The Florida Legislature incorporated changes to the condominium insurance law into a broader bill dealing with condominium issues. The legislature passed similar changes in 2009, but Governor Crist vetoed the bill for unrelated reasons. Insurers again in 2010 will have to await the Governor’s action on the broader bill to see if the much anticipated reforms […]
The Office of Insurance Regulation issued an order levying a new emergency assessment for the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. Effective January 1, 2011 insurers are to begin collecting 1.3% assessments on all applicable policies. This assessment will replace the existing assessment levy of 1.0%. The increase comes primarily has the result of claims from Hurricanes […]
The 2010 legislative session begin with fairly widespread recognition that the residential property insurance market in Florida has been set back by several “cost drivers” warranting legislative attention. The Florida Cabinet held discussions about why insurers have been losing money in recent years even without hurricanes affecting the state. Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty identified for […]
OIR has issued an informational memo OIR-10-01M notifying property insurers of a modified approach to the OIR’s requirements for minimum reinsurance coverage for catastrophe reinsurance. The memo states: “This year the Office of Insurance Regulation (Office) will be looking at the totality of the catastrophe risk from multiple storms and ultimately the insurer’s ability to […]
The Florida Catastrophic Storm Risk Management Center has released a report discussing implementation of Florida’s mitigation discount program for residential property insurance. This report is the third in a series of recent studies identifying significant concerns with the way the current system of mitigation discounts has affected the residential property insurance market. The Florida Commission […]
The Consumer Advocate released his report to the legislature entitled “Claims Dispute Resolution Roundtable and Alternative Dispute Resolution Roundtable.” The report follows two separate “roundtable” discussions held by the Consumer Advocate, the first regarding claims disputes and the second pertaining to alternative dispute resolution. The report notes the appraisal process has become very costly and […]
The OIR has announced a notice of proposed rulemaking for Rule 69O-137.002, Model Audit Rule. If requested a hearing will be held on April 23, 2010. Some highlights of the rule, which attempts to match Florida’s rule with the NAIC model. 1. It now expressly requires: (a) Communication of Internal Control Related Matters in an […]
Earlier this month, the EEOC announced that Walmart Stores will pay $11.7 million in back wages and compensatory damages, up to $250,000 in administration fees and will furnish other relief, including jobs, to settle a sex discrimination lawsuit filed by the EEOC. According to the EEOC’s lawsuit, Walmart’s London, Ky., Distribution Center denied jobs to female applicants […]
Staged accidents, phony billing, and other types of personal injury protection (PIP) insurance fraud continue to be a major problem in Florida and the investigation and prosecution of PIP fraud is a high priority for the state’s Division of Insurance Fraud. Those were the main messages of a March 5, 2010, press conference held in […]
Each year at the outset of the legislative session, there is considerable speculation as to proposals that might pass and those that will fall by the wayside. Some proposals evoke strong feelings from opposing sides of the debate, as is likely to be the case in 2010 with proposals like the “consumer choice” bill that […]