Florida Insurance Council - Covering Florida Since 1962
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On February 6, 2020, the House air ambulance bill cleared its last committee of reference and will now be heard on the House floor when set by the Rules Committee. Under current law, air ambulances are still allowed to balance bill consumers. In contrast, balance billing by out-of-network health…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 599 by Rep. Anna Maria Rodriguez (R) expands the scope of practice for consultant pharmacists. A similar bill passed the House last year, but died in the Senate when it was never heard in committee. This year’s consultant pharmacist bill was approved by its last committee of reference…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 813 protects vulnerable investors from financial exploitation by allowing investment advisors or dealers to delay financial transactions if they suspect financial exploitation. Similar bills were filed in prior Sessions, but never passed. Some life insurers are interested in this bill because they employ investment advisors or dealers that…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel SB 540, dealing with FIGA and FWCIGA, unanimously passed its last Senate committee on February 5, 2020 and will be next heard on the Senate floor. The bill was not amended. It is supported by FIGA and FWCIGA and is substantially similar to a bill that passed the House…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A bill designed to put requirements on litigation financing to protect consumers, but not to outright ban litigation financing, passed the House Appropriations Committee on February 5, 2020. The bill was not amended. Specifically, HB 7041: Requires a litigation financier to register with the Department of State and file…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 1279 tweaks the health insurance shared savings program. It passed its second committee on February 4, 2020 and is now in its last committee. The bill was not amended. The shared savings program was created in 2019 as a voluntary program for health insurers and HMOs to provide…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The House Health Market Reform Subcommittee approved the Agency for Health Care Administration’s agency bill, HB 731, when it met on February 4, 2020. The Committee adopted a strike all amendment to the bill. The bill has two committees left. The bill covers a variety of topics, but only…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 1089 provides more flexibility on who pays taxes on trust investments. Specifically, the bill allows an independent trustee of any grantor trust to reimburse the grantor for all or part of the income taxes paid by the grantor as a result of the trust’s income. The life…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A tort reform bill exempting motor vehicle dealers from vicarious liability when they supply a temporary replacement vehicle cleared its first House committee on February 4, 2020. HB 977 essentially provides immunity from liability in a civil or criminal proceeding for motor vehicle dealers or their leasing or…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The Senate loss run statement bill, SB 292, cleared its last committee on February 5, 2020. The House bill (HB 269) cleared its committees a couple of weeks ago. The bill requires virtually all insurers, including surplus lines, to provide a free annual loss run statement covering five years…