Florida Insurance Council - Covering Florida Since 1962
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel An omnibus insurance bill containing primarily clean up or noncontroversial insurance provisions passed its first House committee this week. A committee bill was adopted to replace the original bill, HB 895. The bill has two committees left. The Senate companion, SB 1606, will be heard in its first committee…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 799 and HB 801 revamp Florida’s trade secret protection laws. On January 30, 2020, they passed the Commerce Committee. The bills have one committee left. HB 801 repeals most of the public records exemptions for trade secret protection in current law. The repeals include the exemptions that protect…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On January 30, 2020, the House Judiciary Committee approved a committee bill (PCB JDC 20-05) to make appeals of most county court cases go directly to the District Court of Appeal, rather than the circuit court. The bill is consistent with recommendations recently made by the Judicial Management Council’s…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel On January 28, 2020, House and Senate committees approved the DFS Consumer Protection bills, HB 1137 and SB 1492. A strike all amendment (678807) was approved for the House bill. The amendment alleviates some of the concerns about the bill raised by property insurers, however, some problems still…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 1409 creates a public records exemption for certain sensitive business information held by the Department of Financial Services (DFS) which is protected from public records disclosure requirements if held by the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR). Disclosure of the exempted information, which includes Own-Risk and Solvency Assessment (ORSA)…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The Senate Judiciary Committee approved SB 1510 during its meeting on January 21, 2020 with a strike all amendment. The amended bill repeals the appellate jurisdiction of circuit courts for appeals of most cases from county courts. Under the bill, most appeals from the county courts will go…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The OIR backed credit for reinsurance bill that incorporates substantive provisions from the 2017 Covered Agreement between the U.S. and the European Union (EU) passed its first Senate committee on January 21, 2020. SB 1376 was not amended. It enacts the 2019 changes to the NAIC Credit For Reinsurance…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel A tort reform bill relating to asbestos trust claims putting the business and insurance communities against the trial bar passed its first House committee on January 16, 2020 when the House Civil Justice Subcommittee approved HB 741 with a partyline vote of 10-5. One clarifying amendment was adopted to the…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: January 13, 2020 Contact: Patti Butchikas / Phone: (850) 914-6300 / Patti.Butchikas@myfloridahouse.gov Panama City, FL – Rep. Jay Trumbull Puts Constituents First; Unveils Consumer-Focused, Free-Market Property Insurance Reform Legislation While thousands of victims of Hurricanes Irma and Michael still have open insurance storm-related claims, Rep. Jay Trumbull of Panama City today announced…