State lawmaker wants investigation of insurance companies

State Rep. Alan Hays on Wednesday called for the Legislature to investigate property insurance companies in Florida, noting the millions executives made in bonuses and other perks as the companies threatened to leave Florida and begged the state for higher rates to make them profitable.
“We certainly need to have answers as to whether the practices …
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Property insurers’ breaking point

Published: Thursday, March 18, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 at 9:06 p.m.
In response to “How insurers make millions on the side:”
The unfortunate truth is that during the past several years, government has passed laws and pursued a regulatory environment that has pushed the property insurance market to the breaking point. Undeniably, …
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Bill would let property insurers raise premiums up to 15% without state approval

By Michael Peltier
News Service of Florida
Posted: 8:50 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, 2010
TALLAHASSEE — Property insurers would be able to raise premiums without regulatory approval, but only by up to 15 percent a year, under a wide-ranging insurance approved in a House committee Wednesday.
The proposal (HB 447) was amended to add the 15 percent cap on unregulated premium increases, and …
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House committee passes property-insurance proposal

Paul Flemming • The News-Press Capital Bureau • March 17, 2010
5:44 P.M. — TALLAHASSEE — A proposal to allow property-insurance companies to raise homeowners rates without regulatory approval passed a first House committee Wednesday and was amended to include much of an insurance industry wish list. 
Its supporters say the proposal would attract more insurance capital …
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Buyer beware

News
Your trip insurance may not be worth the paper it’s written on 
By Jim Gaines
Jessie Hall of Orlando always wanted to go to the Rose Bowl, and when she planned to go with her sister-in-law in December 2007, they built a flight and Carnival cruise to Mexico into the package. She booked through Legendary Journeys …
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Barney Bishop: Hurricane tax won’t stabilize insurance

Barney Bishop • My View • March 16, 2010
As the state legislative session kicked off this month, I began to wonder if I was experiencing deja vu.
While it is not unusual to champion a legislative cause for more than one year, how many years will it take for the Florida Legislature to return the Florida …
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Florida Legislature begins budget work

BY MARY ELLEN KLAS

Herald/Times Tallahassee Bureau

TALLAHASSEE — As Florida legislators take out the scalpels and start making decisions this week on which programs will be sliced out of the state budget as a way to start closing the $3.2 billion budget gap, the House and Senate will showcase issues designed to show they’re doing some …
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Bennett’s bill on drywall comes under scrutiny

By SARA KENNEDY – skennedy@bradenton.com
MANATEE — State Sen. Mike Bennett has filed a bill that could limit a homeowner’s or condo association’s ability to sue over defective drywall, according to attorneys representing those dealing with contaminated property.
Bennett, R-Bradenton, disputed such views, saying the bill is still in draft form and that he does not plan …
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Balance insurance reform: No free-market solution for a broken market

Unfortunately, the Legislature doesn’t want to revisit one of the most creative proposals for Florida’s property insurance problem. So consumers will have to hope that the Legislature tries to improve the current system in a way that doesn’t give all the benefits to the insurers.
Some legislators would “fix” the problem by letting all companies charge …
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