2017 FIC Bill Summaries Post Session Agents and Adjusters
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GT: Citizens Introduces Emergency Water Removal Services and Managed Repair Contractor Network Program
By: Greenberg Traurig, FIC Lobbyist Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (“Citizens”) recently announced they will begin offering two new programs in an effort to mitigate rapidly rising claims costs due to water losses. Citizens will now offer consumers emergency water removal services and add a managed repair contractor program to their claims services. Citizen notes that…
FIC: NCCI and OIR Win Comp Case
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On May 9, 2017, the First District Court of Appeal (DCA) upheld the 14.5% workers’ compensation rate increase approved by the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) in October. The opinion can be found here. The case arose when a trial court invalidated OIR’s rate increase finding public records and…
FIC: No Deal on Medical Marijuana; It is up to the Department of Health Now
By: Sam Miller, FIC Consultant The number of medical marijuana dispensing centers and the Senate’s fear of “a pot shop on every corner” was the deal breaker and kept the Legislature from passing legislation implementing Constitutional Amendment No. 2. The House and Senate got close in the final hours of the 2017 regular session May…
FIC: No Legislative Agreement on Comp: Insurance Chair Warns Rates Will Go Up
By: Sam Miller, FIC Consultant Trial lawyers in the Senate beat back a last-minute compromise attempt on legal fees from Sen. Rob Bradley and a possible agreement (HB 7085, CS/SB 1582) to reduce workers’ comp rates in the final hours of the 2017 regular session. Comp rates have gone up 14.5 percent since the various…
FIC: Legislature Finalizes Drones Bill
By: Sam Miller, FIC Consultant The House and Senate each passed legislation on aerial and sidewalk & roadway drones on May 5, the final day of the 2017 session. This will go to Governor Rick Scott soon. The Senate vote was 35-0 on the bill (HB 1027). The House vote was 115-0. Two drone bills…
FIC: Insurance Omnibus Passed
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The insurance omnibus package, HB 359, passed the Legislature on the last day of Session, May 5, 2017 after the House agreed to changes made to the bill by the Senate. Importantly, named driver exclusion language did not make it into the bill that passed. That language was…
FIC: Building Code Adoption Changes Approved by Legislature
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On May 5, 2017, the last day of Session, the Florida Legislature passed HB 1021. Part of that bill changes the building code adoption process. The building code adoption changes were part of a myriad of additions to HB 1021 added by the Senate and when the bill returned…
FIC: Fraud Bill Passed With STOLI & Auto PreInsurance Inspection
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The Senate heard the House insurance fraud bill, HB 1007, on the Senate floor on May 5, 2017, the last day of Session. They amended it, passed it and returned it back to the House for consideration and approval of the Senate changes. Changes made by the Senate…