1) Know the material VERY WELL;

2) Put yourself in the shoes of your audience;

3) Know your audience-including some names;

4) Introduce yourself first and share what you want to accomplish in the presentation;

5) Make the first five minutes attention-getters;

6) Have an outline to refer to but don’t read it;

7) Establish eye contact whenever possible;

8) Involve your audience with questions;

9) Imagine yourself as a great speaker; and most importantly,

10) Practice, practice, practice, and get a great night’s sleep.

Give these tips a try as you prepare for your next presentation.  We think they’ll help!

https://jobs.myflorida.com/viewjob.html?optlink-view=view-861322&ERFormID=newjoblist&ERFormCode=any

If you would like to review the various candidates who have applied please see:

http://www.myflorida.com/myflorida/cabinet/index.html 

We encourage each of you to share this information with interested parties as the deadline to apply is March 11 with the first vetting of all the applications occurring March 23 and interviews being held March 29 at the Cabinet meeting.  All discussions will be televised and in the public eye.  We will post this information each newsletter as we watch this process unfold.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT/TAX CUTS:  The Senate has agreed with Governor Scott to a $250 million economic-development incentive package while the House hasn’t signed off on this proposal and there is still discussion about how to accommodate the Governor’s push for millions in tax cuts.

EDUCATION: The House has focused heavily on expanding school choice with a bill filed that would allow parents to send their children to any school that has capacity. The Senate has not weighed in on this issue.

GAMBLING: At issue is the $3 billion gambling deal negotiated by the Scott administration and the Seminole Tribe of Florida. Those that have dog and horse racing tracks are vying to level the playing field in the gambling arena but this highly contentious issue will go down to the last day of session before decisions are made.

GUNS: The House last week approved bills that would allow guns to be carried on college campuses and in public buildings.  The Senate has signaled it does not support these initiatives so it appears “open carry” of guns is dead this year.

HEALTH CARE: The House is pursuing legislation that would “punish” healthcare entities like hospitals because of their push last year for Medicaid expansion dollars, which the House opposed.  The Senate is working on changes to the healthcare issues but in a less draconian fashion.

JUSTICE SYSTEM: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled recently that Florida’s death penalty was unconstitutional. The House and Senate disagree about how to address the Supreme Court decision and the solution remains to be seen.

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES:  One area that has not been on the procrastination list is the bill that passed both the House and Senate and signed by the Governor to provide more job and educational opportunities to people with developmental disabilities. The bill was near and dear to Senate President Gardiner who has a son with Down’s Syndrome.

Fort Myers-based Disabled Veterans Insurance Careers Inc. (DVIC) will celebrate its fifth anniversary this year helping educate, train, license and assist disabled veteran trainees in securing careers in the insurance industry.  The program, with locations in Florida and Kansas, has become a viable resource for helping disabled vets who need help getting started in a professional career field. Insurance is a great fit!

Think about it – these men and women through their armed forces training have a particular set of valuable skills, such as efficiency, adaptability, diligence, loyalty, and a respect for authority.   They’re trained to be mission-focused and not accept defeat.  They’re used to (and can tolerate!) formal procedures, know how to work in teams, and have first-hand leadership skills transferable to the insurance business.  The veterans chosen for the DVIC training program must exhibit positive traits to be considered for the program. They must also have a strong desire to have a career in the insurance industry and demonstrate good communication skills.

The DVIC training program is extensive, lasting up to six months, and powered by the National Alliance for Insurance Education and Research.  Veterans completing the education and training program receive the Certified Insurance Service Representative (CISR) designation from the Alliance.  Following the formal education, veterans receive key on-the-job experience, spending several days a week in customer service positions at local insurance agencies, such as Rosier Insurance in Bonita Springs and Armed Forces Insurance in Leavenworth, Kansas.

DVIC was the brainchild of two successful and respected Florida insurance executives, Gary Trippe and James Pender, who co-founded the organization with Gay Trippe, Kathy Pender, Lee Knapp and Brady Polansky.  Trippe and Pender each started and managed insurance agencies during their long careers and in retirement turned their vision to help disabled veterans into a reality.

To learn more about the program, visit DVIC.us.

OIR noted that it conducted the AOB data call in order to assist in evaluating the impact to Florida’s property claims as a result of an assignment of benefits from a policyholder to a third party for water or roof damage repair.

