Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida’s Citizens, Heritage Defend Controversial Takeout Deal
Sep 27 2013 // Florida’s state-backed property insurer found itself on the defensive in Tallahassee this week as state lawmakers inquired into a deal whereby a private insurer stands to receive millions in exchange for removing...
Florida Consumer Advocate Westcott Resigns for Job with Industry
Sep 27 2013 // Florida’s Consumer Advocate Robin Westcott has resigned to become the vice president of the American Association of Insurance Services, an Illinois-based industry organization that develops standardized forms and...
Wholesaler Socius Names Dross as Vice President in Florida
Sep 27 2013 // Socius Insurance Services Inc., a management liability and property/casualty insurance wholesaler, announced it has hired Matt Dross as vice president, Property /Casualty Practice. Dross will be based in Tampa,...
Flood Insurance ‘Sticker Shock’ Hits Floridians with New, Secondary Homes
Sep 26 2013 // When Colin and Joyce Elston bought their Florida dream home in May, they were confident they could afford the three-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch with a pool and a backyard overlooking the Intracoastal Waterway. Now they are...
Court Weighs Merits of Hold Placed on Florida PIP Reforms
Sep 25 2013 // Florida automobile insurers are hoping a court lifts an injunction that has blocked portions of the state’s 2012 no-fault law from taking effect. Florida’s First District Court of Appeals recently heard oral...
Average Obamacare Premiums Will Be Lower Than Projected
Sep 25 2013 // By Julie Appleby and Phil Galewitz Kaiser Health News Staff Writers Just days before new online health insurance markets are set to open, the Obama administration Wednesday released a look at average premiums, saying rates...
Florida City Frustrated with Abandoned Cruise Ship
Sep 24 2013 // Panama City has spent tens of thousands of dollars removing dozens of derelict boats as it redevelops its waterfront. But one abandoned former luxury cruise liner is proving to be an especially difficult case. The News...
Florida Realtors Join Call to Delay Flood Insurance Hikes
Sep 24 2013 // Real estate brokers have joined the chorus of those asking Congress to halt some of the changes to the nation’s flood insurance program that will raise premiums for some owners of property in flood zones. At the...
Florida’s Citizens Has New Plan to Shift 200,000 Policies to 8 Private Insurers
Sep 22 2013 // Florida’s largest insurer could be shifting thousands more of its policyholders away from the state-created company and into private insurance companies. The head of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. announced Friday...
Mississippi Insurance Chief Wants to Sue to Stop Flood Insurance Rate Hikes
Sep 20 2013 // Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney is prepared to sue the federal government to stop the flood insurance rate hikes triggered by a recent reform law, but it remains to be seen if he can move forward because the...
Florida Says Former Allstate Employee Diverted Claims Payments
Sep 19 2013 // Yarden Lee Bracero, 39, a former Allstate employee in Jacksonville has been convicted of diverting insurance claims payments for her own personal use, according to Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater. Bracero...
Groups Object to Florida’s Citizens Insuring Out-of-State Policyholders
Sep 18 2013 // A coalition of Florida business and consumer groups is objecting to the state-backed property insurer providing coverage for 180,000 individuals who reside outside of the state and, in some cases, the country. The Stronger...
Firms Helping Boat Owners Test Waters of ‘Sharing Economy’
Sep 18 2013 // Getting out on the open sea, wind in your hair, enjoying the ride with your family and friends. Then there’s the boat payments, storage fees, fuel, maintenance and repair — these costs can quickly sink the dream of...
Ex-Republican Crist Expected to Run For Governor in Florida as Democrat
Sep 17 2013 // Charlie Crist hopes that the hug that hurt him becomes the hug that now heals him. Democratic President Barack Obama embraced Crist, then Florida’s Republican governor, at a 2009 rally. Republican Marco Rubio used...
Security First to Lower Florida Homeowners Insurance Rates
Sep 16 2013 // Security First Insurance, one of Florida’s largest private property insurance companies, has told state regulators that it is going to lower rates by an average of 9.3 percent statewide. The lower rates will take...
Florida’s Citizens Names Montero as CFO, Rollins as Chief Risk Officer
Sep 16 2013 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has filled a pair of key positions. Jennifer Montero will become Citizens chief financial officer. Montero, a certified public accountant who has served as interim CFO since June, has been...
Obama Administration Bashes Florida for Blocking Health Insurance Navigators
Sep 13 2013 // Florida was strongly criticized by the federal government on Thursday for barring outreach workers, known as “navigators,” from county health departments when they start enrolling people next month for...
Florida Approves 6.3% Increase In Citizens Homeowners Rates
Sep 11 2013 // Florida homeowners who secure coverage through the state-backed property insurer will see their rates increase by a statewide average 6.3 percent based on a ruling by state regulators. Homeowners with multiperil policies...
Florida-Based Lighthouse Property Insurance Names Moore Executive VP
Sep 10 2013 // Lighthouse Property Insurance Corp. reported that Scot Moore has been named as the firm’s new executive vice president. Moore’s accounting career began in 1986 with KPMG Peat Marwick and he has worked in the...
Florida Tobacco Ruling Applies in Federal Cases, Court Says
Sep 9 2013 // Reynolds American Inc.’s R.J. Reynolds Tobacco unit lost its bid to overturn jury verdicts over smoking-related deaths after arguing that federal courts shouldn’t apply a ruling by the Florida Supreme Court...
