Florida Insurance Council - Covering Florida Since 1962
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A Senate bill making significant changes to the mediation process that is harmful to the insurance industry was postponed on January 10, 2018 in its first committee stop, the Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill sponsor, Sen. Steube, who also chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, postponed the bill without explanation.…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 759 by Rep. Trumbell (R-Panama City) changes part of the claim process for construction defect claims. The bill passed its first House committee on January 10, 2018. It was not amended in committee. HB 759 requires the notice of a claim in a construction defect case to be…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A bill that may be of concern to the life insurance industry was unanimously approved by its first House committee on January 10, 2018. The bill was not amended in committee and has one committee left. The bill, HB 855, prohibits life insurers or long-term care insurers from cancelling,…
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Jan. 10, 2018)–The Florida House is sending a clear message early in the legislative session that Assignment of Benefits (AOB) abuse is hurting consumers and must be addressed immediately. Now is the time for the Senate to follow the House’s lead and do what is right for Florida’s consumers. The Consumer Protection Coalition…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel Bills (HB 33, SB 90) changing the current enforcement of the ban on texting while driving from secondary to primary, which will allow a law enforcement officer to stop a vehicle solely for texting while driving, passed committees in the House and Senate during the first week of the…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A bill to provide more disclosure to homeowners about the lack of flood coverage in their property insurance policy passed its first House committee on January 10, 2018. A strike all amendment (#818499) and two technical amendments to the strike all (#193917 and #302883) were adopted by the…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The House Health Innovation Subcommittee approved HB 289, the any willing pharmacy/mail order bill, during its meeting on January 10, 2018 with a strike all amendment to limit the scope of the bill to only HIV drugs, a significant limitation. The amended bill is still opposed by health plans…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On January 10, 2018, the House Insurance and Banking Subcommitee approved HB 533 with one amendment. The bill allows an insurer to condition the sale of insurance on the purchase of motor vehicle services if such services are purchased from a membership organization affiliated with the insurer and…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The House Insurance and Banking Subcomittee unanimously approved HB HB 483 on January 10, 2018 with one amendment. The bill has one committee stop left. The Senate companion bill, SB 762, has not yet been heard in committee. The bill expands the types of promotional and advertising gifts allowed…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel SB 7012 reenacts and saves from repeal the public records exemption in current law for proprietary business information provided by insurers in the private market to Citizens Property Insurance Corporation for use in the Citizens Clearinghouse. The information is provided by insurers to the Citizens Clearinghouse and used to…