The key Senator and Representative who promoted the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) right-sizing proposal expressed disappointment that the bills did not receive more attention in the recently concluded session. At least in the case of those who are eligible to return to the legislature next year, they vow to keep pushing for the reform. […]
The legislature passed a bill (HB 941) that included a provision eliminating the excess profits calculation for workers’ compensation and employer’s liability insurance. The excess profits provision, currently located at section 627.215, Florida Statutes, requires insurers to report their premiums, losses and expenses in the affected lines of business by July 1 of each year. […]
The Florida legislature did not adopt proposed changes to the size of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund during the 2012 session. Jack Nicholson of the FHCF developed a proposal he referred to as “right-sizing” the cat fund to ensure it has access to enough resources to pay promised reimbursements without regard to poor global market […]
The 2012 legislative session is rapidly drawing to a close– at least the regular session, anyway. The session is scheduled to end tonight, and lawmakers will work at a frenzied pace to address bills that are bouncing back and forth between the chambers. No Florida session would be complete without a property and casualty insurance […]
The Florida House of Representatives has passed a bill (HB 4169) that would repeal Florida’s excess profits law for workers’ compensation insurance. The Senate should consider this favorable proposal, but unfortunately no companion bill exists. The excess profits law requires workers’ compensation insurers to refund their “excess” profits earned over a three-year period if they […]
A proposal to reduce the size of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF) remains under consideration in the Florida Senate in the form of SB 1372. A similar proposal exists in the House of Representatives but has not advanced thus far in the 2012 legislative session. This proposal, which has been termed the FHCF “right-sizing” […]
The Florida House of Representatives has advanced its version of the proposal allowing surplus lines insurers to take policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, leaving the issue in the hands of the Senate. By a vote of 66-48, the House passed HB 245 allowing surplus lines insurers meeting certain requirements to enter into Consent Orders […]
The House Judiciary committee has favorably reported HB 385 by an 11-2 vote. The proposal would grant sovereign immunity protection to emergency physicians. Current law provides that claims under sovereign immunity protection are limited to $200,000 per person and $300,000 per incident. The bill finds that ensuring access to emergency medical services is an important […]
The House version of a plan to reform Florida’s personal injury protection laws has cleared the House of Representatives’ Civil Justic Subcommittee by a 10-5 vote. The next scheduled stop for the bill is the Economic Affairs Committee. The House proposal (HB 119) is a 109-page bill making a number of changes designed to curb […]
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 […]