Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Thursday, March 14
Mar 14, 2013
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 2013 Regular Legislative Session
- Click here for today’s Senate block calendar
- Click here for today’s House of Representatives block calendar
8:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.–Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance meeting, Room 110 Senate Office Building, Tallahassee. To view the agenda, click here. The following insurance-related bills will be considered:
- SB 810 by Senator David Simmons relating to Wrap-up Insurance Policies
- SB 1262 by Senator Alan Hays relating to Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund
- SB 706 by Senator Bill Montford relating to Uninsured Motorist Insurance Coverage
- SB 102 by Senator Nancy Detert relating to Charitable Contributions
- SB 378 by Senator Aaron Bean relating to Manufactured and Mobile Homes
- SB 398 by Senator Aaron Bean relating to Physician Assistants
- SB 918 by Senator Rene Garcia relating to Public Depositories
- SB 936 by Senator Tom Lee relating to Holocaust Victims Assistance Act
- SB 422 by Senator Lizbeth Benacquisto relating to Cancer Treatment
1:30 p.m.–Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Rule Development Workshop. The current version of Rule 69O-186.013, “Title Insurance Statistical Gathering,” implements s. 627.782, F.S. by listing the types of information that shall be submitted to the OIR by title insurance agencies and insurers for the purpose of analyzing premium and retention rates, and the condition of the title insurance industry. Proposed amendments would replace it with new language that adopts Form OIR-EO-2087. To view the Workshop notice, click here.
2:00 p.m.–Florida Workers’ Compensation Insurance Guaranty Association Board of Directors meeting. Tallahassee, Florida. To view the meeting notice, click here.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Groups rally behind Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund bill, but progress hard to come by
Environmental groups say preventing risky shoreline development not only protects taxpayers, it protects habitat for nesting sea turtles and other coastal species.
Court upholds Florida Office of Insurance Regulation position on sinkhole coverage
A Florida court has upheld a decision by state insurance regulators that property insurers must offer sinkhole loss coverage in an amount equal to the dwelling coverage limit.
What Florida Homeowners Should Know About Sinkholes
The recent spat of sinkhole activity in Southwest Florida — including a fatal sinkhole in Tampa earlier this month — has shed light on the state’s geologic anomaly.
- Florida Association of Sinkhole Stabilization Specialists Believes that Public Safety is Foundational to Sinkhole Insurance Legislation
- Homeowners insurance in Florida becomes more complicated due to spate of sinkholes
Florida Senate Bill Would Depopulate Citizens Property Insurance, Raise Rates, Create Clearinghouse
Lawmakers in the Florida Senate have taken steps to return the state-backed insurer Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to its original purpose of being a market of last resort by requiring it to charge actuarially sound rates and restrict the number and type of properties that it insures.
Standard & Poor’s assigns Everglades Re cat bond notes “B” rating
State-backed insurer of last resort Florida Citizens is looking to bring another catastrophe bond issuance to market via Everglades Re.
Column: Stuck in the sand trap
It appears we need to be convinced that American taxpayers should spend more than $36 million to bury a Florida reef, a federally protected fish habitat and a juvenile turtle sanctuary.
Florida House passes bill striking international driver’s license requirement for foreigners
Without discussion or debate the House unanimously passed HB 7059 on Wednesday to eliminate the requirement that foreign visitors have an International Driver’s Permit before driving on Florida roads.
Florida Governor Rick Scott: No Lieutenant Governor Appointment Until May
Governor Rick Scott met with reporters Wednesday afternoon, as expected, formalizing the announcement of Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll’s resignation.
- Blog: Ellyn Bogdanoff may be ready to live again as Lieutenant Governor
- Who Makes the Most Sense to Replace Jennifer Carroll?
In light of federal probe lawmakers push for Internet sweepstakes café ban
The blockbuster news of a federal investigation into Internet sweepstakes café nonprofit Allied Veterans of the World and the arrests of its executives, which sparked the resignation of Lieutenant Governor Jennifer Carroll, could lead to a complete ban of the storefronts that offer video-like slot games.
- THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA: Arrests, Lieutenant Governor Carroll Resignation Put Long Odds on Future of Internet Cafes
- Blog: Shutdown Of Internet Cafes Will Be “Expedited,” Speaker Weatherford Says
Orange County to Contract with Red Light Camera Company Embroiled in Bribery Scandals
As the Florida Supreme Court prepares to hear at least one challenge to local government implementation of red-light cameras, the Orlando Sentinel reports that Orange County is preparing to contract with a camera company embroiled in bribery scandals in at least three different jurisdictions.
Florida population booming again
Coming back strong after a post-recession starching, Florida is now growing so quickly that the Sunshine State could soon overtake New York as the nation’s third most populous state.
Attorney General Pam Bondi today announced a $7 million multistate settlement with Google over its collection of data from unsecured wireless networks nationwide while taking photographs for its Street View service between 2008 and March 2010.
Florida Representative Fasano to be feted for open government work
State Representative Mike Fasano is being honored for improving transparency in government at the First Amendment Foundation’s annual Sunshine Week luncheon.
Blog: State Representative Matt Hudson Wants Review Of Elder Affairs Agency
Representative Matt Hudson, a Naples Republican who in recent years spearheaded a reorganization of the Florida Department of Health, now wants to focus attention on the state Department of Elder Affairs.
Vocational-technical bill flies through committee stop
A major education theme this legislative session is, in the words of Senate President Don Gaetz, “lash education to the realities of the economy.”
RMS Announces Another Update to North Atlantic Hurricane Model
Catastrophe-risk modeler Risk Management Solutions is preparing the insurance industry for an update to the North Atlantic hurricane model that jolted the perception of possible losses when it was released in 2011.
NARAB II introduced in U.S. House and Senate
Bipartisan legislation to introduce National Association of Registered Agents & Brokers Act of 2013, which would streamline the insurance agent licensing process legislation has been introduced in both the House and the Senate with a Senate Hearing scheduled for next week, a watershed legislative event for the insurance agent industry.
Missouri Golfer Survives Mid-Round Illinois Sinkhole
When it comes to dealing with this divot, score one for Missouri golfer Mark Mihal.
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