It is the most powerful job in state government most people can’t name. Florida’s insurance commissioner has the unfettered ability to affect the cost of living in the state. From the property insurance policy of every homeowner, to the workers’ compensation plans of every employer, to millions of automobile, life insurance, medical malpractice and health…
Between a Florida Cabinet meeting Tuesday and another special Cabinet meeting Friday, the drama over picking a new state insurance commissioner is shifting momentarily from Tallahassee to Tampa today. Many of the key players in the political saga, including outgoing Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, are in Tampa for the inaugural conference of the Florida Association…
The Florida Association for Insurance Reform hosts an industry conference on the role of Catastrophe Reinsurance and a Wind Exposed Region. Expected to attend are several contenders for Commissioner of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, including Ray Blacklidge, who is scheduled to give an antitrust statement. Outgoing insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty will give the…
With hurricane season on the way, exactly when the end is coming for Florida’s current insurance commissioner has become a storm of its own. Amid a tense feud over naming his successor, Florida insurance commissioner Kevin McCarty said Thursday he intends to show up for work May 3, though Gov. Rick Scott’s office has taken…
Although the role of catastrophe reinsurance in a wind exposed region is intuitively obvious to an insurance professional and most insurer rating agencies, the need for transparency, education and open dialogue on this important topic is necessary. Consumers, members of the media, policy makers and other interested parties need to be reminded that the dollar…
“The Role of Catastrophe Reinsurance in a Wind Exposed Region” to be held April 28 in Tampa Fort Lauderdale, FL – Top executives from Florida’ insurance industry will share their insights with leaders from reinsurance and ratings agencies, market and financial analysts, and other industry experts at the Florida Association for Insurance Reform’s (FAIR) inaugural…
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. March 30, 2016. An insurance reform group is asking the Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate a hedge fund manager’s November “short pitch,” which immediately preceded a 31 percent decline in the stock price of a Fort Lauderdale-based insurance company. Anthony Bozza, founder of Lakewood Capital, made false, incomplete or misleading statements…
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. March 29, 2016. Florida Gov. Rick Scott made it known Tuesday that his choice for the next Florida insurance commissioner would not be State Representative Bill Hager. “I won’t second it,” was Scott’s quick response to Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater’s motion to appoint Hager to the soon to be open post…
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. March 29, 2016: A year after Gov. Rick Scott tried to force an insurance regulator on the public, he and the Florida Cabinet will conduct interviews today for the state’s most powerful unelected position. They should choose the person who will make consumers, not industry, the priority. In early 2015, aides to…
FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. March 29, 2016. Gov. Rick Scott’s nominee for Florida insurance commissioner faced multiple questions Tuesday about a Palm Beach Post story on a lawsuit claiming he misled investors in a flood insurance venture, and Cabinet officials put off a decision until April. Asked if he wished to respond to “media reports,” Jeffrey…