor Rick Scott says Florida would benefit more than any other state from proposed free-trade agreements with Panama and Colombia.
U.S. Representative Corrine Brown’s District Holds Key to New Congressional Maps
The pitched battle over congressional map-making in Florida could begin and end in U.S. Representative Corrine Brown’s district.
In 2012 election, expect more attack ads with rise of Super Political Action Committees
Hard-hitting political ads against President Barack Obama, U.S. Senator Bill Nelson and U.S. Representative Allen West are popping up across Florida in a scramble to define the message of the 2012 elections, still 16 months away.
Most of the she-said, he-said, back-and-forth between South Florida Representatives Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Allen West has been good for political theater but bad for fact checkers.
Column: Tallahassee, the Litigation Capital
The state capital has become a lollapalooza of litigation.
Charter schools get $55 million for upkeep, other schools get zero
Traditional public schools in Florida will get no money from the state this year for additions or needed repairs to thousands of aging buildings, but charter schools will score big.
Former Miami state Senator faces arrest over dogs in divorce dispute
Former Miami state Senator Alex Diaz de la Portilla is now a wanted man in Florida because he failed to obey a judge’s order that he turn over a Weimaraner dog to his ex-wife in a messy divorce case.
Louisiana Citizens prepares to shift more insurance clients to private firms
Citizens Property Insurance Corp. officials said Friday they are looking to shift more homeowners policies from the state-run company to the private market, where three insurers have expressed interest.
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