Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Wednesday, July 27
Jul 27, 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
9:00 a.m.–Citizens Property Insurance Corporation Board of Governors meeting. Teleconference: 888-942-8686; conference code: 8419204389#. To view the meeting notice, click here.
Citizens to seek big increase today
Florida’s largest insurer of homes and businesses, state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp., will ask its board today to approve a staggering rate increase for providing coverage on sinkhole policies.
- Editorial: Citizens increase a sure-fire way to sink economy
- Proposed sinkhole insurance rates likely will force people to drop coverage
Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Launches Revised Consumer Site
The revamped interactive website program designed to give Florida consumers information on property insurance rates is now operational, according to the Office of Insurance Regulation.
Chinese Drywall Supplier Must Release More Information
A South Florida judge has ruled that a Miami-based supplier of tainted Chinese drywall must disclose more details about a proposed $55 million class-action settlement.
Following a natural or man-made disaster, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is quick to distribute public assistance awards enabling communities to clean up the mess and rebuild infrastructure.
Residents of Sarasota’s Dolphin Tower sue insurer
The Dolphin Tower homeowners’ association is filing a countersuit against an Ohio-based insurer after the company rejected a claim last month to pay for cracked and buckled concrete in the troubled 15-story building.
St. Lucie firefighters help reduce the rate of homeowner’s insurance
Residents are not immune to rising insurance premiums in St. Lucie County.
Beach property lines questioned
A former city commissioner hopes to prove to the current Treasure Island City Commission that a small section of Sunset Beach behind Caddy’s is public land.
Florida’s Agency for Health care Administration has formed a workgroup to come up with improvements to its oversight of assisted-living facilities in the state.
Is Tampa General Hospital’s $9 million charge a record?
Tampa General Hospital has filed a $9.2 million claim against the estate of a woman who died after spending five years in the hospital, according to Hillsborough County court documents.
USDA Commits $11 Million to Fight Deadly Citrus Malady
The Florida citrus industry has some $20 million in its pocket for the fight against citrus greening, with the promise of up to $9 million in federal money during the next three years.
Manatee County takes big hit in FEMA funding
A year ago, Manatee County received $239,200 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, funding to supplement area emergency food and shelter programs.
Judge hearing challenge to Florida campaign law
A federal judge is hearing arguments in a challenge to a Florida campaign law regulating political committees and similar groups.
Florida Public Service commission Ends Landline Phone Regulation
The Florida Public Service Commission has repealed most of its rules for regulating landline telephones to comply with a new state law.
The Florida Supreme Court has ordered a stay of execution for a convicted cop killer.
Jesse Jackson, in Tampa, urges Department of Justice to reject new election law
In a rally in Tampa Tuesday, Jesse Jackson likened the fight over new Florida election laws to the civil rights struggle of the 1960’s, but said it’s about more than race.
Volusia County chair Frank Bruno announces run for state Senate
The sky was overcast and the roar of thunder — or was it passing motorcycles? — whipped through the breezeway between the Ocean Center and Peabody Auditorium on Tuesday afternoon.
Progress Energy, Florida Power & Light no longer required to expand energy conservation programs
State regulators set the clock back on energy conservation in Florida on Tuesday by reversing a rule that would have required Progress Energy Florida and Florida Power & Light to encourage customers to use less electricity.
Florida Public Service Commission rejects power conservation plans
Regulators on Tuesday rejected plans by the state’s two largest power companies to give more breaks to customers who install high-efficiency appliances and take other conservation steps because they think energy-saving goals for Florida’s electric utilities may be too hard to achieve.
Lawmakers hear from Wesley Chapel voters on redistricting
The Legislature brought its redistricting road show to one of the biggest hotbeds of Florida’s growth Tuesday, asking Pasco voters how future political boundaries should look.
Blog: Immigration, not jobs, tops Rick Scott’s legislative priority list
Immigration is at the top of Gov. Rick Scotts legislative priorities when lawmakers reconvene in January, the first-term governor told Northwest Florida conservative radio talk show host Burnie Thompson today.
Senate Action on National Flood Insurance Program Delayed
Markup of legislation reauthorizing the National Flood Insurance Program in the Senate has been delayed for at least a week.
Even with debt, US not closing offshore loophole
U.S. Representative Neal says bill could raise $1.7 billion per year
US Representative Richard Neal has been thwarted for years in his effort to stop foreign insurance companies from shifting premiums paid by their US customers to offshore tax havens.
A.M. Best: Debt Ceiling Impasse Effect on Insurers
Among the effects, says A.M. Best: insurers may not be able to maintain their underwriting leverage without hurting their financial strength.
Survey Shows CEOs’ Insurance Concerns
Sufficient insurance coverage for personal risk is on the minds of a significant number of chief executive officers, a new survey reveals.
Bermuda insurer Lancashire to move tax base to U.K.
Insurer Lancashire Holdings Ltd. said on Wednesday it would move its tax base from Bermuda to Britain as it reported forecast-beating quarterly profit thanks to limited exposure to recent natural disasters.
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