Things To Do In SW Florida

Property insurance companies would face increased scrutiny by state regulators over payments they make to parent and affiliate companies — which critics say can be used to cloud profits and justify rate increases — under a bill unanimously supported by a House insurance committee.

Supporters say the measure, if enacted by the full Legislature, will save policyholders money by preventing insurers from paying excessive fees.

The bill, sponsored by Pinellas County Republican Kimberly Berfield, addresses findings and recommendations in a study that surfaced last year and was later investigated by the House Insurance and Banking Subcommittee.

The study, by Risk & Regulatory Consulting LLC, covered three years — 2017 to 2019 — after hurricanes Irma and Michael, when many insurers sought rate increases by claiming they lost money on claims and litigation.

It found that during that period, 19 insurers based in Florida or surrounding regions funneled billions of dollars in fees to holding companies and other affiliates that were not “fair and reasonable,” as defined by various industry rules. The insurers were not identified in the study. read more

By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge ticked up in November in the latest sign that prices remain stubbornly elevated, while consumers spent at a healthy pace.

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Consumer prices rose 2.8% in November from a year earlier, the Commerce Department said Thursday, up from a 2.7% annual pace in October. Excluding the volatile food and energy categories, core prices also increased 2.8% in November from a year ago, slightly higher than October’s 2.7%. read more

One more reason things cost more today: cybercrime.

A survey by the Identity Theft Resource Center, a San Diego-based education and victim resource nonprofit, found that 38% of small businesses hit by a cyberscam or breach in the previous 12 months passed those losses to customers by raising prices.

Another key finding: Cybercrime against small businesses is increasingly fueled by artificial intelligence.

“The era of predictable, human-scale threats has been superseded by a new reality of automated, intelligent and massively scalable attacks powered by AI,” said the report, which discusses trends in threats, prevention and attacks. It also gives detailed recommendations about network and application security, data protection and employee and contractor practices. (The survey reached out to more than 650 companies across more than 12 industries in August.)

Eva Velasquez, the CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center, said the results offer a stark reminder that hackers aren’t picky. They will grab data and money from anyone, including large and small businesses, and individuals. read more

By MATT OTT, Associated Press Business Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits inched up last week but U.S. layoffs remain historically low despite signs of a softening labor market.

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U.S. filings for jobless aid for the week ending Jan. 17 rose by 1,000 to 200,000, up from 199,000 the previous week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That’s fewer than the 207,000 new applications that analysts surveyed by the data firm FactSet were expecting. read more

By PAUL WISEMAN, Associated Press Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Powered by strong consumer spending, the U.S. economy grew at the fastest pace in two years from July through September, the government said Thursday in a slight upgrade of its first estimate.

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• 
  Inflation fears are high. A new poll shows one group is particularly worried

• 
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• 
  Prices ticked up in November as Americans keep spending a key inflation measure shows

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  4 in 5 small businesses had cyberattacks last year and almost half of those were AI powered

America’s gross domestic product — the nation’s output of goods and services — rose at a 4.4% annual pace in the third quarter, the Commerce Department reported Thursday, up from 3.8% in the April-June quarter and from the 4.3% growth the department initially estimated. The economy hasn’t grown faster since third-quarter 2023. read more