Latest Florida Headlines

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

Reforms May Save Florida Drivers Up to 24.6% on PIP Premium: Report

Aug 24 2012 // Florida’s new no-fault auto insurance law could result in savings of 14 percent up to as much as 24.6 percent for drivers’ on their personal injury protection premiums, although it remains to be seen whether...

Tampa, Host of Republican Convention, Prepares for Possible Hurricane Isaac

Aug 23 2012 // Tropical Storm Isaac is posing a potential threat to next week’s Republican National Convention in Florida, which culminates in the nomination of Mitt Romney for president. The U.S. National Hurricane Center on...

Florida Keys’ Citizens Look to Lower Islands’ Risk Profile, Rates

Aug 23 2012 // Frustrated by rising premiums, reduced coverage and a single market, citizens and officials in the Florida Keys are hoping to convince catastrophe modelers, insurers and reinsurers that their islands are not as big a risk...

UPDATE: TS Isaac on Track to Hit Florida; Strengthening Expected

Aug 23 2012 // The most recent update from the National Hurricane Center in Miami (5:00 a.m. AST) located the center of tropical storm Isaac southwest of Puerto Rico. The NHC said the storm is “moving toward the west near 12 mph,...

Tropical Storm Isaac Strengthening; Floridians, Citrus Growers Begin to Worry

Aug 22 2012 // New York orange juice futures jumped more than 5 percent on Wednesday after U.S. forecasters warned Tropical Storm Isaac would strengthen into a hurricane and could hit the south coast of citrus-rich Florida by Monday. The...

TS Isaac Forms in Atlantic; Strengthening Expected; Could Hit Florida: NHC

Aug 22 2012 // For the past week the National Hurricane Center in Miami has been monitoring a low pressure system that formed off the Cape Verde Islands. Late yesterday it coalesced into a tropical storm, which has been given the name...

Historical U.S. Hurricanes: What If They Struck Today?

Aug 21 2012 // There have been 28 storms in U.S. history since 1900 which if they were happen today would each cause $10 billion or more in insured losses. Hurricane Andrew, which struck Florida 20 years ago this week, would be three...

20 Years Later: Insurance Changes Triggered by Hurricane Andrew

Aug 21 2012 // Hurricane Andrew struck Florida on August 24, 1992, and the tumult it created for the property insurance market in the state has not ceased in the 20 years since, according to the insurance industry. An Insurance...

BOLT Buys 2 Agencies, Opens Florida Office

Aug 20 2012 // The Business Owners Liability Team (BOLT) insurance agency is opening a regional office in Sarasota after acquiring two Florid agencies. BOLT has acquired the Sarasota-based PRG Insurance Agency and Florida Direct...

USI Acquires Florida’s Suncoast Associates

Aug 20 2012 // USI Insurance Services has acquired Suncoast Insurance Associates Inc., a Tampa, Florida-based insurance brokerage specializing in professional liability programs in Florida. USI said this acquisition is expected to...

Florida’s Citizens Promises Changes to Mitigation Savings Program

Aug 20 2012 // Responding to criticism over its home inspection program, officials of Florida’s policyholder-backed insurer said they will no longer immediately raise the premiums for property owners who dispute the inspection...

Ban on Workers’ Medical Care Cuts Down Florida Comp Costs

Aug 20 2012 // Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared in Insurance Journal’s Satire Issue, August 20, 2012. The content in this issue is not real and is not to be taken seriously. It’s supposed to be humorous....

Florida Online Home Insurance Tool Now Compares Auto Rates, Too

Aug 16 2012 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has expanded its online homeowners insurance rate comparison program, Choices, to include the auto insurance. The program allows consumers to select among three standard risks for...

Florida Licenses Validus Reinsurance

Aug 16 2012 // Validus Reinsurance Ltd. has become the latest reinsurer licensed to do business in Florida under the state’s reduced capital law. Under a 2009 law that was designed to attract more private capital to the state,...

Florida Regulators Question Castle Key Rate Increases

Aug 14 2012 // Florida regulators are questioning the increases sought by two property insurers that could raise rates on some homeowners by more than 40 percent, even as they reduce their number of policies. Castle Key Insurance Co., is...

Florida Gov. Scott Reappoints 7 Workers’ Compensation Judges

Aug 13 2012 // Florida Governor Rick Scott has reappointed seven judges on the state’s court that handles workers’ compensation claims. Judge W. James Condry II, 54, of Orlando, has been a judge of Compensation Claims for the...

Florida Says 36% Cut in Forced Place Insurance Rate Justified

Aug 13 2012 // Praetorian Insurance Co. is facing up to a 36 percent rate reduction for Florida homeowners. Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty on Friday announced his intent to disapprove a company proposal for a 2.2 percent...

Florida Could Face Lawsuits Over I-75 Crashes

Aug 9 2012 // A series of deadly January crashes on Interstate 75 could trigger more than a dozen lawsuits against the state of Florida. The Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles acknowledged this week that it has received 13...

Trayvon Martin’s Parents Seek Help from Florida Victims’ Fund

Aug 7 2012 // Trayvon Martin’s mother has asked for an undisclosed amount of money from a state fund set up to help crime victims with things like funeral expenses and counseling, according to documents obtained by The Associated...

Florida Officials, Insurers Urge Caution Over PIP Savings Report

Aug 7 2012 // A preliminary report on the impact of Florida’s no-fault auto insurance law suggesting it could result in savings between 12 percent and 20 percent on a portion of drivers’ premiums is presenting as many...