Litigation challenging the constitutionality of Florida's 2012 Personal Injury Protection ("PIP") reform law has been appealed to the Florida Supreme Court after the First District Court of Appeal denied the Plaintiffs' motion for a rehearing en banc.
Florida lawmakers want private property insurance companies to come to the rescue of coastal homeowners who will be hit with skyrocketing flood insurance rates at the end of the month. Read the entire story here
Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty announced today, December 11, 2013, that Rebecca Matthews has been appointed Florida Office of Insurance Regulation ("OIR") Chief of Staff after having served in the role in an interim capacity since October 25. Monte Stevens, who formerly served the OIR as Director of Government Affairs, has been named Deputy Chief [...]
A buckling floor and awful noise led a family to rush from their home Monday night, but inspectors say a bad tile job is to blame. Read the entire story here
Property-insurance reform is necessary because Florida relies on the trinity of insurance market "stabilizers" known as the Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund and Florida Guaranty Insurance Association, State Representative John Wood writes in this Lakeland Ledger editorial opinion. Read the entire story here
The Florida Insurance Consumer Advocate's Homeowners' Policy and Claims Bill of Rights Working Group ("Working Group") meets for the second of two consecutive days in Tallahassee today, July 18, 2013, at 9:00 a.m. (ET). To view today's agenda, click here. Led by Florida Insurance Consumer Advocate Robin Smith Westcott, the Working Group's morning session includes the [...]
During a July 17, 2013 meeting of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' ("NAIC") Financial Condition Committee, regulators reviewed the draft "White Paper on Captives and Special Purpose Vehicles" and contemplated the creation of a captive transactions review board in the wake of solvency concerns about the use of captives by life insurers. Proposed additional charges [...]
Additional changes have been proposed to continuing education requirements for Florida home inspectors, among other revisions to 61-30, F.A.C., a new rule chapter intended to implement regulations addressing the licensing and regulation of home inspectors in Florida under Section 468.83, F.S. Rulemaking on the statute was initiated by the Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation in 2010 and resumed in January 2013, followed by a public hearing in March. […]
House Bill 1107 proposes to reduce the catastrophe reinsurance provided by the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund to insurance companies writing homeowners insurance in Florida from $17 billion to $14 billion over a period of three years. As currently proposed, this reduction will be at the expense of consumers that will have to pay more in premiums. The Florida Property & Casualty Association (FPCA) supports reducing the liability exposure of the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF); however, the FPCA would propose reducing the amount of coverage while also lowering the attachment point to make the change rate neutral to the consumer. […]
As reported by the Florida Current, “While not declaring a solid caucus opposition, Senate Minority Leader Chris Smith said Wednesday that Democrats in the upper chamber will take a strong stand against plans to raise the cap on Citizens Property Insurance Corp. rates.” Read the entire story here