News & Updates

Department of Financial Services

House Subcommittee Takes Long Look At Gambling

House Subcommittee Takes Long Look At Gambling

This morning the House Subcommittee on Business and Consumer Affairs met in the House Office Building lower level to discuss gaming in Florida.  The House Building was simply packed with a number of stakeholders in the mix:  gaming representatives, opposition, lobbyists and bystanders.  The meeting started with a general update on current gaming activities in Florida.  […]

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First District Court of Appeal Tosses Out Limit on Public Adjuster Solicitations

First District Court of Appeal Tosses Out Limit on Public Adjuster Solicitations

Florida’s First District Court of Appeal has ruled that a statutory ban on solicitations by public adjusters for 48 hours following losses violates the Florida Constitution.  The Florida legislature enacted a 48-hour solicitation ban in 2008 as part of a series of reforms.  The Florida Department of Financial Services interpreted the statute not to prohibit […]

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Senate Committee Issues Brief on Public Adjusters

Senate Committee Issues Brief on Public Adjusters

The Senate Committee on Banking and Insurance has issued a brief on public adjusters as additional legislation is contemplated for the 2011 session.  The brief begins with a recap of the public adjuster reforms that were included in SB 2044, which passed both chambers of the legislature in the 2010 but was vetoed by Governor […]

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Atwater, Ausley to Face Off for CFO Position

Atwater, Ausley to Face Off for CFO Position

Republican Senator Jeff Atwater and Democrat Loranne Ausley did not have to await Tuesday’s primaries to know they would be facing off in the race to follow Alex Sink as Florida’s Chief Financial Officer.  Although it initially appeared Atwater would have a primary opponent, Atwater’s formidable fundraising and campaigning long ago sealed his place as the […]

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OIR Discusses Confidentiality of Administrative Supervision

OIR Discusses Confidentiality of Administrative Supervision

Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has written a letter to The Heartland Institute responding to recent suggestions that the Office of Insurance Regulation should have made information about Northern Capital Insurance Company available to the public sooner than it did.  Northern Capital was subject to administrative supervision by the Office of Insurance Regulation, but the company’s financial […]

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Safeguard Our Seniors Becomes Law

Safeguard Our Seniors Becomes Law

Along with Governor Charlie Crist’s approval of a bill streamlining commercial insurance rates (SB 2176) came approval of the “Safeguard Our Seniors” annuity legislation.  The “safeguard Our Seniors” provisions were added to the commercial deregulation bill late in teh session and mark the culmination of three-year effort by CFO Alex Sink to pursue changes to […]

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Safeguard Our Seniors Heads to Governor’s Desk

Safeguard Our Seniors Heads to Governor’s Desk

Senator Mike Bennett, Representative Maria Sachs and CFO Alex Sink, among others, have been pursuing legislation for several sessions to increase regulatory protections for senior citizens in annuity transactions.  Although the proposals appeared at times to be stalled in the current session, they were amended onto a broader insurance bill at the end of the session […]

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