Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report–Monday, November 24, 2014

Nov 24, 2014

 

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 events scheduled for today.

 

 

Daily Florida Insurance-Related News

 

Another hurricane season, minus the hurricanes

As the 2014 Hurricane Season concludes, Florida has beat the odds again, extending a hurricane-free stretch that climate experts describe as remarkable.  Sarasota Herald-Tribune’s Zac Anderson reports.

 

Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters Warns Jacksonville Residents on Potential Insurance Fraud

The Florida Association of Public Insurance Adjusters has issued a warning to those affected by a severe Jacksonville storm, cautioning them against fake insurance adjusters.

 

Orlando police target ride-sharing drivers by informing insurance companies

Officers have been ticketing Uber and Lyft drivers because the companies cannot legally operate in the city, but now they’re also going straight to the insurance companies of the drivers they ticket.  The Jerusalem Post reports via Advisen.com.

 

Trauma fees growing in Florida, across the nation at “absurd” rate

Floridians have been charged as much as $33,000 depending on where the ambulance pulls up. The fee winds up on the bill, even if the patient needs little more than first aid.  Tampa Bay Times’ Alexandra Zayas and Kris Hundley report. 

 

Read the 538 Florida redistricting emails consulting firm fought to keep secret

More than 500-pages of emails kept secret during an ongoing redistricting legal battle shed light on the behind-the-scene efforts by a handful of GOP political consultants to influence Florida’s political lines, according to documents obtained by the Scripps-Tribune Capital Bureau.  Florida Times-Union’s Matt Dixon releases the documents on the “Political Fix Florida” blog.

 

Groups ask Florida Supreme Court to throw out 2012 redistricting plan

The coalition challenging the Florida Legislature’s 2012 redistricting plan has filed its initial appeal to the state Supreme Court, Tampa Bay Times’ Kathleen McGrory reports for “The Buzz” blog.

 

Two more candidates file for northeast Florida special elections

Republican Howard Holley filed paperwork Friday for a special election in the Palm County House District 24, becoming the fifth candidate in the race to replace State Representative Travis Hutson, SaintPetersBlog.com’s Phil Ammann reports.

 

Small judicial circuit has big problem with judges in Central Florida

The 18th Judicial Circuit is small. It’s made up of Seminole and Brevard counties and has just 43 judges, about 4 percent of the state’s total, yet there’s one area where it leads the state: Judges formally charged with ethics violations, Rene Stutzman reports for the Orlando Sentinel.

 

Florida Legislature will decide whether to limit impact of environmental initiative

Even though Amendment 1 passed with 75 percent of the vote – the Legislature will get the last word.  The Miami Herald’s Mary Ellen Klas reports via “The Buzz” blog.

 

Windermere CEO gets 17 years for scam that defrauded investors

A 57-year-old CEO from Windermere was sentenced to 17 years in prison for engineering an elaborate scheme that defrauded investors out of millions, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Orlando Sentinel’s David Harris reports.

 

Bidding process for Digital Domain building to begin next week

After weeks of waiting, the bidding process for the former Digital Domain building will begin next week, city officials said.  Nicole Rodriguez reports on Scripps’ “Political Fix Florida” blog.

 

Dogfighting thrives in years since Vick case

In Florida, where dogfighting arrests are routine, there is no minimum mandatory sentence for conviction.  The state’s animal welfare law was written to protect livestock, so prison time is mandatory for the felony abuse of a horse or a cow, but not a dog, the Associated Press reports via SaintPetersBlog.com.

 

China Re to Underwrite at Lloyd’s, Syndicate to Be Managed by Catlin

China Reinsurance Corporation has received approval from Lloyd’s to transform its existing special purpose syndicate into a stand-alone syndicate that will underwrite a diversified book of business, initially focusing on reinsurance, incepting from January 1, 2015.  Turkey’s Cihan News Agency reports via Advisen.com.

 

Hawaii insurance commissioner re-elected chair of National Association of Insurance Commisioners’ West Region

Hawaii insurance commissioner Gordon Ito has been re-elected as chairman of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners’ Western Region.  Jason Ubay reports for Pacific Business News.

 

New York Insurance Association Elects 2015 Officers and Board Directors

The New York Insurance Association elected its 2015 officers and board of directors its recent annual meeting, Insurance Journal reports.

 

 

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