Florida Insurance Council - Covering Florida Since 1962
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel Business groups and the trial bar are sparring over a bill about Florida’s dangerous instrumentality law. Part of the bill will shield companies that lease certain mobile equipment from liability for damages caused by the equipment if the lessee has insurance in the required amounts. The impetus for HB…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee adopted a committee substitute for the vulnerable investor bill during its meeting on March 13, 2019. The committee substitute replaces the originally filed version of the bill. Some in the life insurance community are following this bill closely due to the employee training…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel SB 322 by Sen. Simpson (R) related to health insurance preexisting conditions passed the Rules Committee on March 13, 2019. It was not amended and will now be heard on the floor. The bill generally requires health insurers and HMOs to offer at least one comprehensive major medical policy…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 1113 creates a voluntary health shared savings incentive program to allow health insurers and HMOs to provide cash or other incentives to insureds when they obtain shoppable health care services on the insurer’s or HMO’s shared savings incentive list. The shoppable services are those that are non-emergency, including…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel SB 1052, one of the two Senate PIP repeal bills, passed its first committee on March 12, 2019. The other Senate PIP repeal bill has not yet been heard in committee. The House PIP repeal bill has also not been heard in committee. SB 1052 by Sen. Lee (R)…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 833 allows consultant pharmacists to provide specified health care services under a collaborative practice agreement with an MD, DO, podiatrist, or dentist. Collaborative practice agreements are voluntary. Pharmacists with collaborative practice agreements with health care providers can provide medication management, order and evaluate tests, conduct patient assessments…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A bill that primarily cleans up FWCIGA assessment provisions and makes a minor change to FIGA cleared its second committee on March 12, 2019 with no amendments. HB 429 has one committee left. The Senate bill, SSB 496, has passed one committee and has two committees left. It…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 765 is a compilation of auto insurance issues, namely auto insurance verification system, named driver exclusion, prepayment of premium for auto insurance, and salvage motor vehicles. The bill passed its first House committee on March 12, 2019. It was amended with a strike all amendment that removed some…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On March 11, 2019, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee passed SB 264 which deals with how the Florida Workers’ Compensation Joint Underwriting Association (FWCJUA) handles unclaimed dividends and premium refunds. One amendment was adopted to the bill. The amendment puts more parameters around the process the FWCJUA…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel During its meeting on March 11, 2019, the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee passed SB 538, a bill dealing with surplus lines, with one amendment. The amendment removed the section of the bill that dealt with which surplus lines premium tax rate Florida insureds paid when the insured…