Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty presented ideas for “principle-based” insurance reform to the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee this afternoon. In his presentation, Commissioner McCarty identified several reasons the private market has difficulty competing with Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. Among these, the Commissioner noted a “mismatch” between primary rate levels and the mitigation discounts for […]
The New Year’s celebrations are over and it’s back to work in Tallahassee. Before the annual legislative session begins in March, the Florida Legislature will hold a series of committee weeks to continue considering proposals for 2013. The insurance-related issues under consideration will range from health insurance to property insurance to workers’ compensation. The following […]
Citizens Property Insurance Corporation often finds itself in the middle of widely varying opinions on how it should conduct its business. For everyone who says Citizens should reduce its size, someone else will say that Citizens indeed should offer below-market insurance products to consumers. The result, at least currently, is that Florida has a residual […]
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has released its most recent annual report discussing the state of Florida’s workers’ compensation insurance market. According to section 627.211(6), Florida Statutes, the Office of Insurance Regulation must prepare a report for the legislature each year assessing the competitiveness of Florida’s workers’ compensation market. In this year’s report, the […]
The ball has barely finished dropping in Times Square as the world of Florida insurance begins to pick up steam in 2013. The legislature’s annual 60-day session begins March 5, 2013. However, the legislature will hold committee meetings leading up to the session (and in fact had some meetings before the holidays). A few bills have […]
By some standards, there were fewer blockbuster issues in the Florida insurance market in 2012 than in some prior years. After all, this was not a year in which the legislature needed to tackle workers’ compensation or medical malpractice reform, and efforts at bad faith reform stalled fairly early in the legislative session. Florida thankfully […]
Chief Financial Office Jeff Atwater has suggested that the Governor and Cabinet, serving as the Financial Services Commission, oversee the selection of an Inspector General to review Citizens Property Insurance Corporation. Atwater also wants the Inspector General to report to the Financial Services Commission for at least 12 months. Governor Rick Scott recently called for […]
At the recommendation of the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA), the Office of Insurance Regulation has issued an order levying an assessment of 0.9% of net direct written premiums for FIGA’s “All Other” account. This account encompasses most lines of property and casualty insurance other than auto and workers’ compensation. For example, it includes fire, […]
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (Office) has unveiled a new resource for allowing interested persons to provide input on life and health insurance form and rate filings. “Hearing the opinions of Florida’s consumers about proposed changes to their insurance is considered a top priority of the Office. This feature presents a suitable forum for those opinions […]
The Office of Insurance Regulation has named Jack McDermott its new Director of Life & Health Product Review. He succeeds Suzetta Furlong, who is leaving OIR to take a position with the Division of State Group Insurance at the Department of Management Services. McDermott has held several roles at the OIR, most recently serving as […]
