GOV CLEARLY IN PIP FIGHT NOW

By MICHAEL PELTIER
THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, March 8, 2012......Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday got more assertive in the no-fault auto insurance fray, backing a House measure over a Senate plan he says won't save the state money. 

Flanked by CFO Jeff Atwater and Florida Insurance Commission Kevin McCarty Scott urged lawmakers to pass the House-backed version before calling it quits Friday. 

"If you look at your two options and look at what is going to have a positive impact, it's clear the House has a bill that makes more sense," Scott told reporters Thursday. 

Meanwhile, an amendment to a legislative proposal (HB 5505) would create a $1.5 billion tax credit over 10 years for insurers in exchange for a prepayment of insurance premium taxes, discounted for future payments. The proceeds would be used to bolster the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund in the event of a storm.

The amendment (473923), released Thursday evening, authorizes the State Board of Administration to issue up to $150 million a year in tax credits beginning next year. The credits would offset insurance premium taxes or corporate income tax. Proceeds of the sale would be made available to the CAT fund, the state-backed re-insurer now on the hook for $17 billion in hurricane re-insurance.

Passage of the auto no-fault package – Scott's top priority - was clouded somewhat Thursday as House Speaker Dean Cannon postponed action on the bill until Friday, the last day of the 60-day session. On Thursday afternoon, a flurry of insurance lobbyists and others were called to the governor's office.

The governor and the Office of Insurance Regulation support the House proposal, saying the Senate version falls short of the cost savings needed to lower premiums. McCarty said a Senate provision that would require insurers to produce rate reductions of 25 percent unless they could prove they couldn't was not actuarially sound. 

Talk of a special session on the PIP issue has permeated the Capitol as the clock ticks. Despite the apparent impasse, the governor said he's confident he won't have to call them back, because the cost of ongoing fraud is too high – and is costing Florida drivers too much.

"I think the House and Senate will do the right thing," Scott said. "I think they know these numbers."