Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Business Moves – Southeast
Mar 25 2013 // Bankers Insurance, AIX Group Florida ankers Insurance Group has reached an agreement with AIX Group to acquire its Florida policies as part of a strategy to increase Bankers’ presence in the state’s Latino...
Florida Gov. Scott, Insurers Vow Fight to Save PIP Law After Injunction
Mar 22 2013 // A Florida circuit court judge has issued a temporary injunction against certain provisions of the state’s no-fault personal injury protection (PIP) law, ruling that it is no longer a “reasonable...
Crist Leads Scott in 2014 Governor’s Race Poll
Mar 21 2013 // Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist holds a big edge over Republican Gov. Rick Scott among registered Florida voters in a hypothetical gubernatorial match-up in 2014, a new poll shows. Crist was favored by 50 percent while...
Feds Would Set Florida Health Insurance Rates Under Senate Bill
Mar 21 2013 // A state Senate health committee recommended this week that the state suspend the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s power to set rates for insurers under the Affordable Care Act and instead let the federal...
Childers Named President of Florida’s LassiterWare Insurance
Mar 20 2013 // Doug Childers Jr. has been appointed president of LassiterWare Insurance in Leesburg, Florida. Childers will report to Ted Ostrander Jr., the company’s CEO. Childers has a decade of experience providing commercial...
Threats Posted on Facebook Are Crimes, Florida Court Rules
Mar 20 2013 // In an apparent first in Florida law, a state appeals court ruled this week that posting threats on one’s personal Facebook page can be prosecuted under state law. The 1st District Court of Appeal decided in a...
Florida Senate Medical Malpractice Bill Advances
Mar 20 2013 // A bill that would make it even harder to pursue medical malpractice claims in Florida has cleared a Senate panel. The Senate Judiciary committee voted up the bill (SB 7030) by a vote of 6-3 on Monday. It would require that...
Is This Right Time to Restructure Florida CAT Fund?
Mar 19 2013 // A move to restructure Florida’s state-run property reinsurance facility by lowering its financial obligation to insurers is facing an uphill legislative battle as both lawmakers and members of the industry find...
With Rates Expected to Drop, Cat Fund Reform Should Be a No-Brainer
Mar 18 2013 // For four out of the last seven years, the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund has been projected to have a shortfall should a major hurricane impact the state and cause the fund to pay out to its coverage limits. This is...
Court Upholds Florida Sinkhole Insurance Loss Rule
Mar 15 2013 // A Florida court has upheld a decision by state insurance regulators that property insurers must offer sinkhole loss coverage in an amount equal to the dwelling coverage limit. Farm Bureau asked the Office of Insurance...
S&P Rates Florida Cat Fund Bonds ‘AA-‘
Mar 14 2013 // Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services has assigned its “AA-” rating to Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF), Florida’s $2 billion revenue bonds series 2013A. The outlook is stable, according...
Florida Lawmakers Confront Cost of Improving School Safety
Mar 14 2013 // The mass school shooting in Connecticut led officials to question if more should be done to beef up security in Florida’s public classrooms. Three months later, lawmakers are still grappling with how to respond,...
Florida Senate Bill Would Depopulate Citizens, Raise Rates, Create Clearinghouse
Mar 13 2013 // Lawmakers in the Florida Senate have taken steps to return the state-backed insurer Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to its original purpose of being a market of last resort by requiring it to charge actuarially sound...
AIF Map Confirms Citizens Not the Leading Writer in Most Florida Districts
Mar 12 2013 // The debate over how to reform Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has been a years-long and arduous political battle. Despite its original mission to act as Florida’s insurer-of-last-resort, Citizens...
Florida Leaders Seek Savings from PIP Reforms
Mar 11 2013 // Key Florida lawmakers are running out of patience with the state’s fraud-plagued no-fault auto insurance system. Senate President Don Gaetz , R-Niceville, told The Associated Press he isn’t persuaded that...
Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Sued for Denying Wind Mitigation Discounts
Mar 11 2013 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp. purposefully deprived customers of windstorm mitigation discounts through an arbitrary reinspection program that has cost customers nearly $200 million. That claim is the basis of a...
Insurers Split Over Proposed Changes to Florida Guaranty Fund
Mar 11 2013 // Florida lawmakers are weighing a bill that would alter the funding mechanism for the state fund that pays the claims of insolvent property insurers, a change that does not have the uniform support of the insurance...
Allstate Looking for 50 New Agency Owners in Florida
Mar 8 2013 // Allstate Insurance said it is ramping up its recruiting in Florida again and is looking for more than 50 new agency owners. “We see a significant opportunity in the current job climate to attract well capitalized...
Florida Judge: 104-Week Limit on Temporary Disability Benefits Unconstitutional
Mar 7 2013 // A Florida district court judge’s ruling that declared unconstitutional a 104-week limitation on injured workers’ temporary benefits has left insurers and employers scrambling to come up with a legislative...
Florida Senate Advances Bill Banning Texting While Driving
Mar 7 2013 // A statewide texting-while-driving ban that has eluded passage for several years is again moving through the Florida Legislature. The Senate Communications committee meets Wednesday to consider the bill (SB 52). Opponents...
