Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Wednesday, February 26

Feb 26, 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

 

Above:  Pensacola News Journal editorial cartoonist Andy Marlette riffs on the contradictory messages being sent about Presidential action on flood insurance.

 


Did Florida cherry-pick data in property insurance report?

A new report details whether Florida homeowners will get back any of the insurance industry’s profits, but it leaves out one of the biggest players in the game, begging the question, are the answers in this report enough? Jim Spievak reports for WZVN-HDTV.

 

Scott presses Obama on flood insurance

In a tweet as the nation’s governors met with Obama in Washington, D.C., Florida Governor Rick Scott said he asked the president “to undo the devastating National Flood Insurance Program rate hikes – they are unfair for FL families.”  Sarasota Herald-Tribune reports.

 

Mercury Insurance Cuts Florida Auto Rates 10%

Some Florida drivers could see their premiums reduced after one automobile insurer announced it would cut rates by an average of 10 percent, Insurance Journal’s Michael Adams reports.

 

Democratic committee releases attack ad on Jolly insurance connections

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee released a new digital ad Tuesday focusing on Republican David Jolly, “ties” with insurance companies and his views about the Affordable Care Act, Phil Ammann reports for SaintPetersBlog.com.

 

#18 on list of Tampa Bay’s Most Powerful Politicians – Mike Fasano

A Republican who is not afraid to ruffle feathers of colleagues and opponents alike, straight-talking Pasco Tax Collector Mike Fasano drops one notch to #18 on the 2014 SaintPetersBlog list of Tampa Bay’s Most Powerful Politicians, Peter Schorsch reports for SaintPetersBlog.com.

 

Don Gaetz Prediction:  Cooperative Senate and House Will Distinguish 2014 Session

A spirit of cooperation between the House and Senate worked to produce an overachieving Legislature in 2013, so why not stick with a winner in 2014, Florida Senate President Don Gaetz told Kevin Derby of SunshineStateNews.com.

 

Pew Report:  Florida economic recovery isn’t so rosy

With Florida’s gubernatorial candidates jostling over the state of the economy, a new report suggests the Great Recession rebound isn’t so stunning or complete, Orlando Sentinel’s Aaron Deslatte reports.

 

Florida court challenges off-the-grid living

A Florida woman has until March to connect her home to a municipal water line or face possible eviction, Al Jeezera reports.

 

Realtors, homebuilders call on lawmakers not to raid affordable housing trust fund

Groups representing homeless advocates, realtors, homebuilders, federal housing program administrators and other organizations banded together Tuesday to push legislators not to sweep the affordable housing trust fund this year, The Florida Current’s Gray Rohrer reports.

 

Lawmakers Seek to Roll Out a Red Carpet for Filmmakers

Blockbuster proposals that would double and triple the pool of incentives for those who want to create both big- and small-screen magic in Florida now sit before lawmakers, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Jim Turner reports via SunshineStateNews.com.

 

Senator Galvano:  He’s new, but he’s no rookie

Bradenton Republican Sen. Bill Galvano is just starting his second year in the Florida Senate, but don’t mistake him for a rookie, Sarasota Herald-Tribune’s Jeremy Wallace reports.

 

Daily News, Scripps, Tampa Tribune to launch joint capital bureau

E.W. Scripps and The Tampa Tribune announced Wednesday they will operate a joint news bureau in Tallahassee – combining two powerful brands that will serve readers in local communities and throughout Florida.

 

U.S. House vote possible this week on flood rate bill

A flood insurance relief bill on the cusp of a vote in the U.S. House is better than what almost anyone in the Florida delegation to Congress could have imagined just weeks ago, given the political tangle surrounding the issue over the last six months, Sarasota Herald-Tribune’s Jeremy Wallace reports.

 

Market Is Already Reacting to Possible Inaction on TRIA, Industry Rep Says

Officials of the insurance and real estate industries today sought to make clear at a Senate Banking Committee hearing today that there is no viable private option to renewal of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, legislation which sunsets at the end of the year, Arthur Postal reports for National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com.

 

Falling Reinsurance Rates Presage Sector Shake-out

A slump in reinsurance prices is playing to the strengths of the biggest global reinsurers, while piling pressure on smaller competitors to diversify or consolidate, Reuters reports via Insurance Journal.

 

U.S. Supreme Court Allows Class Action in Closely-Watched Moldy Washer Cases

The U.S. Supreme Court let consumers press ahead with class action lawsuits claiming that washing machines made by Whirlpool Corp. developed a smelly buildup of mold, Bloomberg’s Greg Stohr reports.

 

Red-Light Cameras:  Safety Measure or Money Grab?

The shutters clicked, the grainy photos were sent to the red-light violators and St. Louis raised $4.1 million last year. Now the vehicular version of “Candid Camera” may be ending, as it has in other U.S towns and cities, Bloomberg’s Tim Jones and Mark Niquette report.

 

 

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