State Senator Dave Aronberg has indicated that he intends to pursue legislation in the 2010 session trying to address concerns over contaminated Chinese drywall. Senator Aronberg proposes that the state convene a task force to study the issue further. In addition, Aronberg wants the state to adopt standards relating to the permissible content of drywall […]
With the holidays behind us and the 2010 legislative session fast approaching, considerable attention will turn to the many political races that promise to shape Florida’s future. Many candidates used early starts in 2009 to raise money and put together the campaign infrastructures they will need to carry themselves to the primaries and general election […]
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum announced over the holidays that his staff will be reviewing the legality of the federal health-care bill. McCollum, who is running for Governor, refers to the much-debated health-care bill as a “tax on living.” He questions a requirement in the bill that all citizens either obtain insurance or pay into […]
The Office of Insurance Regulation held a public hearing on December 21 to continue gathering feedback about revisions to its Uniform Mitigation Verification Inspection Form and its Notice of Premium Discounts for Hurricane Loss Mitigation. The hearing attracted relatively few comments on the discount notice form. A few participants commented that the description of mandatory […]
State Farm Florida Insurance Company and the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation have entered into a Consent Order resolving a dispute arising from the insurer’s planned withdrawal from the Florida property insurance market. State Farm Florida filed a withdrawal plan with the Office of Insurance Regulation announcing that it intended to discontinue its property insurance […]
During the 2009 Legislative session Representative Bill Proctor, R-St. Augustine and Sen. Mike Bennett, R-Bradenton guided a “deregulation bill” through the Florida Legislature. The bill would have permitted many large insurers to offer homeowners insurance policies at rates that exceeded the approved rates they had on file. To be eligible for this reduced rate regulation, […]
The Risk Management & Insurance department of the Florida State University College of Business is hosting a luncheon and panel discussion on January 28, 2010, on the topic of insurance regulatory reform. Florida Insurance Commissioner McCarty has agreed to participate on the panel, along with Moira Campion McConaghy, manager of government relations for the NAIC, and […]
The Office of Insurance Regulation has issued an order approving rates for the Citizens Property Insurance Corporation High Risk Account (HRA). The HRA consists of Citizens’ most coastal exposures and includes personal residential, commercial residential, and traditional commercial exposures. By law, Citizens submits rate filings to the Office of Insurance Regulation, but unlike for typical […]
Two restaurant owners-operators who managed five restaurants called Oriental Forest have been ordered by a federal court judge to pay $2,030,430 in minimum wage and overtime pay and damages owed to 129 workers following an investigation by the USDOL’s Wage and Hour Division. The court also ordered the business owners not to violate minimum wage and […]
On November 23, 2009, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) released additional information in its ongoing review of the corrosive effects of Chinese drywall. The CPSC released the results of a 51-home indoor air quality study, an electrical component corrosion study, and a fire safety component corrosion study. The executive summary of the CPSC’s […]