Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Hilb Group Acquires Martin Agency of Kentucky, Florida
Aug 5 2014 // The Hilb Group has acquired The Martin Agency Inc. (TMAI) with offices in Danville, Kentucky, and Celebration and Ormond Beach, Florida. TMAI will continue to operate at its current locations under the leadership of John...
Hub International Acquires Florida’s Ballard Insurance
Aug 5 2014 // Chicago-based global insurance broker Hub International Limited has acquired the assets of Ballard Insurance Agency, a Melbourne, Florida-based insurance brokerage with coastal personal lines experience. Terms of the...
Opportunities Abound in High-Value Home, Condo Segment
Aug 4 2014 // The high-value homeowners and luxury condo markets have become competitive arenas to play in, with several new programs and companies in the past few years. But experts say agents and brokers shouldn’t be deterred by...
Could Citizens Become Too Competitive in Florida?
Aug 4 2014 // Florida’s state-backed property insurer’s proposed rate reduction is raising questions about whether it will make the insurer competitive with the private market. Citizens Property Insurance Corp. recently...
Florida’s Federated National Seeks $40M in IPO
Aug 1 2014 // Federated National Holding Co., a Florida-based property/casualty insurer, announced that it has priced an underwritten public offering of 2,051,283 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $19.50 per share...
Florida Doctors, Health Firms to Appeal ‘Docs vs. Glock’ Gun Speech Law
Jul 31 2014 // Doctors and health care providers challenging a Florida gun law say they will appeal a recent decision to uphold the measure. A federal appeals court last week ruled that the law restricting what doctors can tell patients...
Florida 1.3% Hurricane Tax to End in January
Jul 30 2014 // Florida regulators announced they are ending a 1.3 percent assessment on property insurance premiums 18 months ahead of schedule. The monies had been used to pay off bonds issued by the state’s hurricane catastrophe...
Judge Upholds Florida Law Curbing Doctors’ Gun Speech with Patients
Jul 28 2014 // A Florida law restricting what doctors can tell patients about gun ownership was deemed to be constitutional by a federal appeals court, which said it legitimately regulates professional conduct and doesn’t violate...
Zimmerman to Appeal Florida Judge Dismissal of Defamation Claim Against NBC
Jul 28 2014 // George Zimmerman has filed a notice to appeal the dismissal of his defamation lawsuit against NBC Universal and three reporters. The appeal notice was filed with the Seminole County Clerk of Courts. Judge Debra Nelson on...
Federated National Launching Another Florida Home Insurer, Monarch National
Jul 28 2014 // Florida homeowners’ insurer Federated National Holding Co. and the Canadian bank and investment manager C.A. Bancorp Inc. have agreed to form a new Florida-based homeowners insurance carrier to be named Monarch...
Florida Drunk Driver Run Over By Own Vehicle
Jul 25 2014 // Police said an intoxicated man was run over by his own pickup truck after he got into a road rage incident during a rainstorm. The incident happened Tuesday evening in Gainesville, Florida. The Gainesville Sun reported...
Are Storm Shutters Unsafe?
Jul 24 2014 // Esther Mibab felt nervous in her home in The Acreage in West Pam Beach, Florida. So nervous that she kept her accordion-style hurricane shutters closed, even in the off-season. Closed and locked. From the...
Jury Says Florida Church Must Pay Burn Victim
Jul 24 2014 // Jurors in Florida have determined that the Agape Baptist Church must pay $471,798.50 to a man who was severely burned after setting fire to a pile of trash while working off community service hours. The verdict in Ocala...
Florida Frets That With Proposed Rate Cut, Citizens Could Be Too Competitive
Jul 22 2014 // Florida’s state-backed property insurer’s proposed rate reduction is raising questions about whether it will make the insurer competitive with the private market. Citizens Property Insurance Corp. recently...
Florida Jury’s $23.6B Tobacco Award Likely to Be Reduced
Jul 21 2014 // A decision by a Florida jury to impose punitive damages of $23.6 billion against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. on Friday is likely to be rejected on appeal or the award reduced substantially, lawyers with expertise in jury...
Painkiller Prescribing Highest in South; Florida Reverses Trend
Jul 21 2014 // Health care providers in some states prescribe far more painkillers than those in other states, according to a new government report. Health care providers wrote 259 million prescriptions for opioid painkillers in 2012...
Surplus Lines Tax Sharing Solution Still Up for Debate
Jul 21 2014 // Things have changed a bit for the surplus lines industry since the Non-admitted and Reinsurance Reform Act, (NRRA) part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform legislation, passed in 2010. The NRRA’s implementation has...
Florida Gov. Scott Agrees to Meet with Climate Scientists
Jul 18 2014 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott said his administration would be “happy to meet” with 10 scientists from Florida universities who want to talk about climate change, a subject he has been reluctant to address. A letter...
Florida’s Heritage Assumes Sunshine State Policies, Adds 150 Agents
Jul 16 2014 // Florida’s Heritage Insurance Holdings Inc. said it has it assumed approximately $59 million in annualized premium from the insolvent Sunshine State Insurance Co. Effective June 27, 2014, the policies were assumed by...
Florida Sheriff’s Office Pays $1.15M in Wrongful Death
Jul 10 2014 // The Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office has paid $1.15 million to the estate of a mentally ill woman who died in her jail cell. Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told the Tampa Bay Times that 50-year-old Jennifer DeGraw should have...
