Florida law – Page 6 – Miamilawyer1.com

January 2, 2015

Weekly Review for Florida Insurance Law for Friday, January 2, 2015

week's weekly review for Florida Insurance Law

Here are some recent articles of interest that I found this week for the insurance industry, Florida insurance law, Florida insurance claims, and Florida insurance trends. Enjoy!

Florida’s Universal Insurance Raises $19M in Stock Deal
Florida’s largest private insurer has raised $19 million through a privately negotiated stock deal with an investment firm that specializes in natural catastrophe reinsurance and weather risk.

Read more here…

What you need to know about Florida’s new child safety seat laws
According to the Florida Highway Patrol, 145 Florida children have been injured this year because of improper child restraints. Parents who violate the new law face fines of $60 and 3 points on their license.

Read more here…

New Florida Law for Smoke Alarms
In an attempt to reduce deaths from house fires, the Florida Building Code will now require homeowners to install a 10-year, sealed battery smoke alarm in the home when replacing outdated or nonworking alarms.

Read more here…

Thank you for reading (and sharing). Stay tuned for next week’s weekly review for Florida Insurance Law!

December 29, 2014

Weekly Review for Law Practice Tips for Monday, December 29, 2014

Here are some recent articles of interest that I found this week related to law practice management, law technology, and legal marketing. Enjoy!

Legal Marketing: Top 7 Internet Marketing Mistakes Law Firms Need To Avoid
I’ve worked with dozens of attorneys helping to enhance their online presence and market their firms. I’ve also studied many more and it isn’t uncommon to see lawyers (often busy doing what they do best) miss obvious opportunities for getting more exposure on the internet. Just like in every industry, people make some really basic mistakes when promoting their brand on the web and lawyers are no different.

Read more here…

Law Practice Management Tips: Cloud-Based Practice Management: A Comparative Review
Cloud-based practice management is the future of law practice, especially for small firms or solo lawyers. The fact is, practice management software helps lawyers manage their lives, provide competent representation, and control all aspects of their law practices. Many lawyers try to manage their practices with a combination of calendaring, file folders on a server, or even as an Excel spreadsheet. But as I’ve pointed out, practice management and case management systems add much more value, and help minimize conflicts or other issues.

Read more here…

Law Practice Tips: 12 Rules for Turning Phone Consultations Into Retainers
Initial consultations are different on the phone.
Recently, I published 12 Rules for Turning Initial Consultations Into Retainers, which inspired some questions from lawyers meeting with clients via phone and online. The phone is different—very different.

Read more here…

Law Practice Tips: Soloing With Mindfulness In Mind
Solos always need tools to get ahead. The most obvious tool to help you do that is actually inside your head. You just need some training to understand it, and use it to your best advantage. The training is mindfulness training.

Read more here…

Thank you for reading (and sharing). Stay tuned for next week’s weekly review for Law Practice Tips!

December 22, 2014

Weekly Review for Florida Insurance Law for Monday, December 22, 2014

Here are some recent articles of interest that I found this week for the insurance industry, Florida insurance law, Florida insurance claims, and Florida insurance trends. Enjoy!

Florida Legal News: Tampa Couple Wins Harassment Lawsuit Against Bank of America for $1Million+
Nelson and Joyce Coniglio of Tampa, Florida were tired of receiving a flood of automated phone calls (over 700) from the Bank of America after they fell behind in the mortgage payments in 2009. They got a lawyer, filed a lawsuit against the Bank, and they recently got a judgment of $1,051,000 against the bank. Their lawyer, Billy Howard, discusses the case.

Read more here…

Florida Legal News: Florida Cop Pulls Man Over For Playing Anti-Police Song By N.W.A.
Cesar Baldelomar, a Harvard graduate, claims that he was pulled over by a police officer in Hialeah, Florida, on Thanksgiving morning. Baldelomar was playing the classic 1988 rap tune “F— Tha Police” by N.W.A. However, Hialeah Police Officer Harold Garzon was standing nearby when he heard the anti-police lyrics from Baldelomar’s car.

Read more here…

Florida Legal News: Florida employers launch campaign for statewide LGBT anti-discrimination law
Florida employers, responding to rising public support, today unveiled Florida Competes, a campaign to persuade state legislators to update anti-discrimination laws.

Read more here…

Thank you for reading (and sharing). Stay tuned for next week’s weekly review for Florida Insurance Law!

December 19, 2014

Weekly Review for Law Practice Tips for Friday, December 19, 2014

Here are some recent articles of interest that I found this week related to law practice management, law technology, and legal marketing. Enjoy!

