Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
After Years of Increases, Florida Property Insurance Rates May Be Stabilizing
May 29 2013 // It’s been nearly eight years since Hurricane Wilma raked the southern end of Florida and caused billions in damages, the last of eight hurricanes to hit the state in 2004 and 2005. Yet even as the state has been...
Florida’s Citizens, Heritage Insurance Strike a Deal
May 28 2013 // Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has narrowly approved a plan allowing a domestic insurer to remove 60,000 policies and receive as much as $52 million from Citizens in exchange. A short-handed Citizens...
Florida Gov. Scott Asked to Return Money to Insurer
May 27 2013 // A leading Florida Democrat is calling on Gov. Rick Scott to return $110,000 in campaign contributions from an insurer. Dan Gelber, a former state senator and potential future statewide candidate, wrote a letter Friday to...
Florida’s Citizens Policy Deal with Heritage Insurance Faces Questions
May 27 2013 // A backlash is quickly growing against the decision of Florida’s largest property insurer to shift thousands of policies to a start-up insurance company. Just days ago Citizens Property Insurance Corp. narrowly...
Florida Municipal Insurance Trust Issues $20 Million Cat Bond
May 23 2013 // A Florida insurance trust that provides property insurance and other products to cities around the state has issued a $20 million private placement catastrophe bond to help pay claims due to hurricanes. Towers Watson...
Business Moves
May 20 2013 // Confie Seguros, Capital Insurance Hispanic market-focused insurance agency network Confie Seguros acquired Capital Insurance Agency of Trenton, N.J. Capital Insurance has been in business since 1935 and specializes in...
Florida Lawmakers Approve Medical Malpractice Reform
May 20 2013 // In a victory for medical malpractice insurers and physicians, Florida lawmakers have approved a series of tort reforms that among other things will require expert witnesses testifying against physicians in a malpractice...
Opioid Epidemic Plagues Workers’ Comp
May 17 2013 // Prev Next Drug Overdose Death Rates Drug overdose death rates in the U.S. more than tripled since 1990. In 2008, more than 36,000 people died from drug overdoses, and most of the deaths were caused by prescription drugs....
Florida Catastrophe Fund Financially Stronger on Eve of Hurricane Season
May 17 2013 // Florida is heading into a new storm season with some good news for once. The state-created fund that backs up private insurers in Florida is in the best financial shape it has been in years ā maybe the best since it was...
Southeastern States Battle Against Prescription Drug/Opioid Abuse
May 17 2013 // Editor’s Note: This is part of a team report on opioid use by injured workers. For the national story read: Opioid Epidemic Plagues Workers’ Comp Deaths from prescription drug overdoses jumped 360 percent in...
Weston Insurance Company Selects North American Risk Services, Inc. as Third Party Claims Administrator
May 17 2013 // Altamonte Springs, FL, 05/17/13 – North American Risk Services, Inc. (NARS), a premier national third-party claims administrator announces its strategic partnership with the Florida-based domestic property insurance...
The Florida Cat Fund’s Low Bar for Fiscal ‘Health’
May 16 2013 // The headlines blaring from the Sunshine State today are unambiguous. The state-run Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund is “in good shape” Indeed, its latest report card shows it is the “best it’s...
Siewert Named Chief Operating Officer at Florida’s Prepared Insurance
May 13 2013 // Prepared Insurance Co., a Florida domestic insurer, recently named Stephanie E. Siewert as its chief operating officer. Siewert joined the company in 2009 as vice president of sales and marketing and helped complete the...
Florida Lawmakers OK Clearinghouse for Citizens Business; Agents Face Changes
May 6 2013 // Florida lawmakers approved legislation that seeks to slow the growth of the state-backed property insurer by diverting new policies into the private market while largely retaining the status quo for the insurer’s...
Florida Becomes 4th State to Sue BP Over Oil Spill
May 6 2013 // Florida has filed a lawsuit against British oil company BP and cement contractor Halliburton over the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, becoming the fourth state to seek damages for the 2010 disaster. The suit faults BP for not...
Florida PIP Law Injunction Remains in Effect
May 6 2013 // A Florida judge has upheld his temporary injunction partially blocking portions of the state’s automobile no-fault insurance personal injury protection (PIP) law on the basis it infringes on drivers’ access to...
Florida Lawmakers Approve Medical Malpractice Reform
May 3 2013 // In a victory for medical malpractice insurers and physicians, Florida lawmakers have approved a series of tort reforms that among other things will require expert witnesses testifying against physicians in a malpractice...
Florida Lawmakers Advance Texting While Driving Bill
May 2 2013 // The Florida House has passed its version of a statewide ban on texting while driving, but the proposal’s fate is uncertain. The House passed the bill (SB 52) on a 110-6 vote Wednesday. It includes an amendment that...
Florida Medical Malpractice Bill Fate Uncertain
May 2 2013 // The Florida House this took up a bill that critics say would make it harder to pursue medical malpractice claims. But the bill also had fallen victim to a tactic by Democrats upset that the House Republican leadership...
Florida Approves Cap on Physician-Dispensed Drugs for Workers’ Compensation
May 2 2013 // After years of struggling to rein in the cost of physician-dispensed drugs, Florida workers’ compensation insurers finally reached a compromise with physicians and drug companies that is projected to reduce costs by...
