Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Tuesday, November 17
Nov 17, 2009
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The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation today announced Administrative Law Judge Suzanne F. Hood of the Division of Administrative Hearings issued a Final Order dismissing Coventry First LLC’s allegations that the Office’s exam manuals and procedures are equivalent to rules, but not adopted as such, and are therefore in violation of Florida law.
A.M. Best Assigns Ratings to Florida’s Lakeview Insurance Co
Ratings firm A.M. Best Co. has assigned a financial strength rating of B++ (Good) and an issuer credit rating of “bbb” to both Florida-based Lakeview Insurance Co., and its affiliate, Florida Family Insurance Co.
Liberty Mutual Appoints New Summit Comp Insurance CEO in Florida
Liberty Mutual Agency Markets has appointed Carol Sipe as president and chief executive officer of Summit, which provides monoline workers’ compensation coverage in 10 southeastern states.
Blog: Aggressive drivers targeted by state highway officials
Aggressive drivers could get hit with a $120 fine under a proposal the Florida Department Highway Safety & Motor Vehicles will take to the state legislature in the spring. No telling yet what the proposal would mean for state coffers, but Miami was pegged as the “least courteous city” in a national 2008 road rage survey.
Blog: FL Senators float plan to drop out of Medicaid
Top Florida senators said Monday the state should consider dropping out of the federal-state Medicaid program to avoid a planned expansion and create its own health care system for low-income residents.
Florida ranks 36th in health survey
When it comes to being healthy, Floridians don’t fare very well compared with the rest of the nation.
Fla. investment panel raps its executive director
Gov. Charlie Crist and two Cabinet members who sit on a panel that invests state money chastised their top staffer for failing to keep them updated on a Securities and Exchange Commission investigation.
Court again upholds Florida homeowner tax breaks
An appeal court has rejected a second challenge to tax breaks for Florida’s primary homeowners.
Attorney General McCollum today sent a letter to the Florida executives of Bank of America, JP Morgan/Chase, Wells Fargo and Wachovia, calling upon the bank executives to provide homeowners with a fair and efficient loan modification process.
Op-Ed: Republicans heading for a bloodbath in Florida
The Republican fratricide in the November 3 special election in upstate New York may prove just an opening round of an even more spectacular bloodbath in Florida in 2010.
Sink, McCollum scale back use of state airplanes
The two leading candidates for Florida’s governor have grounded their high-flying ways on state-owned airplanes.
Ousted House speaker’s defense: Legislature approved the money, not just me
Former House Speaker Ray Sansom says it was all there for any member of the Legislature to review: millions in taxpayer dollars stuck in the state budget for a Panhandle college.
Repair work may be tied to crack at nuclear plant
Progress Energy and federal officials continue to investigate the cause of a half-inch-wide crack recently found inside a containment wall at the Crystal River nuclear plant.
State Farm ordered to issue $310 million in insurance refunds to Texas customers
State Farm Insurance was slapped with a far-reaching state order Monday that calls on the company to refund $310 million to its Texas customers for overcharges dating back to 2003.
Pa. Regulators Move Against Kingsway For ‘Sham’ Transfer
Pennsylvania regulators said they will take legal action against Kingsway Financial Services, Inc. over its attempt to shed its ownership of troubled Pennsylvania insurer, Lincoln General Insurance Company.
Editorial: Ill wind? Texas Lawsuits raise questions about insurer of last resort
If home, as the saying goes, is the place they have to take you in, the Texas Windstorm Insurance Association is the equivalent for those seeking coverage in hurricane-prone Lone Star counties.
Global policymakers debate contingent-convertible bonds
Bank of England Deputy Governor Paul Tucker voiced support for contingent-capital bonds, known as CoCos, to play a role in recapitalizing banks.
Volcker opposes proposal on accounting standards
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, a White House economic adviser, said a proposal that would give banking supervisors the power to sidestep accounting rules is “a terrible idea.”
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