Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Green Beans, Butternut Squash Sold in Southeast Recalled
Feb 28 2019 // A Florida company has issued a voluntary recall of Marketside brand green beans and butternut squash because of a possible Listeria contamination. Southern Specialties Inc. of Pompano Beach, Florida, announced the recall...
Sometimes I Disagree with the Blogs I Love
Feb 27 2019 // I’m a fan of insurance news and bloggers. Here are some sites and blogs that I read daily (or weekly, depending on frequency). Insurance Journal – Of course. I was an IJ fan way before I became so closely related...
FedNat to Buy Maison Homeowners Insurance Operations from 1347 Holdings
Feb 26 2019 // FedNat Holding Co. has agreed to purchase substantially all of 1347 Property Insurance Holdings homeowners’ insurance operations, consisting of Maison Insurance Co., Maison Managers and ClaimCor in a 50/50 cash and...
Florida Deputy Arrested for Filing False Auto Claim with GEICO
Feb 25 2019 // A deputy with the sheriff’s office in Orange County, Fla., has been arrested after he allegedly filed a false and fraudulent automobile insurance claim with GEICO Insurance Co., according to a statement from the...
Florida Woman Arrested in $68K Hurricane Irma Scam
Feb 21 2019 // A Florida woman has been arrested for alleged unlicensed practice of public adjusting and grand theft related to Hurricane Irma, according to a statement from the Florida Department of Financial Services. Mary Bruce is...
AM Best Revises Outlooks to Negative for Florida-Based Universal North America
Feb 20 2019 // AM Best has revised the outlooks to negative from stable and affirmed the Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating (Long-Term ICR) of “a-” of Universal North...
Business Moves
Feb 18 2019 // National AmWINS, The Flood Agency Specialty insurance broker AmWINS Group has agreed to acquire The Flood Insurance Agency, a Florida-based managing general agency that specializes in private market flood insurance. The...
People
Feb 18 2019 // National MetLife has named Darla Finchum as head of the company’s U.S. property/casualty business, MetLife Auto & Home. Finchum had been serving in this role on an interim basis since last August. She will be...
Eating an Elephant: Tales from 9 Agency Start-Ups
Feb 18 2019 // What motivates people to take a risk in an industry dedicated to managing risk? New independent agencies are born of various circumstances. Sometimes it’s about seizing an opportunity that comes along; other times,...
Famed Beachside Bar in Florida Panhandle Destroyed by Fire
Feb 15 2019 // Fire officials in Florida’s Panhandle say a fire has destroyed a famed beachside restaurant and bar. The South Walton Fire District said in a Facebook posting that crews responded to the Red Bar around 6 a.m....
Alera Group Acquires Whipple & Company of Florida
Feb 12 2019 // Alera Group, a national insurance firm, has acquired Whipple & Company, effective Feb. 1, 2019. Terms of the transaction were not announced. Whipple & Company, based in Boca Raton, Fla., was founded in late 2016 by...
Dozens of Animals Killed in Fire at Florida Wildlife Sanctuary
Feb 7 2019 // Firefighters say dozens of animals are dead following a fire at a central Florida animal sanctuary. Orange County Fire Rescue officials posted on Twitter that the fire broke out early Monday at Second Chance Wildlife...
AM Best Upgrades Credit Ratings of Auto Club Insurance Co. of Florida
Feb 7 2019 // AM Best has upgraded the Financial Strength Rating to A- (Excellent) from B++ (Good) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Rating to “a-” from “bbb+” of Auto Club Insurance Company of Florida (ACICF),...
Construction Worker Killed on Florida Highway Expansion Project
Feb 6 2019 // Officials say a worker doing construction on central Florida’s massive highway expansion project was killed after being struck by a drainage pipe. Orange County Fire Rescue tweeted Monday that the worker was struck...
Florida Insurance Commissioner Altmaier Elected VP of the NAIC
Feb 6 2019 // Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier has been elected by members of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) to serve as vice president of the organization, effective immediately. Altmaier joins...
Keyes Insurance of Florida Hires Introcaso as COO
Feb 4 2019 // The Keyes Company’s insurance division, Keyes Insurance, has hired Mark Introcaso as chief operating officer. Introcaso brings more than 37 years of experience in the insurance industry, most recently with Peoples...
Federal Safety Investigators Sidelined by Shutdown Begin Heading to Crash Scenes
Feb 1 2019 // It’s been four weeks since a van carrying children from a Louisiana church to Disney World in Florida collided with a swerving tractor-trailer, igniting diesel fuel and killing seven people in a fiery crash. Now,...
Sinkhole Investigation Uncovers Tunnel Heading to Florida Bank Branch
Feb 1 2019 // The FBI and local police are investigating a Miami-area mystery: Who dug a narrow tunnel that burrowed beneath a road and pointed toward a quiet suburban bank branch office? FBI spokesman Mike Leverock said Wednesday that...
Expert: Florida’s Hurricane-Hit Timber Industry Will Need Years to Recover
Jan 31 2019 // It could take a decade or more for Florida’s timber industry to recover from Hurricane Michael’s devastation, and the countless downed trees pose an immediate wildfire threat, Florida Forest Service Director...
Normandy Insurance Enters Oklahoma Workers’ Comp Market
Jan 30 2019 // Florida-based workers’ compensation carrier, Normandy Insurance Company, has expanded into Oklahoma and is now offering workers’ comp coverage to small, mid-size and large businesses in the...
