Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida, Alabama Officials Back Mississippi’s Suit Over Flood Insurance
Nov 15 2013 // Florida and Alabama government officials have filed an amicus brief this week supporting the Mississippi insurance department’s lawsuit against the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program’s...
Fitch Ratings: Florida’s PIP Reform Law a ‘Credit Positive’ for P/C Insurers
Nov 15 2013 // New laws designed to reduce loss cost volatility and claims fraud in the Florida no-fault auto insurance system, commonly referred to as PIP, would be a credit positive for property/casualty insurers, according to Fitch...
Possible Sinkhole Reported in Yard in Florida
Nov 15 2013 // Residents of several Florida homes have been evacuated due to a possible sinkhole that opened behind a backyard near St. Petersburg. Dunedin Deputy Fire Chief Trip Barrs told Bay News 9 the hole appears to be about 12-feet...
Insurers, Regulators Question Obama’s Healthcare Promise ‘Fix’
Nov 14 2013 // Insurers and state regulators say that President Barack Obama’s “fix” for policies canceled under his healthcare reform law will create new problems for the industry and could lead to an increase in...
Wrongful Death Suit Filed Against Florida Powerboat Race Organizer
Nov 14 2013 // A wrongful death lawsuit has been filed against the organizer of a championship offshore powerboat race in Key West, where three racers died in 2011. The uncle of Jeffrey Tillman filed the lawsuit last week in Broward...
Obamacare Banking on Enrollment Surge Near Deadlines
Nov 14 2013 // Almost 1 million people who applied for health care on the government insurance exchanges last month left without choosing a plan, a pipeline of potential customers the Obama administration must persuade to return. While...
Florida Outpatient Costs for Injured Workers Rising Rapidly: WCRI
Nov 11 2013 // The average cost per claim of outpatient hospital care for injured workers in the Florida workers’ compensation system continued to grow rapidly and was a main driver of growth in medical payments per claim in the...
Officials Allege Georgia-Florida Football Game Bus Theft Ring
Nov 8 2013 // Investigators have arrested a man who they say was involved in an “elaborate theft ring” operating in northeast Florida and south Georgia. The Florida Times-Union reported that investigators tracked two stolen...
Florida Lawmakers Re-examine PIP Law in Light of Court Ruling
Nov 6 2013 // Florida lawmakers are taking another hard look at the future of the state’s no-fault automobile insurance law in light of a circuit court ruling that left opened the door to legal challenges over the...
Florida Names Burgess as New Insurance Consumer Advocate
Nov 6 2013 // Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater has named Steve Burgess as the state’s new insurance consumer advocate.Steve BurgessBurgess previously served in that role from 2004 to 2007 and from 1990 to 1997. Most...
USAA to Hire Up to 1,215 New Employees in Hillsborough County, Florida
Nov 5 2013 // Florida state officials announced Tuesday that United Services Automobile Association (USAA) will expand its presence in Hillsborough County, creating up to 1,215 new jobs and $164.3 million in capital investment by...
Florida Approves NCCI’s Revised Filing for 0.7% Workers’ Comp Rate Increase
Nov 5 2013 // Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation recently issued a final order approving the rate increase of 0.7 percent for workers’ compensation rates in Florida. The approval was issued after the National Council...
Miller: Florida Insurers Assume Liability in Agent Appointments, Licensing Verification
Nov 4 2013 // The agent appointment process is not as simple as some think. Insurers that are not careful could find they are in legal trouble. As in so many other areas of insurer operations, due diligence is required in the handling...
Florida Court Restores PIP Reforms But Challenges Expected to Continue
Nov 4 2013 // Florida’s no-fault automobile insurance law is fully in force for now after a district court lifted an injunction that blocked part of law on a legal technicality. But the ruling leaves open the possibility of...
People – Southeast
Nov 4 2013 // The Chubb Corp.’s board of directors announced that John D. Finnegan, Chubb’s chairman, president and chief executive officer, will remain in his current roles until the end of 2016, breaking a Chubb policy...
Florida to Report on Effect of Reinsurance Savings on Homeowners’ Rates
Oct 30 2013 // Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater wants to know why home insurers are not passing along to insureds apparent savings they are realizing on reinsurance. The state’s insurance regulator says he will let...
Florida Agent Charged with Forging Forms for Mitigation Credits
Oct 30 2013 // Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced the arrest of Leon Mobley, 45, a licensed insurance agent in Wellington, for allegedly submitting false and forged wind mitigation verification inspection forms on...
Matthews Named Florida Insurance Department Interim Chief of Staff
Oct 28 2013 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said that Rebecca Matthews will serve as interim chief of staff of the Office of Insurance Regulation. Matthews currently serves as the deputy chief of staff. Matthews succeeds...
Florida Court Lifts Ban on PIP Law But Challenge Continues
Oct 25 2013 // Florida’s no-fault automobile insurance law is fully in force for now after a district court lifted an injunction that blocked part of law on a legal technicality leaving open the possibility for further challenges...
North Carolina, Florida Among States With Most Reported Heavy Equipment Thefts
Oct 24 2013 // A report this month from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) shows five of the top 10 states nationwide with the most reported heavy equipment thefts are from the Southeast region. In NICB’s “Equipment...
