Last Call for 1.14.25 – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida

Last Call – A prime-time read of what’s going down in Florida politics.

First Shot

According to the Office of Insurance Regulation, Florida’s property insurance market is on the upswing, but lawmakers aren’t entirely convinced.

House and Senate committees on Tuesday heard from Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky and other top insurance policymakers, who painted the industry as increasingly stable.

In testimony to the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee, Yaworsky said “Most people are managing to afford insurance,” the cost of which has stabilized at around $3,700 per household.

That’s on average, as coastal residents are painfully aware — premiums in some communities, particularly those along the coastline in South and Southwest Florida, are easily double that or higher.

If the market is stabilizing, some lawmakers aren’t convinced it will perform as they envisioned when they passed the massive insurance bills a couple of years ago.

Palm Beach Republican Rep. Mike Caruso, who sits on the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee, said he was a “patient man” but expressed frustrations over reforms he voted for on the assignment of benefits and tort reform not offering relief or stabilization to all homeowners, or “better service” from insurers.

Caruso shared an anecdote about an elderly woman who received just $10,000 after Hurricane Ian wrecked her home.

“I think she’s going to die before she gets her money,” Caruso said, “… insurance companies are failing us.”

The Committee meetings come ahead of what may be a consequential Session for the state’s insurance industry. House Speaker Daniel Perez and Senate President Ben Albritton both indicated that it would be a focus.

In his swearing-in speech two months ago, Perez said Floridians “need to know that our state’s insurance laws are not being written by and for the insurance companies.”

In Albritton’s swearing-in speech, property insurance also got airtime, with the Wauchula Republican saying, “I want to make sure that impacted Floridians and insurance companies hear me loudly and clearly — we are watching.”

Evening Reads

—“The President who could not choose” via Dylan Matthews of Vox

—“Joe Biden moves to lift state sponsor of terrorism designation for Cuba, part of a deal to free prisoners” via Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani, Colleen Long and Zeke Miller of The Associated Press

—“Jack Smith gives up” via David Frum of The Atlantic

—“Donald Trump backs Gov. Ron DeSantis Special Session call after skepticism from Tallahassee Republicans” via A.G. Gancarski of Florida Politics

—“Ashley Moody vs. Starbucks: Florida’s own investigators say she’s wrong” via Scott Maxwell of the Orlando Sentinel

—“U.S. oil production is booming. Oil jobs are not.” via Rebecca F. Elliott of The Wall Street Journal

—“Climate change threatens Miami real estate. The new appraiser wants lower taxes for that,” via Douglas Hanks of the Miami Herald

—“The small army defending the Getty Museum from flames” via Kelly Crow of The Wall Street Journal

—“The Commanders are a case study in toxic ownership — and its reverse” via Sally Jenkins of The Washington Post

—“Empire of Blood: How Dana White’s UFC Conquered America” via Jack Crosbie of Rolling Stone

Quote of the Day

“… the motivation is clickbait, not policy.”

— Sen. Randy Fine, in a lengthy post criticizing the Governor’s call for a Special Session.

Put it on the Tab

Look to your left, then look to your right. If you see one of these people at your happy hour haunt, flag down the bartender and put one of these on your tab. Recipes included, just in case the Cocktail Codex fell into the well.

We’ll let Josh Cooper decide which is the best pairing, but as the celebrity chef of Cleaver and Cork’s Brunch and Barbeque, he’s due for one of these top BBQ cocktails.

Cop killers don’t get cocktails, but if they did, it’d be a Prison Blues — and Sen. Tom Leek’s new bill would make it a double.

Sen. Joe Gruters gets a One for the Money now that his CFO campaign has picked up an endorsement from House Speaker Daniel Perez.

Breakthrough Insights

Tune In

Canes face long odds at Duke

The Miami Hurricanes try to stop a season in freefall as they travel to face #3 Duke (9 p.m. ET, ESPN).

Miami (4-12, 0-5 ACC) has lost five straight games and has only one victory since starting the season with three consecutive wins. Since the season began, the Canes have lost head coach Jim Larranaga to retirement and have played much of the season without leading scorer point guard Nijel Pack, who has missed the last seven games with a knee injury.

The Hurricanes have struggled on both ends of the floor. With Pack out, only two players have averaged at least 10 points per game: guard Matthew Cleveland (13.5 ppg) and center Lynn Kidd (10.8). Miami has also struggled defensively, surrendering 76.2 points per game, ranking the team 294th in the country.

Duke (14-2, 6-0 ACC) has won 10 straight games. The last loss for the Blue Devils came on Nov. 26 when they fell to then-top-ranked Kansas in the Vegas Showdown. Freshman Cooper Flagg has stood out for Duke, averaging 19.1 points per game. He leads the Blue Devils in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks. Many NBA draft projections have him listed as the likely top pick.

A Miami win would be a massive upset. The Canes have only won at Cameron Indoor Stadium three times in 15 visits to Duke’s home. Last season, the teams met just once, an 84-55 Duke win in Coral Gables. 

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Last Call is published by Peter Schorsch, assembled and edited by Phil Ammann and Drew Wilson, with contributions from the staff of Florida Politics.