Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Friday, October 2

Oct 2, 2009

 

 

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Blog:  Insurance costs for major high-rise condos are expected to rise next year

That’s because Citizens Property Insurance told insurance agents today that it is increasing by an average of 20 percent rates for condominium buildings that cost more than $10 million to replace.

 

Experts size up Florida’s tsunami risks

Even though the risk here is remote, federal officials are working to create a system of ocean monitoring buoys that would warn Florida and the East Coast of tsunami waves. Local governments are developing tsunami preparedness and response policies.

 

Florida Hearing on 6.8% Workers Compensation Rate Drop Set for Oct. 6

There will be a public hearing in Tallahassee on Oct. 6 for the insurance industry’s proposed 6.8 percent workers’ compensation rate decrease for Florida employers.

 

PEO Industry Elects New Leader

Florida-based Modern Business Associates’ Chief Operating Officer Takes Reins of National Association of Professional Employer Organizations

Marjorie Seltzer, President and Chief Operating Officer of Modern Business Associates, Inc., has been elected Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations, the nationwide trade association for professional employer organizations representing nearly 400 member companies operating in all 50 states.

 

LPI agent marketing headquarters faces foreclosure

LPI Cos., which conducts marketing for insurance agents, faces a $3.3 million foreclosure lawsuit on its Doral headquarters.

 

Blue Cross and Blue Shield expands retail store concept to Tampa

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Inc. has broken ground for a Florida Blue retail store in Tampa.

 

Report: Climate change poses risk to Florida’s National Parks

Florida’s three national parks – which help drive tourism dollars to the state – are among the 25 parks most at risk from climate change, according to a report from Natural Resources Defense Council.

 

Palm Beach County records 85 percent increase in 2008 DUI convictions; all traffic citation categories rise

Attorney Doug Leifert’s traffic-law office has seen booming business over the last few years, but none was bigger than 2008.

 

St. Petersburg firefighters hope new rule will prevent freak accident

The accident that left a drunken homeless man pinned underneath a 10-ton city firefighting vehicle is still under investigation.

 

Ex-Miami mayor expected to seek U.S. Senate seat

Former Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre is expected to announce Wednesday that he is running for the U.S. Senate, becoming only the second Hispanic Democrat to run statewide in Florida.

 

Fla. Ag. Commissioner Bronson Wants to Intervene in EPA Case

Florida Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson wants to challenge a legal settlement involving the Environmental Protection Agency that could impose costly nutrient standards for state water bodies.

 

Lobbyist has links to indicted fundraiser

A well-known political campaign consultant and former aide to a Florida governor is tied to a federal corruption investigation touching the highest levels of state government, the Times/Herald has learned.

 

Crist asks PSC to delay decision on rate cases

Gov. Charlie Crist wants the to postpone a final ruling on the Progress Energy and Florida Power & Light rate cases until his new appointees take office.

 

State Representatives Fetterman, Rader, named to Insurance committee

State Rep. Kevin Rader, D-Delray Beach, whose district includes parts of Martin, Palm Beach, Okeechobee and St. Lucie counties, will serve on the House Insurance, Business & Financial Affairs Policy Committee.

 

Appeals judges uphold decision in NCAA public records case

A unanimous three-judge panel ruled records in Florida State University’s fight with the National Collegiate Athletic Association must be made public.

 

Disney World backs high-speed rail, offers up to 50 acres for station

Florida has received a last-minute boost from Walt Disney World in its bid for $2.5 billion of federal money to build a high-speed train linking Orlando and Tampa.

 

Space Coast sees first big round of KSC layoffs

The first round of what are expected to be thousands of layoffs of space-program workers starts today, Friday, with 258 shuttle contractors losing their jobs in anticipation of the space shuttle’s retirement next year.

 

Natural gas giant calls PSC biased toward FPL, challenges pipeline

Florida Gas Transmission Co. LLC, the state’s largest natural gas transmission provider, is seeking the termination of Florida Power & Light Co.’s pipeline proposal case before the Florida Public Service Commission.

 

Fla. consumer bankruptcies surge

South Florida’s consumer bankruptcy filings for September surged 43 percent over last year, according to preliminary statistics from the federal bankruptcy court.

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New Forbes 400 list: Florida awash in billionaires but just two in Tampa Bay

Wake up and good morning. The new Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans is out and Florida can claim 27 or 6.75 percent of them who declare the Sunshine State as their home.

 

House Panel Releases Bill Creating Federal Insurance Office

Congress got a look yesterday at a draft of legislation to create a federal insurance office that would work on international insurance issues as well as monitor the insurance industry and insurers for anything that might be a threat to the overall financial system.

 

Financial Crisis Teaches Insurers Valuable Lessons, Study Says 

While models and mathematical analysis are important in monitoring risk, there’s nothing like digging beneath the surface to truly understand exposures, according to a new report on “The Financial Crisis and Lessons for Insurers.”

 

Bernanke Tells House Panel Mega Insurers Need U.S. Oversight 

Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress today that the financial crisis has demonstrated the need for “systemically important” insurance companies to be subjected to federal controls.

 

Texas approves hurricane recovery plan; fed review next

The board of the Texas Department of Rural Affairs has unanimously approved a plan for distributing $1.7 billion in federal hurricane recovery funds and submitted the document to the Department of Housing and Urban Development for review.

 

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