The effort to reform Florida’s “bad faith” law hit a roadblock in the House of Representative that might signal its demise for this year. The House Civil Justice Subcommittee narrowly defeated HB 427 by an 8-7 vote. The bill would extend the provisions of Section 624.155, Florida Statutes, to common law bad faith claims in […]
The House insurance and banking subcommittee today considers a bill (HB 1127) that has broad support and would be one component of restoring private sector interest in the Florida property insurance market. The bill would reduce Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s reliance on so-called regular assessments in favor of emergency assessments. The difference, of course, is […]
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has informed the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation that it will not reverse its decison to impose a medical loss ratio requirement of 80% on health insurers. The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has been concerned for many months that imposing this medical loss ratio will be damaging […]
The Insurance & Banking Subcommittee of the Florida House of Representatives is scheduled to hold a workshop today to consider proposals for shrinking the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. Jack Nicholson of the FHCF has advanced a proposal that will reduce the size of the FHCF, increase the industry’s retention, and increase the cost of FHCF […]
Both chambers of the Florida legislature are advancing bills that would surplus lines insurers to remove policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. As Citizens’ policy count continues to skyrocket, the legislature is looking for opportunities to attract insurers that might be interested in its policies. Opponents of the bill have questioned whethere it contains enough protections for […]
We’ve heard the phrase before in many contexts– first do no harm. Let’s hope this line of thinking applies to the 2012 legislative session, particularly as it relates to Florida’s residential property insurance market. Governor Rick Scott issued a challenge several months ago for Citizens Property Insurance Corporation to dramatically reduce its exposures. Unfortunately, its […]
Senate bill 1386 proposed for the 2012 legislative session would adopt the Interstate Insurance Product Regulation Compact in Florida and improve the efficiency of bringing certain products to market in this state. The bill recognizes that the marketplace for lif insurance, annuities, disability income insurance and long-term care insurance have changed over the years warranting […]
The holiday season always seems to pass too quickly. After an extended period of unwinding and spending time with families and friends, the new year always brings an abrupt end to this relaxed pace as we return to work, children return to school and we pick up where we left off. This will especially be […]
December 31 marks the end of another calendar year, and with that we close the books on another active year in the Florida insurance market. Florida’s diverse population, large base of potential policyholders and unique political and market issues tend to mean that insurance-related topics are prevalent in each year’s headlines. We began this year […]
The Department of Financial Services (DFS), Division of Agent and Agency Services released information on new changes beginning January 18, 2012 on the appointments and renewals of licensees in Florida. The Department says its focus is on the timeliness and accuracy of information. The changes assess late fees for failing to meet specified deadlines for […]