One of the overarching findings by OIR was that, while claim severity has not changed significantly over the years among those policyholders with and without at least one assignment of benefits (“AOB”), the percentage of claims that utilize an AOB has grown dramatically since 2010.  Other conclusions were:

• The HO-3/DF frequency of water claims per 1,000 policies has increased by 46 percent since 2010. This represents an average annual increase in frequency of water claims of 8.3 percent each year.
• The average severity of HO-3/DF water claims increased by 28 percent since 2010.
• This represents an average annual increase in the severity of water claims of 5.4 percent each year.
• The combined impact of changes in frequency and severity result in an average 14.2 percent increase in water losses each year.
• Southeast Florida has the highest frequency and severity of HO-3/DF water losses; however, the highest combined change in frequency and severity actually occurred in Central Florida.  All regions are seeing significant increases in water losses.
• Claims with an AOB generally have a higher severity than claims without an AOB; however, the cause of this cannot be determined by this data call.
• There has been a significant increase in the use of AOBs since 2010, from 5.7 percent of the claims to 15.9 percent of the claims.  This increase in the use of AOBs is being seen across all regions.
• With the exception of Southeast Florida, all regions have at least 50 percent of the water claims being reported to the insurer within three days.

Florida’s Legislature now has, in addition to information gathered from other sources, two recent analytical reports, one from the state’s chief insurance regulator and the other from the state-run Citizens. The reports show, among other things, that the AOB crisis continues to grow and spread into all Florida territories. Further, Citizens has indicated that a review of its data conducted for OIR found that AOB agreements lead more frequently to litigation, which increases the cost of claims to nearly four times that of a non-litigated, non-assigned claim. It is imperative that our lawmakers pass this session a serious measure aimed at truly derailing the AOB money train. As we have previously reported, LMA is heavily involved in helping steer legislative action in this situation and we will continue to bring you in-depth reports as developments occur.   If you are interested in reviewing OIR’s full report on the data call, please go HERE.

First Professionals Insurance Company (FPIC) in Jacksonville wants the Supreme Court to review a ruling by the First District Court of Appeal that allowed Dr. Mohamad Samiian to pursue a bad-faith claim against the insurer.  The case stems from a 2004 liposuction procedure the doctor performed on a patient who later that day suffered a heart attack and died.  The patient’s estate filed a med-mal suit and during review, FPIC’s claims adjuster had noted the case had become indefensible because of post-op care.

FPIC tendered a settlement to the patient’s estate for the full $250,000 policy limits within the safe harbor period and then, two days later, sent a letter to the estate’s attorney offering to submit the case to binding arbitration.  An arbitration panel ultimately awarded $35.3 million to the estate and survivors, plus another $8 million in attorney fees and other costs and interest.

Dr. Samiian sued FPIC, contending the insurer acted in bad faith in making an offer to arbitrate which entailed admitting liability, without making the offer “contingent upon a limit of general damages.”   The doctor’s complaint also said that by offering to arbitrate, FPIC was admitting liability for economic damages, not in his best interest; didn’t advise him fully of the consequences of such; and failed to recognize that the patient’s claim was defensible or at least damages could be apportioned to others.

A trial court ruled that Dr. Samiian’s bad faith action against FPIC was barred by the “safe harbor” provision of Florida Statutes.  The First DCA ruled that disputed issues of material fact remain and remanded the case, making clear though it was not deciding the merits of the case.

Here’s the First DCA decision:

http://law.justia.com/cases/florida/first-district-court-of-appeal/2015/14-3656.html 

When taking a look at the DFS Division of Agent & Agency Services’ licensing data for MGAs, however, it is apparent that a significant number of MGA licenses were perhaps obtained in error or are no longer wanted, and unless appointed by an authorized insurer, a large number of the licenses will, over time, be canceled by operation of law. There are approximately 981 active MGA licenses in Florida but only 358 of those licensees hold an active insurer appointment. This data indicates that 623 of the 981 MGA licenses will be cancelled automatically as the coming months click by. Those MGA licensees without an active insurer appointment are reminded that it is a violation of the Insurance Code to hold oneself out as an MGA or otherwise conduct the business of insurance until such time as an appointment is properly in place. Further, only an admitted insurer with an active Certificate of Authority from the Office of Insurance Regulation can grant such an appointment through DFS. If an MGA no longer wishes to maintain its license and to avoid an automatic cancellation, a brief letter signed by a corporate officer or the individual license holder as the case may be should be sent to the DFS Bureau of Licensing indicating the desire to surrender the license. The letter can be mailed to the Department of Financial Services, Division of Agent & Agency Services, Bureau of Licensing at 200 E. Gaines Street, Tallahassee, Florida 32399. Please contact our office if you have any questions about the MGA license type or the insurance code provisions applicable to the license as we would be happy to assist you.

