I swear, the Republican Legislature DID do something. Really.

August 2, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Okay. So in January the Republican Legislature passed “property insurance reform.” In June, the Republican Legislature passed “property tax reform.”
After all, these were important campaign issues. Something had to be done. Floridians are going broke. They can’t afford their homes. They’re moving out of our state.
So two bills were passed. […]

Jan

22

Florida Legislature - Special Session on Property Insurance - Summary

January 22, 2007 | 2 Comments

Last week, we previewed the special session with a list of issues contained in the House and Senate bills. Today, the Legislature will vote to approve the final version of the measure. Here are some of the various provisions contained within the legislation, taken from various media reports:
Citizens

A one-year freeze on rates for Citizen’s […]

Jan

21

Florida Legislature - Special Session on Property Insurance - Deal Reached

January 21, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Various media reports today are indicating that the House and Senate have reached a deal on fixes to the property insurance crisis. It appears that all sides are getting what they want. The Senate wanted a super-reinsurance fund and allowing Citizens Insurance to offer coverage of more than just windstorm in high-risk areas. The House […]

Jan

20

Florida Legislature - Special Session on Property Insurance

January 20, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Members of the conference committees have managed to make some progress on the differences between the House and Senate positions.
House and Senate members signed off on a measure aimed at preventing insurance companies from “cherry-picking,” or refusing to sell homeowners insurance in Florida while marketing other kinds of policies here, such as automobile coverage.
Under the […]

Jan

19

Florida Legislature - Special Session on Property Insurance - Differences

January 19, 2007 | Leave a Comment

The Associated Press has a good list of major differences between the House and Senate bills:

Homeowners could opt out of windstorm coverage (S)
Homeowners could opt for higher deductibles (S)
Homeowners could opt for covering only the amount of their unpaid mortgage (H)
Insurance companies who write homeowner policies in other states, but offer auto insurance in Florida […]

Jan

18

Special Session Update: Conferees Appointed

January 18, 2007 | 1 Comment

This morning, I posted a quick session review and explanation of the conference committee process. Two things:
First, I was wrong about the bills. Instead of the House passing an amended Senate bill, the Senate amended the House bills and sent them back. No big deal, just five bills instead of one. The […]

Jan

18

Florida Legislature - Special Session on Property Insurance

January 18, 2007 | 1 Comment

Yesterday, the Florida Senate passed Senate Bill 4-A, it’s version of solutions to the property insurance crisis, while the House passed its version in House Bills 1-A, 3-A, 5-A, 7-A, and 9-A. These bills contain some differences, as noted by the Miami Herald:
The differences emerged between the House and Senate over how far to […]

Jan

16

Florida Legislature - Special Session on Property Insurance

January 16, 2007 | 4 Comments

This afternoon, the 160 members of the Florida Legislature will convene in a special session to debate ideas designed to bolster the insurance market and bring down rates.
Here are some of the various provisions contained within the legislation in either the House or Senate, taken from various media reports:
Citizens

A one-year freeze on rates for Citizen’s […]

Jan

15

Florida Legislature - Week in Preview

January 15, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Today is the holiday observing Martin Luther King, Jr’s birthday, so the Legislature is not in session. Tomorrow, the Florida Legislature will begin their special session to find solutions to Florida’s property insurance crisis.
The tentative schedule for both the House and Senate is to convene and call the session to order tomorrow afternoon, then meet […]

Jan

10

Insurance Followup - Looking Closer at the Models

January 10, 2007 | 1 Comment

In yesterday’s post, I talked about efforts by insurance companies to justify their rate increases by changing at least one computer model used to project losses:
The primary computer model used to justify rate increases is flawed based on faulty science. The model, used by more than 400 insurance companies, was previously based on 100 years […]

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