July 18, 2023 

State officials announce 27 EV charging stations along Ohio freeways

Ohio Capital Journal, July 17, 2023

State officials announced $18 million in federal funding to support the development of 27 new electric vehicle fast charging stations. The money comes from the bipartisan infrastructure package approved by congress in 2021. Private businesses will invest another $6 million in the current buildout.

Gov. Mike DeWine unveiled the locations in a sprawling garage just west of Columbus. The Ohio Department of Transportation facility houses the massive snow plows the agency deploys on freeways come winter. For Thursday’s announcement though, two Ford plug-in EVs flanked the governor.

“Today we have about 52,600 Ohioans who drive EVs,” DeWine explained next to a map of the new locations. “As more Ohioans purchasing these, we want to make sure our infrastructure is prepared to accommodate them.”

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Reinsurance costs predicted to rise further

Business Insurance, July 17, 2023

Reinsurance pricing will likely increase further this year despite a drop in predicted storms for the 2023 hurricane season, which began June 1, according to a report released Monday by analysts at investment bank Morgan Stanley.

Reinsurance pricing for Florida-exposed risks rose 20% to 50% during midyear renewals, and a long-term trend toward more storms and little increase in capital in the reinsurance sector will likely drive further rate hikes, the report said.

“We see a clear trend toward higher U.S. property reinsurance costs, which in our view would not be offset if we see a more ‘normal’ hurricane season,” the report said.

Colorado State University, which issues closely watched hurricane forecasts, recently amended its outlook for the 2023 season to 18 named storms, which would be two fewer than its 2022 prediction issued in July last year. The total named storms in 2022 only numbered 14.

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  Report: Florida files more personal injury lawsuits than any other state — by far

Business Observer, July 13, 2023

A new report on states with the highest amount of personal injury lawsuits reveals partially why tort reform was such a big priority in the most recent Legislative Session.

The state, in short, crushes all comers in this area.

For starters, the report, analyzing 12 months of lawsuits filed through March 31, found that per 100,000 Floridians, there were 127.41 personal injury cases in court. “This is a staggering 1,237% over the national average rate of just 9.53, and 319% more than any other state on the list,” states the report.

In addition, personal injury cases in the Sunshine State amount to more than 60% of all civil cases in court — 433% more than the national average proportion of 11.65%. Such cases do not exceed 45% of the total civil caseload anywhere else in the country, the report found. Ohio, New Jersey and South Carolina, all with similar rates of personal injury per capita, follow Florida.

In what to some could be an ironic twist, the research for the report comes from Florida personal injury law firm Anidjar & Levine. The firm, with seven offices in Florida, according to its website, including Tampa, Naples and Fort Myers, analyzed the data to reveal “the states where the public is most likely to carry out legal action following an incident.”

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