Recent developments cited by Fitch: AXIS and Blackstone Group failing to launch an expected hedge fund reinsurer that was to focus on casualty business; high profile reinsurers Greenlight Re and Third Point Re recording full-year investment losses for 2015; and  PAC Re Ltd moving to become an unrated company with expectations to wind down this year.  These follow AQR Re Ltd’s decision last spring to stop writing new business, noting the persistence deterioration of the global reinsurance industry.

Fitch notes that “both investment and underwriting conditions presented difficulties in 2015 that will likely continue into 2016” for hedge fund-backed reinsurers.

The bright side: Hybrid and investment-oriented (read long-term) reinsurance entities are growing in use and popularity.  “One area of alternative hybrid reinsurance that gained traction in 2015, and will likely continue to expand in the near term, are unrated vehicles that are essentially set up as a captive reinsurer partnership between a (re)insurer and a hedge fund investment manager,” said Fitch.

Under this model, the insurer or reinsurer cede less risk to external reinsurance companies and by retaining more of the premium earned from the risk, help reduce a reinsurer’s cost of capital while adding income from associated fees and the potential to share in higher long-term investment returns.

German reinsurance firm Hannover Re also acknowledges global reinsurance conditions remain unchanged going into 2016  in its report on recent renewals.  Without big losses affecting the marketplace in 2015 and their clients carrying more risks in their retention, the firm said the supply of reinsurance coverage continues to exceed demand.  But the firm notes encouraging signs in the new year, noting “indications that the decline in rates is bottoming out. Signs of this trend had already begun to emerge last year for the US market.”

Particularly hard-hit, according to Hannover Re, were specialty risks reinsurance. “Rates in marine reinsurance declined across virtually all lines and regions,” despite large losses such as the estimated $6 billion loss from the Tianjin, China port explosions. “Significant rate reductions were also recorded in the energy sector on account of abundant surplus capacities” reported Hannover Re.  The company’s premium volume for renewed marine reinsurance business shrunk 8.9% as it accepted fewer renewals this past year.

Hannover reported aviation is also soft, but that agricultural is holding its own.  The big natural catastrophe reinsurance market not so much.  “Rates continued to decline in the absence of market-changing large losses. In the United States, for example, rates for loss-free programmes fell by around 6%,” according to the firm.  This led to a 5.5% pullback on catastrophe reinsurance by Hannover during the renewal.

It is a similar story at RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd.  The company reports it has reduced its underwriting as a result.   CEO Kevin J. O’Donnell said in a recent fourth-quarter earnings conference call that “the magnitude of price reductions was surprising.” He added continued rate reductions in the international property reinsurance business “made much of this market unattractive” with underwriting standards “at the lowest level seen for some time.”

RenaissanceRe has increased its ceded retro purchases and decreased its ceded retro portfolio by 40% and deployed less capital in the property portfolio given the declining rate environment.  “We have grown and contracted our retro business in the past, and this may be the most competitive and undisciplined market as we have ever seen,” O’Donnell said.

“I want you to know that hot and cold water comes out of different fountains.  You are either hot or cold.  You have a big platform. Don’t let the devil win over your words or speech that represent the dark world.  But represent the Awesome God through your words.  Don’t confuse the devil or the enemy of what side you are on.  Speak boldly to the nations that you represent Christ for the great things He has done.  Through your words and actions, speak words to uplift and not tear down.”

We must surround ourselves with the folks that bring out the best in us and also be aware of those who do not.  While we can’t always eliminate the “do nots” from our lives, we can certainly choose to limit their influence on us.  Something to think about today and every day.

Have a great week,

Lisa and the LMA Team

Rosen Shingle Creek

Orlando, Florida

FHCF 16th Annual Participating Insurers Workshop

May 18 & 19, 2016

Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort

Lake Buena Vista, Florida