Capitol to Courthouse Florida Insurance Report: Wednesday, September 18
Sep 18, 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
11:00 a.m.–Florida Board of Employee Leasing Companies Board meeting. Sarasota, Florida. To view the meeting notice, click here.
1:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.–Federal Advisory Committee on Insurance meeting. Washington, D.C. To view the meeting notice, click here.
2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.–U.S. Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Hearing: “Implementation of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Act of 2012: One Year After Enactment.” To view the hearing notice, click here.
Daily Florida Insurance-Related News
Florida Governor Scott ‘deeply troubled’ by looming flood rate hikes, urges U.S. Senate action
Governor Rick Scott wants the U.S. Senate to take action to delay or mitigate flood insurance rate hikes scheduled to hit the state Oct. 1. He sent a letter Tuesday to Florida Senators Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio asking they follow up on a vote by the U.S. House to delay the flood rate increases by one year, reports Gray Rohrer for The Florida Current.
Journey to Fully Enact Florida PIP Reform Continues in Court
Though it was signed into law more than year ago, the insurance industry has yet to enjoy the full benefits of reform to Florida’s no-fault, personal injury protection auto insurance system, Chad Hemenway reports for National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com.
South Florida Salvage Crew Helps Lift Costa Concordia Upright
A South Florida salvage company, along with its Italian counterpart, has completed raising the wreck of the Costa Concordia in the early hours of Tuesday morning after a 19-hour-long operation off the Italian island of Giglio where the huge cruise liner capsized in January of 2012, WTVJ CBS-4 TV reports from Miami.
New York Times: Florida Among States Undercutting Health Care Enrollment
As many states prepare to introduce a linchpin of the 2010 health care law – the insurance exchanges designed to make health care more affordable – a handful of others are taking the opposite tack: They are complicating enrollment efforts and limiting information about the new program, the New York Times’ Lizette Alvarez and Robert Pear report.
- Kathleen Sebelius in Miami: Florida lawmakers, Governor have put people “at risk” by hiding public info
- Obamacare insurance could cost as little as $100 a month
Gunter handily wins Republican primary for House seat
Republican Bill Gunter did what front-runners are expected to do – he trounced his competition in the race to replace longtime legislator Mike Fasano, earning 62.5 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s House 36 special primary, Laura Kinsler reports for the Tampa Tribune.
- Bill Gunter Cruises to GOP Primary Victory in Pasco County House Race
- Blog: It’s Bill Gunter v. Amanda Murphy in special Florida House race
Florida Names Pam Stewart Commissioner, Removing Interim Tag
The Florida Board of Education today voted to name Pam Stewart as the state’s education commissioner. Stewart is taking the place of former K-12 chief Tony Bennett, who resigned Aug. 1, Andrew Ujifusa reports for Education Week.
Southern Gentleman, Savvy Lawyer William Dexter Douglass Dies
William Dexter Douglass, the Tallahassee lawyer who helped rewrite Florida’s Constitution, represented Al Gore in the infamous 2000 Florida recount and played a critical role in the state’s landmark multibillion-dollar settlement with tobacco companies, has died at age 83, THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA’s Dara Kam reports via SunshineStateNews.com.
Blog: Former House Speaker Bense hospitalized, will fully recover says Weatherford
Former House Speaker Allan Bense is being treated at Shands Hospital in Gainesville after getting admitted Monday, according to WJHG, Channel 7, the NBC affiliate in Panama City. The Miami Herald reports.
New Deputy Commissioners Appointed at Texas Department of Insurance
The Texas Department of Insurance announced that selections have been made for two agency deputy commissioner positions, Insurance Journal reports.
A.M. Best Eyes Auto Insurance Distribution Methods in Ratings
Insurance company ratings agency A.M. Best Co. says it is increasingly looking at auto insurers’ distribution management practices when rating, Chad Hemenway reports for National Underwriter’s PropertyCasualty360.com.
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