Florida Insurance Council - Covering Florida Since 1962
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 HB 1039, a bill allowing advertising on the roofs of TNC vehicles and creating luxury ground transportation TNCs, was approved by its second committee in the House on February 4, 2020 when the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee approved it. It was not amended. The bill has one committee…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On February 4, 2020, a vote on Sen. Brandes’ (R) bad faith reform bill was postponed for the second time. The bill was first postponed last week when the committee ran out of time. This week, the bill was postponed at the start of the meeting, so it appears…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel With many members calling for continued discussion about third party bad faith reform and no definite promise from the bill sponsor to amend the bill to add bad faith, the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee approved HB 771, the PIP repeal bill, during its meeting on February 4, 2020.…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel Bills regulating electric bikes (e-bikes) and essentially treating them like bikes that are pedaled passed committees in the House and Senate on February 3, 2020 despite concerns about bikes going up to 28 mph being used on pedestrian walkways. The House bill, HB 971, was not amended. The Senate…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel Bills to regulate peer to peer car sharing, and which includes insurance requirements, started moving this week in the Senate and House. When it heard the bill on January 27, 2020, the Senate Innovation, Industry, and Technology Committee adopted a strike all amendment (380208) to bring the Senate bill…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On January 28, 2020, a vote on Sen. Brandes’ (R) bad faith reform bill was postponed to next week’s committee meeting when the committee ran out of allocated meeting time. The Committee took limited public testimony from two trial lawyers before postponing the bill. The House does not…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The House transportation omnibus bill, HB 395, picked up some insurance related provisions in committee on January 28, 2020 via a strike all amendment (263101). The additions change the financial responsibility and self-insurance requirements in current law for taxis and make several TNC changes, including the creation of disability…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel Bills allowing advertising on the roofs of TNC vehicles and creating luxury ground transportation TNCs advanced in the House and Senate this week, though the bills have some differences outlined below. The Senate Infrastructure and Security Committee approved SB SB 1352 without amendment. However, the House bill (HB 1039)…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On January 28, 2020, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee unanimously approved HB 971 which defines and creates regulations for electric bikes (e-bikes). The bill was amended and has two committees left. The Senate companion, SB 1148, has not been heard in committee yet. The amended bill creates a…