The Florida Senate Appropriations Committee meeting, March 3, 2020
Up front, our newsletter will talk about Coronavirus going forward only if there’s a specific legislative funding or insurance relevance, which there happens to be in this edition. All of us are inundated with news about this virus and we are already practicing great hygiene and using common sense! Most of us are living our daily lives and making the world a better place.
Last week, the House and Senate had lots of speeches from departing legislators with the most memorable being the one from Ana Maria Rodriguez who is leaving the House and running for an open Senate seat. Known as AMR, Representative Rodriguez’s speech was straight from the heart, thanking her parents, husband, children and all of the mentors in her life. She has an unyielding commitment not only to her South Florida constituents but to the entire state of Florida. Her door is always open and she studies and reads proposed legislation, unlike most, and is never caught off guard. She has a grace and style about her that we should all strive to emulate and I, and those in my orbit, will work tirelessly so she can be elected to the Florida Senate in November. If you don’t know her, please read more here.
In addition to farewell speeches, many of us watched proposed legislation slowly die that was designed to stop the consumer abuse caused by litigation antics of a handful of lawyers. Many consumers are wising up to what is happening and connecting the dots between rising claim costs and increasing property insurance rates. It’s not complicated when following the money trail and who is behind the current litigation explosion.
There is vehement disagreement between the House and Senate on a variety of issues, not just issues affecting property insurance consumers. The House collectively leans toward allowing for balanced consumer protections with the Senate having members who are on both sides of the debate.
With last week’s release of the horrible financial condition of many insurance companies attributable to the legislature’s inaction, we can only hope that rational thinking will prevail with some type of legislation to re-balance the current environment by session end.
LMA Newsletter of 3-9-20
