Latest Florida Headlines

All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.

More Good News/Bad News for Florida Insurance Market

Feb 26 2013 // Floridians would face about $7.19 billion in post-hurricane taxes to make up the funding shortfalls of state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. and the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund should even a 1-in-50-year storm...

Florida Surplus Lines Association Names New Executive Director

Feb 25 2013 // The Florida Surplus Lines Association said it has named Larry Bodkin as its new executive director. Bodkin currently is president and CEO of the Tallahassee-based Bodkin Management and Consulting LLC. He has 20 years of...

People – Southeast

Feb 25 2013 // Philadelphia Insurance Companies, a Bala Cynwyd, Penn.-based property/casualty and professional liability insurance company for niche markets, said that Robert O’Leary, Jr. has been named the new president and CEO of...

Business Moves – Southeast

Feb 25 2013 // Swett, Southern Hospitality In an expansion of its specialized program business, Swett & Crawford has acquired the assets of Griffin, Georgia -based Southern Hospitality Underwriters Inc. (SHU), a regional firm...

Penn. Court: ‘Single Occurrence’ Applies for Drywall Claims Arising From One Shipment

Feb 21 2013 // The U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania ruled last week that multiple claims that arose from allegedly defective drywall that the insured entity imported in one single shipment from China should be considered a...

Florida Senate Leader to Insurers: Where Are Savings from PIP Reforms?

Feb 21 2013 // Key Florida lawmakers are running out of patience with the state’s fraud-plagued no-fault motor vehicle insurance system that has cost policyholders hundred millions of dollars. Senate President Don Gaetz ,...

No Damage to Florida Citrus Crop from Cold Snap

Feb 20 2013 // Florida came through this week’s cold snap with no major damage to the orange blossoms that will produce next year’s crop, the state’s largest growers’ association said. Temperatures dipped below...

Florida’s Citizens Hires Peltier as Media Relations Manager

Feb 19 2013 // The state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has hired a journalist to help the frequently embattled insurer with its image. Citizens’ legislative affairs director Christine Ashburn announced the appointment of...

Ghost of Charlie Crist Haunts Insurance Reform

Feb 15 2013 // It has been more than two years since the adults regained control of Florida, yet the specter of the Charlie Crist days of demagoguery, populism-at-any-cost and overall political buffoonery looms heavy over the state...

Insurer to Take 31,000 Commercial Wind Policies from Florida’s Citizens

Feb 14 2013 // Florida’s state-backed property insurer has approved a plan to shift 31,000 commercial wind-only policies to a new private insurer. The board of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. approved the plan earlier this week....

Coventry Insurance, Knightbrook to Offer Personal Articles Coverage in FL

Feb 12 2013 // Coventry Insurance Services and KnightBrook Insurance Co. have partnered to offer Coventry Shield Valuable Personal Articles Coverage. The policy an “all-risk” coverage for valuables that are not covered...

Florida Lawmakers Unveil Property Reform Proposals

Feb 11 2013 // Florida lawmakers’ first draft of a property reform emphasizes depopulating and diverting policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-backed property insurer that has 1.3 million policyholders. The...

Doctors Defend Physician-Dispensed Drugs for Workers’ Comp

Feb 11 2013 // Florida physician groups are claiming that the cost of physician-dispensed prescription drugs in workers’ compensation claims is far less than has been reported and that physicians are being unfairly singled out...

Florida’s Workers’ Comp Market Outlook Remains Positive

Feb 11 2013 // The outlook for Florida’s workers’ compensation market continues to be strong as a competitive market offers affordable rates, although costs could be reduced further if the state addressed prescription drug...

The Insurance Mood in Tallahassee

Feb 11 2013 // Lawmakers Have Insurance Concerns But Will They Act in 2013? When you ask experts in Florida to describe the mood of state lawmakers about insurance reforms in 2013 they use words like “disinterested” and...

Florida Court Sides with Bank in Key Mortgage Liability Case

Feb 10 2013 // Florida’s highest court has ruled a homeowner cannot re-open a voluntarily dismissed foreclosure case despite allegations that the bank falsified documents, giving a win to banks in a closely watched ruling that...

Florida Nuclear Plant Being Shuttered Following Insurance Settlement

Feb 7 2013 // The largest U.S. electricity company is permanently closing a Florida nuclear power plant after botched repairs and refunding consumers $835 million from an insurance settlement. Charlotte, N.C.-based Duke Energy said...

Workers’ Compensation Insurer MEMIC Expanding to Florida

Feb 6 2013 // Portland, Maine-based workers’ compensation insurer The MEMIC Group said it will open its first office in Florida in the second quarter of 2013. MEMIC President and CEO John T. Leonard said the company’s plan...

Florida Supreme Court Hears Challenge to Breath Test Software

Feb 6 2013 // The Florida Supreme Court is hearing a request from three drunken driving defendants for access to software for breath testing machines. They believe an analysis of the software would show the machines are inaccurate. The...

Florida Considers Partners for Health Insurance Exchange

Feb 6 2013 // Florida lawmakers heard this week from two organizations that could serve as partners in running an insurance exchange under the federal health overhaul. Florida has missed the deadline to run its own online marketplace...