Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
What to Expect from Florida’s AOB Reform Law Taking Effect July 1
Jun 18 2019 // The countdown is on for Florida assignment of benefits (AOB) reform that will take effect July 1, and the insurance industry is getting ready to respond to new requirements as a result of the law as well as evaluating how...
Florida Hopes to Lure Autonomous Car Companies Under New Law
Jun 17 2019 // Self-driving vehicles with no humans on board will be able to operate in Florida – once they’re finally ready for prime time – under a bill signed Thursday by Gov. Ron DeSantis. DeSantis said he hopes to...
Kochilaris Joins Florida Homeowners Insurer Olympus as Sales Manager
Jun 17 2019 // Florida-based Olympus Insurance Co. has added Nathan Kochilaris as the company’s new Southwest Florida Sales manager. Kochilaris will work under Vice President of Sales and Marketing Crystal McInnis. Kochilaris has...
CoreLogic: Texas, Louisiana Among States Most at Risk for Storm Surge
Jun 17 2019 // Some 7.3 million U.S. homes with an estimated reconstruction cost of $1.8 trillion are at risk from storm surge, Irvine, California-based data analytics provider CoreLogic said in its 2019 Storm Surge Report, issued days...
Business Moves
Jun 17 2019 // National Ryan Specialty, Atlantic Specialty Ryan Specialty Group has acquired the assets and operations of Atlantic Specialty Lines Inc. The ASL team is now a part of R-T Specialty, the wholesale brokerage unit of Ryan...
Former Florida Association for Insurance Reform Expands Nationally, Will Focus on Flood
Jun 13 2019 // The Federal Association for Insurance Reform (FAIR), formerly the Florida Association for Insurance Reform, is expanding nationwide with a focus on reducing uninsured flood risk across the United States. FAIR is a...
Florida Insurer American Integrity Appoints Ritchie as COO
Jun 12 2019 // Tampa, Fla.- based American Integrity Insurance has appointed Executive Vice President Jon Ritchie as chief operating officer. He will continue to report to Bob Ritchie, president and CEO. In this role, Jon Ritchie will...
New ‘Prepare Florida’ Initiative Offers Hurricane Preparedness Resources
Jun 12 2019 // Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis has launched an initiative designed to encourage Floridians to prepare now before a hurricane makes landfall. According to a statement from the Florida Department of...
Zurich, Vertus Launch Hurricane Deductible Buy-Back Program in Florida
Jun 11 2019 // Zurich has launched Cat4Home, a new hurricane deductible buy-back program through Vertus Insurance Partners. Cat4Home is a supplemental insurance policy available to residential homeowners in Florida and covers 100% of the...
Florida Timber Industry to Receive $480M from Feds for Hurricane Michael Recovery
Jun 10 2019 // Governor Ron DeSantis says nearly half a billion dollars from the federal government will help Florida timber growers recover from the impacts of Hurricane Michael. The governor met with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny...
Florida Teacher Accused of Staging Accident in $15K Insurance Fraud Scheme
Jun 10 2019 // A Florida elementary school teacher was arrested on multiple felony charges including insurance fraud and organized scheme to defraud for allegedly staging a fake car accident in a local Publix parking lot, according to a...
National General Acquires Insurtech Syndeste; Launches Private Flood Product in Florida
Jun 6 2019 // Personal lines insurer National General Holdings Corp. (NGHC) will begin offering private flood insurance in Florida later this summer after its acquisition of Syndeste LLC, an insurance technology company. National...
How Daubert Standard Could Impact Florida Industry, Judicial Climate
Jun 5 2019 // The Florida Supreme Court has reversed a prior court’s decision to use a nearly 100-year-old standard on expert witness testimony and instead adopted stricter federal standards currently used by a majority of...
Privacy Exclusion Protects Insurer from $60 Million Class Action
Jun 4 2019 // A federal judge in Florida has ruled that a policy exclusion for invasion of privacy claims relieved an insurer of any responsibility for a $60 million settlement against a Boca Raton company for violations of the...
7.3 Million Homes, $1.8 Trillion at Risk from Hurricane Storm Surge: CoreLogic
Jun 4 2019 // The Atlantic hurricane season, which began June 1, puts 7.3 million homes at risk with an estimated reconstruction cost of $1.8 trillion, CoreLogic said in its 2019 Storm Surge Report. That’s 300,000 more homes and...
Disney World Union Warns of Safety Risks as Park Fire Dept. Faces Staffing Shortage
Jun 4 2019 // Firefighters for Walt Disney World’s private government say they’re understaffed and that poses a safety risk as the Florida theme park resort grows even bigger with this year’s openings of a new Star...
Florida’s Citizens Joins NICB Disaster Response Services Consortium
Jun 4 2019 // Citizens Property Insurance Corporation, Florida’s insurer of last resort, has joined the Geospatial Intelligence Center (GIC), an insurance industry consortium spearheaded by the National Insurance Crime Bureau...
Szalkay Joins Appalachian Underwriters Brokerage Division in Florida
Jun 3 2019 // Jennifer Szalkay has rejoined Appalachian Underwriters’ Brokerage division in Sarasota, Fla. Now a senior broker, she will be working on specialty casualty and construction accounts in all 50 states. Jennifer...
Texas, Louisiana Among States Most at Risk for Storm Surge, CoreLogic Says
May 31 2019 // Some 7.3 million U.S. homes with an estimated reconstruction cost of $1.8 trillion are at risk from storm surge, Irvine, California-based data analytics provider CoreLogic said in its 2019 Storm Surge Report, issued days...
AAA Survey: Floridians Concerned for Upcoming Hurricane Season
May 29 2019 // Floridians are becoming more concerned about hurricane season, after enduring four major storms in the past three years, including a category five last year, according to a survey from AAA. The AAA survey, conducted online...
