Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Wednesday, October 3
Oct 3, 2012
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
1:00 p.m.–Florida Office of Insurance Regulation Proposed Rule Hearing
- Proposed repeal of Rule 69O-157.105, “Refund of Premium,” which requires insurers that cancel an insurance policy to refund to the policyholder any unearned premium paid to the insurer. This Rule substantially restates the language of Section 627.6645(4), F.S. and is considered unnecessary. To view the hearing notice, click here.
- Proposed repeal of Rule 69O-157.018, “Right to Return Policy-Free Look,” which requires individual long-term care insurers to give policyholders 30 days to examine a policy after delivery, and to return the policy for a full refund of premium if not satisfied for any reason. This Rule substantially restates the language of Section 627.9407(8), F.S. and is considered unnecessary. To view the hearing notice, click here.
- Proposed repeal of Rule 69O-185.005, “Advertisement of Mortgage Insurance,” which prohibits insurers from insuring mortgages offered for sale to the public by advertisements that expressly or impliedly represent that the worth, value or safety of the mortgage investment arises by virtue of the proposed mortgage guaranty insurance rather than by virtue of the value of the underlying security, or which stress the fact that the mortgage guarantee insurance is regulated by an agency of the State or Federal Government. This Rule substantially restates the language of Section 635.071(3), F.S. and is considered unnecessary. To view the hearing notice, click here.
- Proposed repeal of Rule 69O-196.008, “Failure to Comply,” pertaining to premium finance companies. This Rule substantially restates the language of Sections 627.832 and 627.833, F.S. and is considered unnecessary. To view the hearing notice, click here.
Regulators approve smaller Citizens Property Insurance rate hike
State regulators approved a statewide average increase of 10.8 percent for homeowners insurance policies – one percentage point less than for what Citizens Property Insurance Corp. asked.
- Insurance regulators approve double-digit rate increase on Citizens Property Insurance
- Blog: Citizens Property Insurance sinkhole rates jump by 25 to 50 percent in Tampa Bay
State regulators have approved rate increases topping 8 percent for two more home insurers: Universal and Allstate.
Homeowners Choice Expects to Hire as it Assumes Citizens Property Insurance Policies
Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company, Inc. is set to assume 71,000 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, Florida’s state-owned insurance company, in November of this year.
Supreme Court hears State Farm fight with policyholder over physician exams
State Farm wants to deny the $100,000 claim of a Brevard County woman involved in a June 2006 accident because she refused examination by an insurer-approved physician.
Circuit Courts Affirm Strict Construction of Flood Insurance Policies
Two recent circuit court decisions affirmed that national flood insurance policies are to be strictly construed and are not subject to the flexible standards applied to private insurance policies.
Early returns show mixed results for PIP law as chiropractors sue
Some auto insurance carriers see increases in their PIP rates despite a new law aimed at reducing them, but industry groups say it could take time before real savings are seen.
PIP reforms haven’t lowered rates, at least so far
Monday was the deadline for more than 100 auto insurers to report to the state their plans to reduce auto insurance rates because of sweeping changes to the state’s personal injury protection plan.
Insurers say PIP changes likely to mitigate premium increases, for now
Auto insurance companies say the state’s new no-fault auto insurance law will save drivers money by staving off insurance premium increases.
PIP rates go up for some insurers despite promised savings under state law
The payoff for one of Governor Rick Scott’s top legislative priorities in 2012 was supposed to be lower auto insurance rates after sharp reductions in Personal Injury Protection benefits, but early returns show PIP rates increasing in at least half the cases.
While this week will be a busy week in Florida politics with continued stories on the RPOF voter registration cluster, the David Rivera scandal (bigger cluster) focus has already started to turn toward the rate requests being sent into OIR – effectively reviving the debate on PIP reform, auto rates and if the law will work and give Florida drivers relief.
Investigation shows patients died and were abused at brain injury center
The Florida Institute of Neurologic Rehabilitation is under investigation for numerous complaints from patients and patients’ families for abuse and, in some cases, deaths.
Delray Beach stops hiring smokers in effort to reduce health insurance costs
A Florida city has announced it will stop hiring smokers in an effort to keep health insurance premiums low.
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