By JIM TURNER THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, December 8, 2015……….The Senate isn’t ready to match a House proposal that would prevent local governments from regulating popular app-based transportation services, such as Uber and Lyft. Senate President Andy Gardiner, R-Orlando, said Tuesday his chamber will again focus during the 2016 legislative session…
Just three companies responded to an Oct. 6 request by Florida’s new insurance consumer advocate for data to back up assertions that water damage claims and resulting lawsuits in South Florida are out of control. Among the companies that did not submit data as requested by Consumer Insurance Advocate Sha’Ron James was the state’s largest:…
TAMPA — Uber is one step closer to operating here legally now that the state Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles has filed a document saying the company’s insurance policies meet state requirements. The validity of the rideshare company’s insurance has been a major sticking point since Uber started operating in Tampa in April…
ORLANDO — A state report says 67 Florida property insurers “ultimately” passed a stress test that simulated three hurricane scenarios, though at least one company — which was not named — did not initially have enough reinsurance, or backup coverage to pay claims. Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said the aggregate results mean consumers “should have…
Florida’s new insurance consumer advocate wants property insurance companies to produce data to back up their statements about rising water damage claims in South Florida. Sha’Ron James, who took over the statewide position in August, told participants at a public workshop Tuesday that she has asked the top 15 insurers to document their assertions that…
TALLAHASSEE — Taxicab companies in Broward County and Tallahassee filed their second lawsuit against the state in as many days, this time accusing app-based transportation services like Uber and Lyft of operating without proper insurance in Florida. The cab companies alleged in a lawsuit filed Wednesday that the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor…
on July 19, 2015 the Miami Herald ran the following op-ed by PIFF Executive Director Michael Carlson: For three years, state lawmakers have received mounting evidence about a scam in which frazzled homeowners are unknowingly signing away their insurance benefits to shady vendors during home repair emergencies. This spring’s annual legislative session melted down with…
Florida representatives are turning their attention to flood insurance with a new bill and a proposition to extend a 2014 law. Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.) and Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) are calling for an extension of the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act, signed by President Barack Obama on March 21, 2014, which limited yearly flood…
Although hurricane season has yet to cause havoc this year, 2015 has already been a brutal year for insurance companies which provide homeowners’ coverage in Florida. The problem for property insurers? No one is willing to take a firm position against the surge of Assignment of Benefits (AOB) lawsuits, which are proliferating to the point…
Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s board of governors on Wednesday approved a 2016 rate package that lowers rates for nearly half of Citizens’ personal lines policyholders while addressing increased water loss claims and inadequate rates for its remaining policyholders along the coast. By a unanimous vote, the board approved an overall rate increase of 3.2 percent…