News & Updates

Senate

Legislative Session Headed Toward Overtime

Legislative Session Headed Toward Overtime

With one week to go in Florida’s regulation legislative session, it appears the scheduled 60 days might not be enough. The legislature’s primary responsibility each year is to pass a state budget for presentation to the Governor. However, due to “philosophical differences” between the House of Representatives and the Senate, key legislators say there’s not […]

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Protecting Reforms Rests with Senate and Governor

Protecting Reforms Rests with Senate and Governor

The Florida House of Representatives has passed a bill seeking to unwind key provisions of the 2022 insurance reforms that have led to recent improvements in the market. The House amended Senate Bill 832 to include a so-called “prevailing party” attorneys’ fee provision despite clear statements from the Office of Insurance Regulation, the Governor and […]

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Special Session Proposals Address Property Market Concerns

Special Session Proposals Address Property Market Concerns

The Florida House of Representatives and Senate have released their proposals for next week’s special session on property insurance reform.  The special session follows last month’s call from Governor Ron DeSantis for a special session dealing with the crisis in Florida’s residential property insurance market. Reinsurance Protection Although their proposals are subject to change when […]

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Flood Disclosure Adjustment Continues to Move

Flood Disclosure Adjustment Continues to Move

A second Senate committee has approved an adjusting to existing law relating to flood insurance disclosures.  Last year, the legislature adopted a requirement for all homeowners’ policies to state that they do not cover flood damage.  Unfortunately, there is no exception in the current law for policies that actually do contain flood insurance in the […]

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Supreme Court Changes Fuel Workers Compensation Discussion

Supreme Court Changes Fuel Workers Compensation Discussion

The Florida workers’ compensation insurance market presents interesting regulatory and legislative dynamics. Two Florida Supreme Court cases threatened to unravel some of the legislative reforms that helped reduce workers’ comp rates in this state. This prompted concerns among some policymakers that the legislative must revisit workers’ compensation laws to head off future rate increases for […]

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Recounts Leave Financial Services Commission Makeup Uncertain

Recounts Leave Financial Services Commission Makeup Uncertain

Several high profile races in Florida were decided, or at least appeared to have been decided, on election night by close margins.  At the state level, Republican Ron DeSantis looked like the winner in Governor’s race, Republican Jimmy Patronis prevailed as Chief Financial Officer, Republican Ashley Moody won to succeed Pam Bondi as Attorney General, and […]

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Direct Primary Care Bill Advances

Direct Primary Care Bill Advances

The Florida Senate’s version of the direct primary care bill (SB 132) has been approved by the Senate Fiscal Policy committee and will proceed to the full Senate at the discretion of the Rules committee.  The bill was amended in committee to add a provision allowing either party to terminate the agreement on 30 days’ […]

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Direct Primary Care Bill Goes Before Full House

Direct Primary Care Bill Goes Before Full House

The Florida House of Representatives’ version of the direct primary care bill (HB 37) has passed all of its assigned committees and is on second reading.  The bill passed two committees unopposed and attracted only a single dissenting vote in a third. The bill would create a new section 624.27 within the Florida Insurance Code […]

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Atwater Again Decides Against Senate Run

Atwater Again Decides Against Senate Run

Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater said this week that he won’t run for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Marco Rubio in 2016.  Atwater decided against a Senate run earlier this year, but his prominence as a statewide elected official coupled with the lack of a clear-cut leader to replace Rubio prompted speculation as […]

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Legislature Back for Special Session on Budget

Legislature Back for Special Session on Budget

The Florida legislature is back in session from June 1 through as late as June 20 with the primary objective of passing a state budget.  The special session became necessary when the House of Representatives abruptly ended its work in the regular session three days early over a disagreement with the Senate as to healthcare […]

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