Reconnecting with Your Passion for the Law
At some point, most lawyers express a sense of meaninglessness in their work. While this is not unique to lawyers, their philosophical and analytical tendencies often seem to make these feelings more acute. And the negative public perception of law can compound these feelings, depriving lawyers of the social adulation and approval that may help buoy those in other highly demanding professions.

Read more here…

Reaching the turning point in a legal career
No career is without routine frustrations and even some major hurdles. However, I felt free to really enjoy one of the best parts of my practice — my conversations with clients — because I knew that I could usually offer them immediate valuable feedback.

Read more here…

Break The Bonds Of Depression: Be The Happy Lawyer You Were Meant To Be
It’s well known that members of the legal profession are plagued by depression and substance abuse. The causes are many. Lawyering is a contentious, combative line of work. The pressure to bring in new books of business combined with the relentless requirements of the billable hour cause undue stress. It’s a demanding job full of constant and unexpected deadlines. And, sometimes, despite your best efforts, you’re unable to achieve the desired results for your clients.

Read more here…

The Happy Lawyer: Change Your Mindset
Great news for lawyers since our profession has the distinct honor of having some of the highest rates of depression, substance abuse, and suicide. That’s why we’ve embarked on this 15 post blog series devoted to helping lawyers make choices that increase their levels of happiness. As we discuss in that post, one way to increase happiness is to take steps to change your mindset.

Read more here…

Creating a Walk-Away Law Practice
How do you build a law practice you can one day own but no longer run? It starts with wrapping your mind around the concept that you don’t have to do everything yourself, or even closely supervise everything yourself.

Read more here…

Thank you for reading (and sharing). Stay tuned for next week’s weekly review for Law Practice Tips!

December 15, 2014

Weekly Review for Florida Insurance Law for Monday, December 15, 2014

Here are some recent articles of interest that I found this week for the insurance industry, Florida insurance law, Florida insurance claims, and Florida insurance trends. Enjoy!

Florida Legal News: Is Jan. 6 Florida’s day for gay marriage?
Come Jan. 6, Florida may become the 36th state in which same-sex couples can go to their local county clerk’s office and get a marriage license.
Or Florida might become Kansas — a Balkanized state where some county clerks issue licenses, some won’t, and the whole issue of gay marriage is confused and unsettled.

The reason: A July memo from top law firm Greenberg Traurig advising its clients — the state association of county clerks — that if a state or federal judge threw out Florida’s gay-marriage ban the ruling would apply only to the parties in the lawsuit — not the whole state.

Read more here…

Florida Insurance Law: Flood insurance generates more controversy in the US
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) will be examining whether or not it has the ability to force insurance companies to disclose information regarding the potential manipulation of flood insurance claims related to 2012’s Hurricane Sandy. The powerful storm battered the eastern United States, causing some $68 billion in damage, making it the second costliest hurricane in the country’s history. In the wake of the storm, many insurers have come under fire because of delayed claims payments and rejecting claims.

Read more here…

Thank you for reading (and sharing). Stay tuned for next week’s weekly review for Florida Insurance Law!

December 5, 2014

Weekly Review for Florida Insurance Law for Friday, December 5, 2014

Here are some recent articles of interest that I found this week for the insurance industry, Florida insurance law, Florida insurance claims, and Florida insurance trends. Enjoy!

Florida Company Reaches $40M Settlement Over Illegal Fax Ads
A Jacksonville-based company has reached a $40 million settlement in a class action lawsuit over claims the company sent unsolicited fax advertisements to consumers.

A federal judge will still need to approve the settlement by Interline Brands Inc. over charges that it violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, which prohibits companies from sending fax ads to customers it doesn’t already do business with.

Read more here…

Thank you for reading (and sharing). Stay tuned for next week’s weekly review for Florida Insurance Law!

November 21, 2014

Weekly Review for Florida Insurance Law for Friday, November 21, 2014

Here are some recent articles of interest that I found this week for the insurance industry, Florida insurance law, Florida insurance claims, and Florida insurance trends. Enjoy!

Switching to a Cheaper Property Insurance Company? Better Think Twice
Over the past few months, many Citizens Property Insurance policy holders received a notification that, unless they opted out within a certain time frame, their property insurance would be automatically transferred out of Citizens and into one of several small start-up insurance companies. These newly formed property insurance carriers have been nick-named “take-out” companies because their sole source of new business is to take over property insurance policies that have been transferred out of Citizens.

This process has created a love/love relationship between Citizens and these new insurance companies as, through the transfer of policies out of Citizens and into these new start-ups, Citizens can further its goal of depopulating its customer base and the new start-ups get “free” customers without having to market for same.

Read more here…

Florida Gov. Scott Facing Rising Seas, Climate Change Politics
When Florida Governor Rick Scott won re-election Nov. 4, he triumphed over both his Democratic challenger and California billionaire Thomas Steyer, who spent $20 million painting him as a climate-change denier.

