Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Trailer Park Residents Evacuated by Possible 60-foot Sinkhole
Apr 1 2016 // About 20 residents in six homes at a mobile home park along Florida’s Gulf Coast were evacuated Wednesday after a 60-foot-wide, 35-foot-deep hole opened in the ground. The residents at the Tarpon Shores Mobile Home...
Florida Gov. Rejects CFO’s Pick for Insurance Commissioner, Application Reopened
Mar 29 2016 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott made it known Tuesday that his choice for the next Florida insurance commissioner would not be State Representative Bill Hager. “I won’t second it,” was Scott’s quick...
Arkansas Orders Florida Health Plan to Stop Selling in State
Mar 28 2016 // Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr has issued a cease and desist order against Health Plan Intermediaries Holdings LLC., dba Health Insurance Innovations (HII), a Tampa, Florida-based company, alleging the company has used...
The Final 2: Bragg, Hager Last Men Standing for Florida Commissioner Job
Mar 25 2016 // For the first time in 13 years, Florida is preparing to appoint a new insurance commissioner. The pool of 55 candidates has been whittled down to just two. Per recommendation of the Florida Cabinet, Jeffrey Bragg and...
Florida Beach City Businesses Say Spring Break Laws Hurting Sales
Mar 24 2016 // Businesses in Panama City Beach, Fla., say new laws aimed at cutting down excessive spring break drinking are also hurting sales and forcing layoffs. Bars, restaurants, scooter shops and other businesses say they’re...
Florida Insurer Launches Company Offering Admitted, Standalone Flood Coverage
Mar 23 2016 // A Florida-based homeowners insurer has beefed up its flood insurance offering with the launch of a new flood-coverage only company called TypTap. The new company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Homeowners Choice Property...
Florida Jury Awards Hulk Hogan $115M in Sex Tape Lawsuit Against Media Company
Mar 21 2016 // A jury in Florida awarded wrestling star Hulk Hogan an eye-popping $115 million on Friday in his sex tape lawsuit against Gawker Media – and the award isn’t Hogan’s final round in the suit. Next up, the jury...
Commentary: Florida’s Failure to Pass AOB Reforms Will Impact State Insurance Market
Mar 21 2016 // Following the 2016 Florida Legislative Session’s failure to pass essential assignment of benefit (AOB) reforms, the insurance industry and Citizens Property Insurance Corp. are working in tandem with the Florida...
HOT Markets: Drones, Cyber and More
Mar 21 2016 // Looking for new sales and opportunities in 2016? Here are a few of the top market sectors that just might deliver hot opportunities for agents and brokers in the property/casualty insurance industry this year. Sky’s...
Business Moves
Mar 21 2016 // Risk Strategies, Lester Brokerage Risk Strategies Co., a privately held, national insurance brokerage and risk management firm based in Boston, has acquired Lester Brokerage, an independent agency in Englewood Cliffs, N.J....
Florida Assignment of Benefits, Ridesharing Bills Reach Dead End
Mar 21 2016 // Florida lawmakers will not provide resolution for two controversial issues currently facing the Florida insurance industry, this year at least. At the close of the 2016 Florida legislative session on March 11, attempts to...
People – Southeast
Mar 21 2016 // John Q. Doyle, who was ousted from the executive ranks of American International Group in a management shakeup in December, is joining global insurance broker Marsh as president, effective April 15. In this newly-created...
12 Horses Killed by Fire at Florida Equestrian Center
Mar 18 2016 // An electrical malfunction started a barn fire that killed 12 horses and injured 11 at an equestrian complex in suburban Palm Beach, Florida, investigators said Wednesday. Palm Beach County fire investigators concluded the...
Burns & Wilcox Opens New Office in Orlando, Siegel to Lead
Mar 18 2016 // Burns & Wilcox has opened a new office in Orlando, Fla., extending the company’s footprint to three locations in Florida, which also include Daytona Beach and Tampa. Burns & Wilcox has operated in Florida for...
Florida’s Citizens Pushes Policy Changes to Address Rising Water Loss Claims
Mar 17 2016 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s board of governors has approved a slate of recommendations aimed at reducing the impact of what it calls skyrocketing water-loss claims that could reverse progress made in...
Socius Insurance Services Adds Mittelmark to Florida Office
Mar 16 2016 // Socius Insurance Services, Inc., a management liability and property/casualty insurance wholesaler, has hired Dan Mittelmark to join its management and professional liability practice as assistant vice president. Dan will...
Pollution, Drought, El Niño Leading to Collapse of Florida’s Coastal Environments
Mar 15 2016 // Central Florida’s Indian River Lagoon, North Florida’s Apalachicola Bay and a trio of coastal estuaries in South Florida are in the throes of ecosystem collapses that threaten sea grass, fisheries, recreation...
Florida Hotel Chain Reports Potential Customer Data Breach
Mar 11 2016 // An Orlando-based hotel chain is reporting that some of its guests’ credit card information may have been breached. Rosen Hotels & Resorts Inc. said on its website that malware was installed on its payment card...
With Florida Ridesharing Reform Going Nowhere, Hillsborough Is Back to Ticketing Drivers
Mar 10 2016 // After a six-month reprieve, the Hillsborough County Public Transportation Commission – the agency that regulates taxicabs and limousines in Florida’s fourth-largest county, which includes the City of Tampa –...
Florida Battle Over Law Limiting Doctors’ Gun Speech Rages On
Mar 10 2016 // As a pediatrician, Dr. Judith Schaechter can ask parents of her patients all sorts of questions regarding their safety and well-being: what the child eats, whether there’s a backyard pool and whether the child gets...
