Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Tuesday, June 23, 2015

Jun 23, 2015

 

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 Citizens Property Insurance meetings.  Maitland, Florida.  To view the meeting notices, click here

      • 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.–Market Accountability Advisory Committee.  Teleconference: (866) 361-7525; conference code: 7849939192.
      • 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m.–Audit Committee.  Teleconference: (866) 361-7525; conference code: 3877541849.
      • 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.–Finance and Investment Committee.  Teleconference:  (866) 361-7525; conference code: 2478401990.
      • 3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.–Actuarial and Underwriting Committee.  Teleconference: (866) 361-7525; conference code: 8632017402.

     

    Daily Florida Insurance-Related News


    Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Releases 2016 Proposed Rates

    Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s Board of Governors on Wednesday will be asked to approve a 2016 rate package that lowers rates for nearly half of Citizens’ personal lines policyholders while responding to increased water loss claims and continued inadequate rates along the coast.

     

    Do Florida homeowners need better consumer protection when it comes to Citizens Property Insurance?

    HB 1087 would have required that Citizens send several private insurer offers, rather than one at a time, so homeowners can compare rates.  The Palm Beach Post’s Editorial Board discusses Governor Scott’s veto of the bill in its “Opinion Zone” blog.

     

    Floridians spend more on insurance than residents in most other states

    Insurance premiums are a huge expense for Floridians, with residents of the Sunshine State spending an average of 17.1 percent of their annual income on insurance, according to a new study from San Francisco-based NerdWallet.  South Florida Business Journal’s Nina Lencoff reports.

     

    4 Arrests Made in Florida Injury Clinic PIP Fraud

    The Florida Division of Insurance Fraud has announced the arrest of Dr. Douglas Price, owner of the Florida Pain Trauma and Injury Clinic in Auburndale, Fla., and three others on charges related the operation of a complex PIP fraud scam, Insurance Journal reports.

     

    Uninsured crooks stealing Jacksonville license plates

    Deputies in Clay County near Jacksonville are warning people they’re seeing a spike in stolen license plates, WTSP-TV reports.

     

    Lingering Issues Raise Possibility of Another Special Session

    Even as a special session to deal with the state budget finally came to an end Friday, there were questions about whether another session might become necessary this year.  THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Brandon Larrabee reports via CBS Miami.

     

    Earthjustice, enviro groups slap Legislature Amendment 1 lawsuit

    Shortly after filing suit against the Florida Legislature for allegedly “misappropriating” some $300 million in public funds and failing to comply with the state constitution, environmental advocacy group Earthjustice told reporters that lawmakers have willfully ignored the will of the voters – and their legal obligations.  SaintPetersBlog.com’s Ryan Ray reports.

     

    Americans for Prosperity to Rick Scott:  Veto Late Budget Additions

    A conservative-advocacy group is telling Governor Rick Scott it’ll have his back if he vetoes projects crammed into the state budget just before the nearly $80 billion package was completed last week. THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Jim Turner reports via SunshineStateNews.com.

     

    Ahead of annual “Turkey” list, Senate president trashes TaxWatch

    It’s an annual tradition in Tallahassee: the list of budget “turkeys” assembled by Florida TaxWatch, the self-styled watchdog group funded with large donations from the business community that undertakes a systematic review of pork-barrel projects and how they got in the budget.  Tampa Bay Times’ Steve Bousquet reports.

     

    Amid legislative turnover, new House candidates reach for safe GOP seats

    As ever in the term limits era, the makeup of the Republican House majority is set to shift in terms of personnel, if not necessarily in degree of dominance. SaintPetersBlog.com’s Ryan Ray reports.

     

    Campaigns for Florida Senate’s eight term-limited seats shift into gear

    As of June, none of the 12 Florida senators running for re-election is facing much of a challenge – Democratic state Senator Jeff Clemens is the only incumbent to draw an opponent so far, Drew Wilson reports for SaintPetersBlog.com.

     

    U.S. Senate Banking Committee Briefing This Morning:  Oversight Review of the National Flood Insurance Program

    Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs will meet in Open Session this morning to conduct a briefing by the Majority investigative staff of the Committee to discuss the findings of their oversight review of the National Flood Insurance Program.  The actual report will be released after the briefing, which will be Webcast live.

     

    North Carolina passes legislation to ease captive requirements

    Legislation signed last week by North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory will allow the state insurance commissioner to determine the amount of capital and surplus needed for special-purpose captives.  Jerry Geisel reports for Business Insurance.

     

    Wharton Study Finds Disaster Aid Displaces Property Insurance

    Federal disaster aid granted to communities hit by natural catastrophes causes demand for property insurance to fall by six times as much, according to a new issue briefing from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Risk Management and Decision Processes Center.  Right Street’s Ray Lehmann blogs for Insurance Journal.

     

     

     

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