Scott, a 61-year-old Republican who during the campaign deflected questions about the topic by asserting that he isn’t a scientist, has little time to celebrate.

Read more here…

Thank you for reading (and sharing). Stay tuned for next week’s weekly review for Florida Insurance Law!

November 3, 2014

Weekly Review for Florida Insurance Law for Monday, November 3, 2014

Here are some recent articles of interest that I found this week for the insurance industry, Florida insurance law, Florida insurance claims, and Florida insurance trends. Enjoy!

Insurance industry may be woefully unprepared for climate change
Ceres, an environmental investor advocacy group, has released the results of a new surveyit has conducted in the insurance industry. According to the survey, the majority of U.S. insurance companies are woefully unprepared to handle the risks associated with climate change. While many insurers have been relatively cavalier with their claims that not enough is being done to mitigate climate change, several companies have done little to prepare themselves for future environmental risks.

According to the survey, only 10% of insurers operating in the U.S. have made public climate change management statements, offering information about what these companies plan to do about the issue. These companies have made little to no effort to showcase the steps they are taking to make use of climate risk management programs or how they are approaching core underwriting and investment issues that could be influenced by a changing climate.

Read more here…

Florida Approves Up to 183K Takeouts from Citizens for 2015
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has approved the removal of up to 180,040 personal residential policies and 2,527 commercial residential polices from Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

The OIR said these are the first take-outs approved for 2015.

The number approved for takeout is not necessarily the number that will actually be removed from Citizens. In 2014, the total number of policies approved for take-outs was 1,109,644 while the actual number of policies removed from Citizens this year as of September 18, 2014 is 127,550, according to OIR.

By statute, policyholders may choose to remain covered by Citizens during take-out offers; however, they may be at risk of higher assessments if they stay with Citizens.

The approvals for 2015 involve the following nine companies…Read more here.

Thank you for reading (and sharing). Stay tuned for next week’s weekly review for Florida Insurance Law!

October 17, 2014

Weekly Review for Florida Insurance Law for Friday, October 17, 2014

Here are some recent articles of interest that I found this week for the insurance industry, Florida insurance law, Florida insurance claims, and Florida insurance trends. Enjoy!

Florida Insurance Law: Atlantic Hurricane Season Could Still Surprise
As weather-watchers focus on Typhoon Vongfong in the Pacific and Cyclone Hudhud in the Bay of Bengal, a subtropical depression has formed south of Bermuda late last week, prompting a tropical storm watch there.

With maximum winds of 35 miles (56 kilometers) per hour, the system was 590 miles south of Bermuda, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami. A storm gets a name when its winds reach 39 mph.

While one potential system may be enough to give pause, there are clues that larger storm-friendly environmental forces such as the Madden-Julian Oscillation and a Kelvin wave are coming together across the basin, said Dan Kottlowski, a hurricane forecaster at AccuWeather Inc.

“That’s why the season lasts until late November,” Kottlowski said.

Fortunately, the pieces are coming together a month after the Atlantic season’s statistical peak, at a time when the heat is draining out of the tropics. An alignment like this a month ago might have provided fuel for a severe outbreak.

Read more here…

Thank you for reading (and sharing). Stay tuned for next week’s weekly review for Florida Insurance Law!

October 6, 2014

Weekly Review for Florida Insurance Law for Monday, October 6, 2014

Here are some recent articles of interest that I found this week for the insurance industry, Florida insurance law, Florida insurance claims, and Florida insurance trends. Enjoy!

Florida Insurance Law: Florida’s Citizens Pays Off Bond, Drops Surcharge 2 Years Early
Florida’s state-backed property insurer will stop collecting a one-percent assessment that had been used to retire a bond issued following the 2004-2005 hurricane season.

The Citizens Property Insurance Corp. board of directors decided the insurer will have the necessary funds to retire the bonds as of June 15. The bonds had been scheduled to be paid off in June 2017.

Citizens Chief Financial Officer Jennifer Montero said the decision follows last year’s vote to continue the assessments.

“When we came before the board last year, we recommended continuation of the one percent for another year in anticipation in the future or even elimination of the assessment,” said Montero.

Citizens issued the bonds after the 2004-2005 hurricane season when eight major storms struck the state. Those storms left Citizens with a $1.7 billion shortfall. As a result, in 2007 the insurer levied a 1.4 percent emergency assessment paid for by all the state’s property policyholder.

That funding decision allowed Citizens to start paying down a 10-year post-event bond issuance that had a total price tax of $1.38 billion.

Read more here…

Thank you for reading (and sharing). Stay tuned for next week’s weekly review for Florida Insurance Law!