Capitol to Courthouse Headliners: Wednesday, May 16

Click on a headline to read the complete story:

 

State-run Citizens insurance hears from policyholders

Irma Kelly is frustrated over the cost of her Citizens Property Insurance coverage, so she came to a policyholder’s forum to give the state-run insurer’s chairman an earful.

 

Remember Stan? Gov. Crist won’t let you forget him

PORT CHARLOTTE — The governor’s boss lives in a small block bungalow on a sun-baked street in Port Charlotte.

 

Consumers, lawmakers meet with Citizens reps

Some came for information; some came to vent.

 

Final deal on property tax cuts gets closer

From new homeowners and buyers to poor seniors and business owners, many Florida taxpayers would get a break under a revamped plan by Democrats in the House of Representatives that seeks to trim nearly $4 billion from next year’s tax rolls.

 

Federal reinsurance plan studied

WASHINGTON — Consumers could save more than $11 billion annually on their homeowners insurance policies if government creates reinsurance funds to handle catastrophic events such as Hurricane Katrina, according to a new study.

 

Bush to Nominate Two Bankers for Fed Board Seats

President Bush will nominate two veterans of the banking industry to fill openings on the seven-member Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the White House said yesterday.

 

Abuses in Enrollment Tactics Found for Private Medicare

Insurance agents in at least 39 states used illegal or unethical tactics to sell private Medicare plans, in some cases enrolling the dead and mentally incompetent, impersonating Medicare representatives, and using personal information stolen from federal records, according to interviews and documents released to Congress.

 

Fairfax Worked Quietly to Repair Inspection Rating

Fairfax County’s residential building inspectors carry workloads that exceed their ability to do their jobs competently, according to a firm that evaluates government inspection programs for insurance companies.

 

India’s HDFC to buyout Chubb in insurance venture

MUMBAI (Reuters) – India’s largest mortgage firm, Housing Development Finance Corp. Ltd. (HDFC.BO), said on Tuesday it had agreed to buy out U.S. partner Chubb Corp’s (CB.N) 26 percent stake in their insurance joint venture.

The general insurance firm would now be 100 percent owned by HDFC.

 

Earnings

Fort Lauderdale-based Universal Insurance Holdings Co., parent company of Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co., reported net income of $12.4 million for the quarter ending March 31, compared with net income of $3.3 million for the same quarter last year.

 

Report criticizes insurance changes

Insurers say burden will shift to non-homeowners.

The insurance industry continues to criticize Florida’s property insurance reform, arguing in a new report that many non-homeowners will pay the price after a hurricane hits.

 

Insurance officials offer consumers sobering forecast of rising costs

TALLAHASSEE — In an attempt to build support for abolishing parts of a state insurance law crafted in January, insurance industry officials on Tuesday presented a sobering financial study that forecasts rising consumer costs for many Floridians and big taxpayer risks in the event of another bad storm season.

 

5-Year Hurricane Modeling System For Insurance Rates Is On Hold

TALLAHASSEE – Property insurance companies won’t be able to use a controversial software model that predicted sharply higher hurricane losses.

 

Years After Katrina, FEMA Still Not Ready

WASHINGTON – Significant improvements in the federal response to a catastrophic hurricane are unlikely to be implemented or “realistically tested” by the upcoming hurricane season, warns a new government report.

 

Early primary date makes minefield for Democrats

Florida Democrats face another vote-counting quandary they can blame on Republicans: whether to stage their first presidential caucus in modern history.

 

Business interests caution Crist on property tax relief

Leaders of business groups and their lobbyists cautioned Gov. Charlie Crist on Tuesday against shifting more of the tax burden their way in his drive to slash property taxes.

 

Feeney to take GOP’s top spot on space panel

He says securing work for employees of Kennedy Space Center is a top priority.

WASHINGTON — Convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff may yet indirectly help the political fortunes of U.S. Rep. Tom Feeney of Florida.

 

Handling House Calls in a Managed-Care World

THE day when doctors treated patients at home disappeared decades ago in most of America as house calls gave way to more cost-effective office visits. But a small company that devised a way to charge for doctors’ house calls could encourage a return to the practice — not just as a service for the rich, but as the most economical way for Medicare and private insurers to care for their frailest patients.

 

Thousands Flee New Jersey Wildfire Ignited by Flare From F-16

A flare dropped by an F-16 fighter jet at a bombing range in southern New Jersey ignited a wildfire yesterday that burned thousands of acres of brush and pine forest, closed highways, forced thousands of residents to flee and damaged some homes, state officials said.