Florida Developments

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Florida’s Attorney General Bill McCollum, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink and Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty announced on May 23, 2008 that the state reached a settlement with insurance brokerage firm Aon Corp.  According to the Florida agencies, Aon had received, and failed to disclose,  compensation for placing insurance coverage for Florida policyholders. 

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Read More Three Florida Agencies Announce Insurance Settlement with Aon Corp

Last month, the Florida Senate introduced S.B. 2860, a comprehensive property insurance bill aimed at protecting property owners from arbitrary and unsupported property rate increases.  Florida’s House of Representatives subsequently approved an amended version of the bill, which the Florida Senate adopted earlier this month.  The Governor approved the bill on May 28, and it will take effect on July 1, 2008. 

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Read More Florida Enacts New Property Insurance Legislation

Before closing its legislative session on May 2nd, the Florida House and Senate unanimously approved Senate Bill 648 (“SB 648” or the “Bill”) addressing insurable interest requirements with respect to life insurance policies.  The Bill is different from the NAIC and NCOIL Viatical Settlement Models, but addresses many of the same issues surrounding stranger owned life insurance arrangements (“STOLI”). 

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Read More Florida Insurable Interest Bill Passes the House and Senate

Before closing its legislative session on May 2nd, both of Florida’s legislative chambers unanimously approved Senate Bill 2082 (“SB 2082” or the “Bill”) addressing suitability in annuity sales.  The Bill is based on the NAIC Suitability in Annuity Transactions Model Regulation, as amended in 2006, which requires that life insurance companies ensure that their annuity products are marketed and sold to suitable parties. 

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Read More Florida Approves Annuity Suitability Bill

The Florida Senate Banking & Insurance Committee passed legislation last month that would reduce the state-funded reinsurance, which insurers are permitted to purchase in addition to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund coverage (Cat Fund). The measure, backed by Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, is designed to shed some of the state’s hurricane risk. 

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Read More Florida Senate Passes Bill to Reduce Insurers’ Catastrophe Coverage Limits

A federal district court judge in Florida recently ruled that an insurer cannot retroactively rescind a liability policy insuring underground storage tanks (“USTs”) for an alleged material misrepresentation in the policy application.  Rather, the only remedy for such a misrepresentation is the denial of coverage for future claims. …
Read More Federal Judge in Florida Rules Underground Storage Tank Policy Cannot Be Rescinded

A Florida federal court recently found that, despite a mold exclusion and anti-concurrent-cause provision in the relevant commercial general liability policy, an insured was entitled to defense and indemnity for claims relating to mold infestation. 

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Read More Florida Federal Court Finds Duty to Defend and Indemnify Mold-Related Claims Despite Policy’s Mold Exclusion and Anti-Concurrent-Cause Provision

In what appears to be a matter of first impression in Florida, a federal Magistrate Judge in the Southern District of Florida denied the comparative bad faith and comparative negligence defenses in an excess insurer’s bad faith claim against a primary insurer. 

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Read More Comparative Bad Faith Defense Not Available in Florida Suit Between Primary and Excess Insurers

Two weeks ago the Florida House of Representatives’ Jobs and Entrepreneurship Committee unanimously passed a bill, requiring insurers, which participate in Florida’s Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (“Cat Fund”), to purchase reinsurance from the private market.  The bill specifically seeks to eliminate last year’s $12 billion increase in Cat Fund coverage. 

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Read More Florida House Committee Passes Legislation to Expand Private Reinsurance Market

On Thursday, the Florida House Committee unanimously passed a bill backed by Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink requiring insurer’s that buy into the state’s catastrophe fund to purchase reinsurance from the private market.  It was estimated that the bill, which was backed by Republican’s such as Ron Reagan, could inject as much as $3 billion of limits back to the private reinsurance market. …
Read More Florida House Committee Passes Legislation to Expand Private Reinsurance Market