Latest Florida Headlines

All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Departure of Insurer from Florida Points Up Fraud Problem

Sep 9 2010 // With a letter sent out a few weeks ago, Explorer Insurance announced that it will no longer write private automobile policies in Florida because there is too much fraud.“The company is taking this action in light of...

Florida Arrests Two Insurance Executives for Lying on Statements

Sep 9 2010 // Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink announced today the culmination of an extensive insurance fraud investigation with the arrest of Luis M. Espinosa, 60, and Rene M. Cambert, 55, on eight first degree felony counts...

Florida’s Citizens Says Sinkhole Claims Forcing Proposed Rate Hike

Sep 8 2010 // At a hearing yesterday before the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, Citizens Property Insurance Corp. officials blamed sinkholes as the major reason the public insurer needs a rate increase.Testifying at the public...

Florida Plans Hearing on Citizens’ Rate Increases

Sep 7 2010 // Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation will hold a hearing on proposed rate increases for several lines of insurance from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. at 1 p.m. on Sept. 7, 2010, in Tallahassee. The lines of...

How Katrina Changed Markets

Sep 6 2010 // Industry Came ThroughFive years after Hurricane Katrina lashed the coast and sunk New Orleans, it is true that the area has largely recovered, but it is not the same Gulf Coast it once was. The same is true for the...

Hurricane Katrina Changed the Market in Gulf States

Sep 6 2010 // Writing about the landfall of Hurricane Katrina five years ago, essayist Ellis Anderson of Mississippi likened the communities along the gulf to a string of pearls.“Then, in August 2005, in the course of a single...

Florida Workers’ Comp Reform Slowed Cost Growth

Sep 3 2010 // Reform of Florida’s workers’ compensation fee schedule in 2003 achieved its intended results, significantly increasing the prices paid for physician services and reducing the average payment per service for...

Hub Acquires Nevada, Florida Agencies

Sep 2 2010 // Hub International Limited (Hub) has acquired two insurance agencies in the Nevada and Florida.Hub acquired the assets of McFadden Insurance Agency Inc. (McFadden), a Las Vegas–based firm. Terms of the acquisition...

Storm Advice Offered for Florida Cell Phone Users

Aug 30 2010 // With Hurricane Danielle and Tropical Storm Earl roaming the Atlantic Ocean and signaling the start of the most active period of the 2010 storm season, Verizon Wireless urged Florida residents to prepare their emergency...

Florida-based Unisouce Aquired

Aug 30 2010 // Texas. U.S. Risk, a privately owned specialty lines underwriting manager and wholesale broker headquartered in Dallas, Texas, today announces the acquisition of Sarasota Florida based Unisource Program Administrators. The...

Hurricane Katrina Changed the Market in Gulf States

Aug 27 2010 // Writing about the landfall of Hurricane Katrina five years ago, essayist Ellis Anderson of Mississippi likened the communities along the gulf to a string of pearls.“Then, in August 2005, in the course of a single...

Florida Agents Group Appoints New Board Members

Aug 25 2010 // The Florida Association of Insurance Agents has appointed three new members to its Board of Directors. The appointments were made during FAIA’s 106th Anniversary Convention and Education Symposium.“The FAIA...

Florida Solicits Sinkhole Data from Insurers

Aug 25 2010 // Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation issued a data call yesterday to the commercial and residential property insurance industry in Florida to collect claims data related to sinkholes. During the 2010 Legislative...

Ratings Roundup: AMEX, Castle Key, Torus, Hartford (debt)

Aug 25 2010 // A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of ‘A’ (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a” of AMEX Assurance Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of American Express Company. The...

OSHA Cites Florida SeaWorld Regarding Trainer Death

Aug 24 2010 // The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited SeaWorld for safety violations following the death of killer-whale trainer Dawn Brancheau at its Orlando park in February.OSHA is citing SeaWorld of Florida...

Florida Insurance Department to Survey on Sinkholes

Aug 23 2010 // Starting this month, the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation is going to begin surveying Florida property insurers about their experience with sinkhole claims, in an effort to get to the bottom of the simmering...

Snapshot: Declarations

Aug 16 2010 // Health Care Challenge“While this case raises a host of complex constitutional issues, all seem to distill to the single question of whether or not Congress has the power to regulate — and tax — a...

Florida Citizens’ Rate Increases Way Below Actuaries’ Indications

Aug 16 2010 // If insurance actuaries had their way, rates for homeowners insured through Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance would be going up 55.9 percent on average. But there’s a cap on how much state-backed Citizens...

Declarations

Aug 16 2010 // Health Care Challenge“While this case raises a host of complex constitutional issues, all seem to distill to the single question of whether or not Congress has the power to regulate — and tax — a citizen’s...

Florida Poll Shows Widespread Concern Over Property Coverage

Aug 13 2010 // The Florida Chamber of Commerce says that a poll they had conducted shows Florida voters put grave importance on efforts at property insurance reform.The poll, which was supported jointly by the Chamber and the Property...