Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Confie Seguros Buys 3 More Florida Brokerages
Jan 3 2013 // Hispanic market-focused insurance agency network Confie Seguros said it has acquired three insurance brokerages in Florida that will strengthen the company’s operations in that state. Confie Seguros completed the...
Even Without Big Storms, Florida Property Insurance Costs Rise
Jan 3 2013 // Marco Tarafa was stunned to find that his homeowners’ policy is increasing by nearly $1,000 a year —all because inspectors couldn’t get into his attic, where there was no crawl space and about 24 inches of...
Florida Court Allows Drivers to Rebut Presumption of Fault in Rear-End Crashes
Dec 28 2012 // Florida’s high court has ruled that drivers that cause an automobile accident by striking another car from behind can still sue the other driver for damages depending on the circumstances of the accident and the...
Florida Court Bans Private Doctor-Lawyer Meetings in Malpractice Cases
Dec 27 2012 // Malpractice defendants must not try to circumvent a Florida law that bars them from obtaining confidential medical information about plaintiffs from other doctors or dentists who are treating them, the state Supreme Court...
Florida’s Citizens Balks at Issuing HO-8 Policy
Dec 19 2012 // Florida’s quasi-governmental property insurer is resisting a statutory requirement that it start issuing an HO-8 policy due to a disagreement with regulators over rates and concerns that the policy’s reduced...
Brown & Brown Acquires Behnke & Associates in South Florida
Dec 18 2012 // Florida-based national insurance brokerage Brown & Brown Inc. announced this month asset acquisitions of Behnke & Associates Inc., an independent insurance agency located in South Florida. Founded in 1995, Behnke...
Praetorian Offers to Lower Florida Forced-Placement Rates by 18.8%
Dec 18 2012 // A forced placement mortgage property insurer providing coverage in Florida has offered to lower its rates by an average of 18.8 percent, despite the fact that state regulators said the rate decrease should be double that...
Florida’s Citizens Cancels Surplus Loan Plan; CEO Questions Depopulation Methods
Dec 14 2012 // Officials of Florida’s policyholder-back insurer have decided not to pursue a plan to loan private insurers part of its surplus in exchange for removing policies citing the fact that as currently envisioned no...
Judge Denies Some Medical Providers’ Plea to Block Florida PIP Law
Dec 13 2012 // A federal court judge has denied a motion brought forward by some medical providers who claimed that Florida’s new no-fault auto law unfairly prevented them from making a living, on the basis it is unlikely they will...
Florida Cabinet Approves PIP Benefit Rule Sought by Insurers
Dec 13 2012 // Florida officials have approved an emergency rule that will allow auto insurers providing no-fault coverage to use a form informing accident victims of their benefits under the state’s revised personal injury...
Florida’s Ex-Republican Governor Crist Eyes Return as Democrat
Dec 10 2012 // Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, who was elected the state’s chief executive as a Republican and then ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate as an independent, has announced that he’s switching to the...
Florida Regulator Conducting Review of Citizens Insurance
Dec 7 2012 // Florida regulators are working on a report that is expected to layout the financial status, claims handling and other administrative workings of the state’s 1.4 million policyholder-backed property insurer. Florida...
Florida Lawmakers Ponder More Pricing Freedom for Property Insurer Citizens
Dec 6 2012 // Some Florida legislators said this week they would consider giving the state’s largest property insurer more control over its rates, including allowing the company to raise rates to bolster its ability to pay...
Florida Extends ‘Fast Track’ Policy Form Approval
Dec 4 2012 // Florida insurance regulators are extending a process that fast tracks approval of insurance company forms. The Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) says the extension until June 2013 is necessary due to limited resources...
Florida Judge Invalidates Windstorm Credit Forms; Regulator Appeals
Dec 3 2012 // A Florida administrative law judge has ruled that some forms used by insurers to determine a homeowner’s windstorm premium credits are invalid because they don’t take into account measures taken to protect...
Confie Seguros Buys Florida, Nevada Agencies
Dec 3 2012 // Confie Seguros, a national provider of personal lines insurance focused on Hispanic consumers, has acquired four regional insurance brokerages in Florida and Nevada. Confie Seguros completed the acquisitions of...
Florida Prison Guard Charged with $2.7 Million Workers’ Comp Fraud
Dec 3 2012 // A former Florida prison guard is free on bond after being charged with faking illness to fraudulently collect more than $2.7 million in workers’ compensation. Authorities said David Brownell was arrested last week in...
Florida Gov. Scott Seeks Audit of Citizens
Dec 3 2012 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott has asked Inspector General Melinda Miguel to investigate the recent firings of four Citizens Property Insurance Corp. employees responsible for keeping an eye on any internal wrongdoing at the...
Florida Court Delays Citizens’ Immunity Ruling
Dec 3 2012 // The Florida Supreme Court has put off a decision on whether Citizens Property Insurance Corp. can use its status as a state-backed entity to avoid lawsuits. The high court ruled in a 5-2 opinion that Citizens prematurely...
Hurricane Center Seeks to Improve Storm Surge Warnings
Nov 30 2012 // Friday marks the end of an Atlantic-Caribbean hurricane season where the greatest devastation was caused by water rather than wind, U.S. National Hurricane Center Director Rick Knabb said. Accordingly, the center is...
