Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Gardner Joins Willis North America in Florida as Senior VP
Aug 28 2013 // Willis North America has named Walter Gardner as senior vice president and practice leader, Human Capital, for Willis of Florida Inc. Willis of Florida provides employee benefit and risk management services for 5,000...
Florida Schools Open with More Armed Security
Aug 26 2013 // In the Fort Lauderdale suburb of Pembroke Pines, students returning to school this year are being greeted not only by their teachers and principal. They’re also meeting the armed school resource officer who will be...
Florida’s Citizens Insurance Signs $45M Contract with Bolt for Clearinghouse
Aug 23 2013 // Florida’s state-backed property insurer has tapped a Connecticut-based firm to operate a new clearinghouse where new and renewal policyholders will be shopped to the private market before they are eligible for...
Florida’s Citizens Makes Case for Homeowners, Sinkhole Rate Increases
Aug 21 2013 // Florida’s state-backed property insurer is seeking a statewide average 6.6 percent increase in homeowners’ rates and a 24.8 percent increase in sinkhole rates while citing reduced losses and an improved...
Florida Blue Gets OK to Restructure Under Mutual Holding Company
Aug 19 2013 // Florida insurance regulators ruled Friday to allow health insurance giant Florida Blue, one of the state’s largest employers and political donors, to restructure itself under a not-for-profit mutual insurance holding...
Florida Court Reduces Damages in College Football Player Wrongful Death Suit
Aug 18 2013 // A ruling by a Florida appeals court on Friday has reduced a $10 million damage award to $200,000 in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the family of a University of Central Florida football player who died following...
Insurers Seek 1% Increase in Florida Workers’ Comp Rates
Aug 16 2013 // Florida’s employers can look forward to little, if any, change in their 2014 workers’ compensation rates as the state’s industry-backed rating agency has filed for a modest statewide average 1 percent...
Official: 100-Foot Sinkhole at Florida Resort Not Growing
Aug 15 2013 // An official at the Florida resort where a villa was partially swallowed into the ground says it doesn’t appear the sinkhole on the site is growing. Summer Bay Resort President Paul Caldwell told reporters during a...
Q&A: Why Sinkholes Form in Florida
Aug 15 2013 // Sections of a building at a resort near Orlando’s theme park district collapsed into a sinkhole on Aug. 12, forcing the evacuation of 105 guests in the structure and also dozens of visitors staying in two adjacent...
Report: More Reforms Needed for Flood, Wind Insurance Programs
Aug 15 2013 // A new report this week from the Union of Concerned Scientists, a watchdog group, warns that sea level rise and worsening storm surge are increasing both the risks of flooding in coastal communities and the potential for...
Insurance Broker Gardner Appointed Chair of Florida’s Citizens
Aug 14 2013 // Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater has tapped Chris Gardner to be the new chair of the Citizens Property Insurance Corp. board of directors. Gardner has been a member of the Citizens board since July 11, 2011. He...
Buildings Near Florida Resort Sinkhole Being Inspected for Damage
Aug 14 2013 // An official at a resort near Orlando, Fla., where a 100-foot sinkhole has swallowed part of a villa has said he’s awaiting the results of inspections to determine if there’s been damage to two other buildings...
Sinkhole Causes Florida Resort Villa to Collapse
Aug 13 2013 // A sinkhole caused a section of a Florida resort villa near Disney World to partially collapse Monday, while another section was sinking, authorities said. About 30 percent of the three-story structure collapsed before...
Florida Regulator McCarty Answers CFO Over Reinsurance Costs
Aug 12 2013 // Florida’s insurance regulator, in response to questions why lower reinsurance costs have not translated into reduced homeowners rates, said insurers have significant leeway in how they incorporate those costs into...
Florida CFO: Why Aren’t Florida Property Rates Falling Along with Reinsurance?
Aug 9 2013 // Florida’s top financial officer is questioning regulators on why reports of significantly lower reinsurance costs worldwide are not translating into reduced premiums for homeowners around the state. Chief Financial...
What Jeff Atwater Gets Wrong, and Right, About Florida Reinsurance
Aug 8 2013 // Yesterday, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater penned a letter to Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty inquiring why property insurance rates continue to rise even as the cost of reinsurance falls. Atwater...
Wilcox Named CFO at Universal Insurance Holdings
Aug 8 2013 // Florida-based Universal Insurance Holdings Inc. has elected Frank Wilcox, formerly vice president of finance, as the company’s chief financial officer and principal accounting officer effective October 1,...
Army Corps Watching Water Levels at Florida’s Lake Okeechobee
Aug 8 2013 // Water levels in Lake Okeechobee have risen to nearly 16 feet. The rising water levels in the shallow lake have prompted the Army Corps of Engineers to fully open locks around the lake to release water and protect the aging...
Florida Sen. Fasano, Veteran on Insurance Legislation, Leaving for Tax Job
Aug 7 2013 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott is appointing maverick legislator Mike Fasano to the position of Pasco County tax collector. The governor’s office said that Scott had appointed Fasano, R-New Port Richey, to the job on...
Confie Seguros Acquires Florida’s Economy Insurance Mart
Aug 5 2013 // Growing personal lines agency Confie Seguros has acquired Economy Insurance Mart of Spring Hill, Fla., which sells auto, home and small commercial insurance. Economy Insurance Agency was founded in 1993 and is a privately...
