Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
2 Florida Police Officers Charged with Boat Arson, Insurance Fraud
Mar 20 2014 // Florida state law enforcement officials announced they arrested a police officer and another man for allegedly conspiring to defraud an insurer by purposely destroying a pleasure boat. The Florida Department of Law...
Engle Martin Acquires Florida’s Totura & Co. Claims Firm
Mar 20 2014 // Atlanta-based independent claims adjusting firm Engle Martin & Associates Inc. has acquired Totura & Co., a regional claims adjusting firm based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Terms were not disclosed. John Quinn,...
Florida Senate OKs Ban on Insurance Underwriting Based on Gun Ownership
Mar 20 2014 // The Senate passed a bill that would make it illegal for insurance companies to deny policies or charge higher rates solely based on gun ownership. The bill passed on a 36-3 vote. Supporters have said some insurance...
How Local Bank Failures Crippled Georgia Economy
Mar 19 2014 // Georgia homebuilder Blankenship Homes lost its source of loans for new construction after four local community banks failed since 2009. “The economy just shut down,” said owner Johnny Blankenship, 54, a builder...
Florida’s Citizens Reaches Sinkhole Settlement
Mar 14 2014 // Florida’s state-backed property insurer said it has reached an agreement with more than 300 policyholders with sinkhole claims that officials say could save the insurer $30 million in legal fees. Citizens Property...
Florida Supreme Court Throws Out Medical Damages Caps Law
Mar 14 2014 // The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that the state’s caps on noneconomic damages in medical malpractice wrongful death cases violate the state Constitution’s equal protection clause. The 5-2 opinion held that...
North Carolina Claimant Extradited from Florida on Insurance Fraud Charges
Mar 12 2014 // North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin announced the arrest of Stacy Lasondo Jackson of Jacksonville, Fla.. She has been charged with 10 counts each of insurance fraud and obtaining property by false...
Florida Joins Multistate Environmental Suit Against BP
Mar 10 2014 // Florida has joined a multistate lawsuit stemming from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, seeking to hold British oil company BP accountable for damage to the state’s natural resources. The complaint was filed last...
Recalling the Florida Sinkhole Tragedy
Mar 10 2014 // Chuck Holloway didn’t sleep well for a week after a sinkhole swallowed his neighbor Jeffrey Bush in Seffner last year. “And neither did anyone else around here,” he said from his front patio. February 28...
Florida Lawmakers Advance Bill Banning Insurers from Considering Gun Ownership
Mar 9 2014 // Florida House and Senate committees have approved a bill that would prevent insurance companies from discriminating against gun owners. The bill flew through the Senate Appropriations committee, but did meet some...
Florida Panel Advances Bill to Limit Nursing Home Partners’ Liability
Mar 7 2014 // Defendants who can be named in lawsuits against nursing homes in Florida would be limited under a bill that moved this week through the House Civil Justice Committee. Developers, silent partners and other parties that...
Florida Lawmakers Turn Attention to Privatizing Commercial Business in Citizens
Mar 7 2014 // One year after enacting reforms designed to reduce the amount of homeowners business in the state’s insurer, state lawmakers are now looking to further shrink Citizens Property Insurance Corp. by targeting its...
Marturano Joins Todd Agency in Florida
Mar 6 2014 // Jodi Marturano has joined the Ted Todd Insurance Agency as its human resource manager at the corporate home office in Bonita Springs, Florida. She will oversee human resources operations in all seven agency offices located...
State Farm Wants to Increase Homeowners Business in Florida… a Bit
Mar 6 2014 // One of Florida’s largest homeowner insurers has announced it will once again begin writing new business in the state, just several years after canceling a substantial portion of its book of business. State Farm...
Florida’s United Insurance Holdings Nets $54M from Public Offering
Mar 6 2014 // United Insurance Holdings Corp., a property and casualty insurance holding company know as UPC Insurance, reported the closing of its previously disclosed $57.5 million underwritten public offering of 4,600,000 shares of...
U.S. Congresswoman: Flood Insurance Bill Bad for Michigan
Mar 5 2014 // A U.S. Congresswoman from Michigan wants her state to opt out of the National Flood Insurance Program, saying it’s not good for Michigan homeowners. U.S. Representative Candice Miller (MI-10) voted against H.R. 3370,...
Florida Sinkhole Tragedy: One Year Later
Feb 28 2014 // Chuck Holloway didn’t sleep well for a week after a sinkhole swallowed his neighbor Jeffrey Bush in Seffner last year. “And neither did anyone else around here,” he said from his front patio...
Mercury Insurance Cuts Florida Auto Rates 10%
Feb 25 2014 // Some Florida drivers could see their premiums reduced after one automobile insurer announced it would cut rates by an average of 10 percent. Mercury Insurance Co. officials said the new rates would take effect immediately...
Red-Light Cameras: Safety Measure or Money Grab?
Feb 25 2014 // The shutters clicked, the grainy photos were sent to the red-light violators and St. Louis raised $4.1 million last year. Now the vehicular version of “Candid Camera” may be ending, as it has in other U.S towns...
Business Moves
Feb 24 2014 // Kemper Corp. Kemper Corp. is realigning its property/casualty business. This realignment will result in one property/casualty segment for financial reporting purposes, beginning with the first quarter 2014. The new Kemper...
