Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Surplus Lines Insurance Sees Moderate Growth Thus Far in 2015
Oct 13 2015 // Collectively, the 14 U.S. surplus lines stamping offices have reported moderate growth in surplus line premiums during the first half of 2015. Approximately 60 percent of all surplus lines insurance is processed by...
Florida Approves the Removal of Up To 142,500 Policies from Citizens
Oct 12 2015 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has approved the removal of up to 140,000 personal residential policies and 2,500 commercial residential polices from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. by the following four...
Florida Resident Files $5M Suit Against Volkswagen
Oct 8 2015 // A Fort Myers law firm has filed suit against Volkswagen in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida and seeks more than $5 million in damages, accusing the carmaker of false advertising and other...
Florida Supreme Court Requests Rule Change for Lawyer Referrals
Oct 8 2015 // The Florida Supreme Court is asking the Florida Bar to prepare a rule that would ban lawyers from using for-profit client referral services that aren’t owned by lawyers. The court issued its order Sept. 24, citing...
Florida Man Arrested for Stealing $100K in Insurance Claims from Sandy Victim
Oct 7 2015 // The Florida Division of Insurance Fraud announced the arrest of Naples, Fla., man Daniel T. Phelps, 56, for allegedly stealing two insurance claim payments totaling more than $96,000 from an elderly New Jersey business...
Florida Massage Therapist Arrested for PIP Fraud Against Multiple Insurers
Oct 7 2015 // The Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud (DIF) announced the arrest of John Alexander Fraga (aka Juan Alejandro Fraga) for his involvement in the alleged billing of more than $40,000 to...
Agent Develops Coverage to Fill Gaps in Traditional Wind Insurance
Oct 6 2015 // Between deductibles, excluded losses, and difficulty accessing business interruption coverage, a business suffering hurricane losses can take a big out-of-pocket economic hit even if it has insurance. There is a disconnect...
Boiler Room Explosion at Florida Penthouse Injures 6
Oct 6 2015 // A penthouse boiler room exploded because of a gas leak Friday at a 33-story high-rise near Miami, injuring at least six people, fire officials said. The explosion happened around noon on the top floor of the Château Beach...
Florida Commissioner McCarty Asks FEMA for NFIP Rate Data by Dec. 15
Oct 5 2015 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin M. McCarty has followed through on his promise to State Senator Jeff Brandes to investigate the National Flood Insurance Program’s (NFIP) rating practices of Florida insureds. In...
Report: Florida Cities Most Vulnerable to Storm Surge
Oct 5 2015 // Four of the top eight cities most vulnerable to a major storm surge are located in Florida, according to a new report released by Karen Clark & Company (KCC). The 2015 “Most Vulnerable U.S. Cities to Storm Surge...
Florida Establishes Citizens’ Commercial Lines Rates for 2016
Oct 5 2015 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FLOIR) issued an order on September 17 establishing the 2016 commercial lines rates for Citizens Property Insurance Corp. The overall estimated statewide average rate changes are...
Confie Acquires Alabama, New York, Florida Brokers
Oct 2 2015 // National personal lines insurance broker Confie said it has acquired four insurance brokers with locations in Alabama, western New York and Florida. Confie acquired TS Insurance Group which specializes in non-standard auto...
Q&A: Florida Representative Backs Call for NFIP Transparency
Oct 1 2015 // Florida State Representative Bill Hager says the state is turning up the heat on the National Flood Insurance Program as Florida residents become increasingly concerned with the high rates they are paying for flood...
Citizens’ CEO Updates Board on ‘Critical’ Water Loss Issue, Depopulation Program
Oct 1 2015 // Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s top executive warned the company’s Board of Governors Wednesday that water loss claims will continue to hamper efforts to reduce rates for many Florida...
UPC Insurance to Buy Interboro for $57M
Sep 30 2015 // United Insurance Holdings Corp. (UPC Insurance) said it will pay $57 million for Interboro Insurance Co., a New York-based property/casualty insurer licensed to operate in four states and Washington, D.C. The deal involves...
Florida Man Charged with Fraud, Theft of 4M Pounds of Citrus
Sep 29 2015 // State agriculture officials say a Florida man is accused of illegally obtaining more than 4 million pounds of citrus, valued at over half a million dollars, from five different individuals and companies. Agriculture...
Florida’s Heritage Insurance to Acquire Hawaii’s Zephyr
Sep 29 2015 // Clearwtaer, Florida-based Heritage Insurance Holdings Inc. has agreed to acquire Zephyr Acquisition Co. and its wholly-owned subsidiary, Zephyr Insurance Co., a specialty insurance provider in Hawaii. The acquisition will...
Florida Workers’ Comp Fraud Sting Leads to 9 Arrests
Sep 28 2015 // The Florida Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud (DIF) announced nine arrests following a multi-agency workers’ compensation sting in Manatee County, Florida. These nine individuals...
Insurance Wholesaler Socius Names 3 to Leadership Posts
Sep 25 2015 // Socius Insurance Services Inc., a management liability and property/casualty insurance wholesaler, announced three changes to its leadership team. According to Patrick E. Hanley Sr., president of Socius, the changes are:...
Florida’s Broward County Pushes Back Vote on Ridesharing
Sep 24 2015 // Broward Count, Florida officials have had to delay a vote on the approval of ridesharing services such as Uber because a commission has not finished discussing amendments to the proposed rules. The Palm Beach Post reports...
