Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Surplus Lines Analysis: Multistate Clearinghouse Economics Don’t Work
Feb 27 2012 // Recent data from Florida indicate that the economics for a multistate surplus lines tax allocation clearinghouse are unworkable. There simply is not enough multistate surplus lines tax to support the cost of a...
Florida Lawmakers Split on Workers’ Comp Drug Dispensing; Rate Cut Possible
Feb 27 2012 // Florida lawmakers appear headed toward a stalemate over how to rein-in the cost of physician-dispensed workers’ compensation prescription drugs. In an effort to force a deal, Senate lawmakers are calling for a...
Struggling Floridians Line Up for Mortgage-Mending
Feb 23 2012 // Nearly 1,200 people lined up at a downtown Miami conference center on Wednesday, holding onto mortgage documents and income statements in the hope of saving the homes they are struggling to pay for. Seated at rows of long...
Florida Senate Leader Opposes Immunity for Lawmakers
Feb 22 2012 // The incoming Senate president is opposing a proposal that would allow state lawmakers to wrap themselves in absolute immunity from having to testify in lawsuits. The House Judiciary Committee cleared a Republican bill (PCB...
Florida Jury Awards Man $3.3 Million Over Bank’s False Alarm
Feb 21 2012 // A Miami-Dade jury has awarded $3.3 million to a man who was trying to cash a check but was then detained after a Bank of America teller activated a silent alarm. According to the Miami Herald, the jury ruled Friday that...
Florida Lawmakers Still Balk at Raising Homeowners’ Premiums for Cat Fund
Feb 21 2012 // State lawmakers have gambled with their constituents’ money for years when it comes to dealing with Florida’s property insurance issues. But now, many top industry analysts suggest, the odds may be turning...
Cruise Ship Industry Leaves Crash Victims Little Hope for Recovery
Feb 21 2012 // When Walter Henry Alderfer learned last month about the Costa Concordia shipwreck off Italy, it brought back bad memories. In April 2007, he, his wife and his daughter were aboard the Sea Diamond cruise ship when it struck...
Looks Like The Year for PIP Reform in Florida
Feb 20 2012 // Roughly halfway through Florida’s legislative session, state Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty expressed optimism that state lawmakers would find a way to substantially reform the state’s no-fault auto...
4 Executives Found Not Guilty in Florida Hurricane Fund Fraud Case
Feb 17 2012 // Four insurance executives of a now defunct Florida property insurer have been found not guilty of defrauding the state’s reinsurance facility of over $20 million in a case stemming from hurricane losses dating back...
Electric Cigarette Explodes in Florida Man’s Mouth
Feb 17 2012 // A man trying to kick the smoking habit was puffing on an electronic cigarette when a faulty battery caused it to explode in his mouth, taking out some of his front teeth and a chunk of his tongue and severely burning his...
Florida Bill Seeks to Curb Medical Malpractice Claims
Feb 15 2012 // The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature is pushing ahead this year with changes meant to curb medical malpractice lawsuits against doctors. This effort is being criticized as an attack on the privacy rights of...
More Shipwreck Survivors File Lawsuits against Carnival, Costa Cruises
Feb 14 2012 // Dozens of additional survivors of the Costa Concordia shipwreck off Italy have joined a Florida lawsuit that accuses the ship’s owners of gross negligence and fraud, and asks for at least $528 million in damages. An...
Florida Lawmakers Weigh Texting While Driving Ban
Feb 13 2012 // Joyce Concklin has 10 good reasons why every state should pass a ban on texting while driving: That’s the number of bones she broke when a texting driver ran into her. That driver died, his mobile phone still...
Florida Insurance Commissioner: ‘This Is Year for PIP Reform’
Feb 9 2012 // Roughly half way through Florida’s legislative session, state Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty expressed optimism that state lawmakers would find a way to substantial reform the state’s no-fault auto...
Florida’s Agency Harbor Acquires Fidelity Insurance Associates
Feb 9 2012 // Harbor Insurance Agency as part of its plan to expand its market has purchased Fidelity Insurance Association. Both agencies are located in Naples, Fl., and service the surrounding areas of Bonita Springs, Marco Island,...
Holdout States Expected to Join Mortgage Bank Deal
Feb 8 2012 // California and New York, two key holdout states for a multi-state mortgage settlement, are expected to join the deal, smoothing the way for an announcement expected on Thursday, according to a person familiar with the...
Agents Raid 2 Florida CVS Stores in Prescription Drug Abuse Probe
Feb 6 2012 // Agents from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration raided two CVS pharmacies in Florida as part of an effort to curb the abuse of prescription painkillers and other potentially addictive substances. The action on...
Florida’s Citizens Eyes Risk Transfer
Feb 6 2012 // Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has set the goal of moving at least $1 billion in risk back to the private capital markets while looking to lawmakers to make statutory changes that will assist the insurer...
Workers’ Comp Rate Hike Irks Florida Businesses
Feb 6 2012 // Florida small businesses seeing their second workers’ compensation rate increase in as many years are calling on the state to reduce the increase because they fear it will harm the economy. A small business group is...
Business Moves
Feb 6 2012 // IMAC, Specialty Service Solutions Randolph, Mass.-based International Marketing and Administration Co. (IMAC) purchased Specialty Service Solutions LLC, an insurance brokerage headquartered in Chicago. Specialty Service...
