LMA NEWSLETTER February 17, 2020

Paying Attention

This week is the 6th week of a 9 week legislative session.  The key focus of the House and Senate is the $90+ Billion budget and the negotiations that will commence later this week.  Will the House agree with the Senate to provide state employee pay raises?  Will the Senate concur with the House to …

Bill Watch

Recap of Week 5 & Preview of Week 6 of Session

We’re now past the midway point of the Florida Legislature’s 2020 session.  Tort reform became very iffy in committee meetings last week.  Will this new week bring greater collaboration and compromise?  We’ll see.  Three insurance bills – Bad Faith, PIP, and an Omnibus bill …

A Puzzled Consumer from The Villages

Latest from the rate hearings

Retiree John Hunter sent a letter to his insurance company last week describing what many call the “roofer hustle.”  Here are excerpts of his letter.  “Back in January a Villager that I know, was aware that his roof was 20 years old and decided that it was time to replace …

Congress Tackling Flooding Again

New bill targets Repetitive Loss Properties

Acknowledging the growing disaster recovery costs of properties that repeatedly flood, Congress has introduced new bipartisan legislation to stem their number, which represent only 1% of federal flood policies but consume 10% of claim payouts.  Florida is among the five states with the most Repetitive Loss Properties (RLP), defined …

Build That Wall?

Feds consider flood walling Miami-Dade County

In what may be one of the most fanciful mitigation ideas to date in South Florida, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is out with a proposal to build a 10-13 foot tall wall along the coast in parts of Miami-Dade County, in an effort to block storm surge …

BP Oil Spill Impact Area Extended

Effects as far as the Keys & Atlantic

The 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill may have impacted an area 30% larger than originally believed.  That’s the conclusion of a new report from the University of Miami whose studies show the toxic crude reached further west to Texas Shores and further east toward Tampa and …

3D Homes Becoming a Reality

Fix to Florida’s affordable housing woes?

The potential of three-dimensional (3D) printing is slowly becoming a reality that may significantly help resolve the affordable housing problem in many countries and right here in Florida.  The first 3D printed home was recently created just across the border in Mexico, as a Florida start-up is also aspiring …

A Moment of Silence

Two bills in the Florida Legislature, one filed by a Republican and the other by a Democrat, require a moment of silence at the beginning of each school day.  As I read the bills, which both passed their second of three committees last week, I pondered “Is this a lesson for all of us, as …