Florida Insurance Council - Covering Florida Since 1962
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel SB 678 requires leases to specify whether the renter is required to purchase renters insurance and if so, the required coverage. The bill also requires a lease to provide information about the benefit of purchasing renters insurance if the lease does not require purchase of such. The Senate Banking…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel HB 299, filed for the 2018 Session, reduces the number of members on the Florida Building Commission because the bill sponsor feels it has too many members. The bill passed its first committee on November 15, 2017 and has only one committee left. The Building Commission implements and adopts…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The House Judiciary Committee heard and passed the House AOB bill, PCB JDC 18-01, filed for 2018. One amendment (PDF) removing the examination under oath (EUO) provision from the bill was proposed, but was defeated on a voice vote after the bill sponsor indicated the amendment was unfriendly. The…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The House Judiciary Committee released a committee bill on AOB reform on November 7, 2017. The bill will be heard and voted on at the Judiciary Committee meeting next week, on November 14, 2017. Thus, it seems like AOB reform is being fast-tracked by House leadership this year. …
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The Advisory Council (Council) for the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF or Fund) met on October 26, 2017 and learned the FHCF is still financially strong despite losses to the Fund from Hurricane Irma. During the meeting, the Council received and approved the October Claims Paying Capacity Estimates…
By: Katrina Callaway, FIC General Counsel The Senate Banking and Insurance Committee continued its discussion and debate on assignment of benefits (AOBs) during its committee meeting on October 24, 2017. The Committee also held a panel discussion on AOB during the last committee meeting. Most of the panelists from the last meeting participated again during…
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (Oct. 24, 2017) – Legislative meetings about Assignment of Benefits underscored the need for comprehensive reform to end abusive AOB practices that are driving up the cost of property insurance and threatening the affordability of home ownership for many Floridians, the Consumer Protection Coalition said today. Members of the Senate Banking and Insurance…
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 23, 2017Contact: Michael Williams. (850) 222-3767, michael@coremessage.com More than One Billion in Reinsurance Payments Now in Florida Market as Irma Claims Are Paid~Reinsurance Providing the Capital to Pay Claims and Write New Business~ Tallahassee, FL – In early September, almost the entire state of Florida was affected by Hurricane Irma, creating…
By Greenberg Traurig In the opinion, Justice Pariente noted the appeals court had improperly ruled that multipliers are only available in “rare” and “exceptional” circumstances. Pariente wrote, “after reviewing this Court’s precedent regarding contingency fee multipliers, it is clear that this court has never limited the use of contingency fee multipliers to only `rare’ and…
By Greenberg Traurig, P.A. This morning the Florida Cabinet held their monthly meeting. Of particular interest were presentations made by the Office of Insurance Regulation (“OIR”) and the State Board of Administration. Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier told the Cabinet “it was a significant catastrophic year, especially for the second half of 2017. Where we’re going…