With politics, laws, economics, and elections currently uppermost in everyone's minds, we asked a cast of Florida insurance experts to opine on legislative and regulatory "hot topics" of their choosing. This special "Legislative Issues" edition of Florida Underwriter carries extended cover stories on significant local, state, and national laws and initiatives directed at the insurance industry or its products.

A recent report in Best's Review projected that the 50 U.S. states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia combined will spend more than $1.54 billion in 2009 on the regulation of insurance. The spending varies widely throughout the nation, ranging from a projected high of $30 per resident in Delaware to a low of $2 per resident in 11 other states. Florida came in relatively low, at $6 per capita, sharing that projected dollar amount with such diverse company as California, Nebraska, and North Dakota.

But with a nod to the Florida refrain, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity," industry pundits might say of the report, "It's not the money, it's the regulations."

We are featuring five groups in this issue, who will be focusing on the following topics:

PCI-Florida: Some cities have found a new revenue source with the "accident tax." Several jurisdictions have passed legislation that allows them to charge drivers and their insurers when the police or fire department is called to respond to an accident — a classic case of adding insult to injury.

FAIA: The eleven-member, statutorily created Citizens' Mission Review Task Force, mission is "to analyze and compile available data and to develop a report setting forth the statutory and operational changes needed to return Citizens Property Insurance Corporation to its former role as a state-created, noncompetitive residual market mechanism that provides property insurance coverage to risks that are otherwise entitled but unable to obtain such coverage in the private insurance market." The committee is flying so low under the radar that even a Google search can't find any action.

PIA-Florida: The federal Insurance Information Act of 2008, which seeks to place the U.S. Treasury Department in charge of all things insurance, would effectively gut the McCarran-Ferguson Act of 1945 and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999. Just what we need — another layer of federal bureaucracy.

FIC: The Florida AntiTrust Act, originally passed in 1980, essentially codified the provisions of the federal Sherman Antitrust Act by providing restraints of trade or commerce. An interim study by staff of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee to evaluate the effects of applying the Act to the business of insurance is in its final drafts. We say, "Leave it alone."

NAIFA-Florida: Amendment 5, which many feared would result in a service tax for insurance agencies, brought lawsuits, rulings, and appeals, and ultimately made its way to the Florida Supreme Court. The governor loved the amendment, the industry hated it, and although the court threw the amendment off the November ballot, few believe the service tax issue is dead and buried.

Special Reports /

Five Insurance Experts Speak Out About Fees, Taxes, Regulations, and Citizens

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