Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Ratings Recap: United Auto/Argus, Doctors Co., GeoVera, Medical Mutual, MAG Mutual
Jun 17 2011 // A.M. Best Co. has placed under review with developing implications the financial strength rating of ‘C’ (Weak) and issuer credit ratings of “ccc” of Florida-based United Automobile Insurance Group...
Homeowners Insurance Assessments Haunt Florida’s Citizens, Officials
Jun 17 2011 // Two weeks into a new hurricane season, Florida officials are continuing to express their concerns over possible policyholder assessments by Citizens Property Insurance despite the relative financial strength of the...
Florida Drought Conditions Match Devastating 1998 Wildfire Season
Jun 17 2011 // Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam said drought conditions are the same as in 1998 when wildfires devastated Florida. Putnam told Gov. Rick Scott and Florida Cabinet colleagues Thursday that drought covers 93 percent of...
Ohio Workers’ Comp Bureau Caught in Pensions’ Currency Dispute
Jun 16 2011 // Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel has asked for a state investigation into whether banks may have manipulated foreign exchange rates charged to Ohio pension funds and the state’s injured worker insurance, potentially...
Ox Bonding Expands into Florida with Specialty Bonding Programs
Jun 16 2011 // Ox Bonding has expanded its specialty bonding programs into Florida. Ox Bonding’s affiliate insurance carrier, Upper Hudson National Insurance Co., has obtained approval from the Florida Office of Insurance...
Florida Alleges $2.7 Million Workers’ Compensation Fraud
Jun 14 2011 // Florida regulators have announced the arrest of a North Carolina man who allegedly collected more than $2.7 million in workers’ compensation premiums from a company by providing a fake policy. Florida Chief Financial...
Florida Homeowners to Share $55 Million in Chinese Drywall Settlement
Jun 14 2011 // Hundreds of Florida homeowners suffering with tainted Chinese drywall will share $55 million in a deal that also accuses a global drywall maker of lying about the product’s safety, according to court documents. The...
Arthur J. Gallagher Buys Florida’s Bushong Agency
Jun 13 2011 // Illinois-based global insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Bushong Insurance Associates Inc. in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 2000, Bushong is a...
P/C Insurance Industry Wins, Loses in Scott’s First Session
Jun 10 2011 // It is axiomatic in Florida that when it comes to the legislature and insurance issues, the power brokers play for the last 72 hours. No matter how many committee meetings, no matter how many press conferences, no matter...
Florida Judge Questions Tickets in Red Light Camera Debate
Jun 10 2011 // A Broward judge has ruled that law enforcement officers cannot ticket drivers for running red lights. It’s another piece of legal wrangling in the ongoing dispute over red light cameras. County Judge Fred Berman...
Judges Question Individual Mandate in Healthcare Law
Jun 10 2011 // Three federal appeals judges expressed unease with a requirement that virtually all Americans carry health insurance or face penalties, as they repeatedly raised questions about President Barack Obama’s health care...
Atlantic Specialty Lines of Florida hires Shane Fowler, AAI, CLCS
Jun 9 2011 // Clearwater, FL, 6/9/11 – Atlantic Specialty Lines, Inc. Shane joins ASL of FL handling placement of all lines of commercial coverage for the Surplus Lines market. He has a concentrated expertise in construction...
Florida’s HomeWise Insurance Completes Merger with First Home
Jun 8 2011 // HomeWise Insurance Co. and First Home Insurance Co. have completed their previously-announced merger. The two Florida domiciled companies, with $25 million of surplus, are combined under the HomeWise Insurance Co....
Will New Legislation Help Florida’s Property Insurance Market?
Jun 7 2011 // Florida hasn’t been hit by a hurricane since the disastrous years of 2004 and 2005, but the state’s property insurance companies say they are still losing money despite collecting billions in premiums. That has...
Florida Commission Approves RMS Hurricane Model
Jun 7 2011 // Florida’s residential property insurance market is bracing for even more volatility after the state’s modeling commission approved the use of the new Risk Management Services (RMS) catastrophe model. The...
Florida’s NSI Insurance Merges with Royal Marine
Jun 6 2011 // Miami Lakes, Florida-based NSI Insurance Group it has merged with another Miami-based brokerage, Royal Marine Insurance Group. The combined agency will continue to be known as NSI Insurance Group. The executives and staff...
Sipos Joins All Risks in Florida
Jun 6 2011 // Paul Sipos has joined wholesaler All Risks, Ltd. in its expanded Orlando, Florida office as a casualty broker. Prior to joining All Risks, Sipos produced and managed general liability, professional liability and...
No Satisfaction
Jun 6 2011 // Back in 1969 when the Rolling Stones sang, “You can’t always get what you want,” I doubt they were thinking about Florida insurance politics in 2011. I will go out on a limb here and say I am absolutely...
Florida Judge: Insurance Covers Chinese Drywall Claims
Jun 6 2011 // A Florida judge has ruled that a couple’s damage from tainted Chinese drywall is covered by their homeowner insurance policy. Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Robert Foster said he found no exclusion in the Teachers...
People
Jun 6 2011 // West Virginia Insurance Commissioner Jane L. Cline will retire after 10 years on the job. Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said Cline’s retirement will become effective June 30, 2011 and that he will name a replacement in the...
