News & Updates

House of Representatives

The Foreseeable Consequences of SB 1372

The Foreseeable Consequences of SB 1372

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” […]

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Surplus Lines Insurers Might Gain Right to Write Citizens Policies

Surplus Lines Insurers Might Gain Right to Write Citizens Policies

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 […]

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Medical Malpractice Protection for ER Doctors Advances

Medical Malpractice Protection for ER Doctors Advances

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 […]

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PIP Bill Clears House Civil Justice Subcommittee

PIP Bill Clears House Civil Justice Subcommittee

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 […]

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Bad Faith Reform Stalls

Bad Faith Reform Stalls

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 […]

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Session Draws to Close; RTYC Reports Coming

Session Draws to Close; RTYC Reports Coming

The 2011 session of the Florida Legislature came to a close late last night (or this morning, as it went until about 3:00 a.m.). Most of the insurance related issues were resolved one way or the other by Thursday, including the chambers’ passing the major property insurance bill. One of the final insurance bills that […]

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Differences in Property Legislation Remain at Session’s Midpoint

Differences in Property Legislation Remain at Session’s Midpoint

As we have now reached the midpoint of the 2011 legislative, some of the key elements of this year’s property insurance legislation still differ in significant ways between the House and Senate versions.  Property legislation tends to go down to the wire each year, and this year looks like it will be no exception. Some […]

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Big Day for Property Insurance Proposals

Big Day for Property Insurance Proposals

Major property insurance bills are scheduled to be heard today in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.  Both chambers are considering substantial property insurance reforms aimed at curing some of the so-called “cost drivers” of insurance rates in the Florida property market.  The term cost-drivers has been used to generically refer to several […]

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House to Evaluate Government Reorganization

House to Evaluate Government Reorganization

House Speaker Dean Cannon recently announced the creation of a select committee to consider the government reorganization and deregulation initiatives that have been gaining so much attention recently.  Speaker Cannon asked Speaker pro tempore John Legg to serve as the chairman of the select committee and Rules & Calendar Chairman Gary Aubuchon to serve as the […]

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