Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Gov. Scott Signs Surplus Lines Bill
Jun 1 2011 // Florida is prepared to join other states around the country in bring its surplus lines business in line with the federal Nonadmitted and Reinsurance Reform Act. Governor Rick Scott signed SB 1816 into law authorizing the...
Florida Wildfire Danger High Heading Into Memorial Day Weekend
May 27 2011 // The danger of wildfire is very high throughout Florida due to lack of rain, low humidity and windy conditions. Jim Karels, director of the Florida Division of Forestry at the Department of Agriculture and Consumer...
Florida Undertakes Hurricane Readiness Exercises
May 25 2011 // Florida began its sometimes annual hurricane exercise Monday after skipping the practice storm last year because officials were busy with a real emergency — the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The hurricane taking aim at...
Florida’s Acentria Acquires Jim Harris Agency
May 24 2011 // Destin, Florida-based insurance agency Acentria has acquired Jim Harris & Associates, Inc., with offices in Mary Esther and Crestview. Acentria has six locations in the Florida panhandle.
Florida Wants More Private Firms Involved in Emergency Planning
May 23 2011 // Florida’s new emergency management chief said he wants the private sector to be more involved in the state’s disaster preparedness efforts so that local economies can recover quickly after...
Fidelity National Seeks 27% Florida Homeowners Rate Hike
May 20 2011 // Jacksonville-based Fidelity National Property and Casualty Insurance Co., which covers some 12,000 homeowners in the state, is seeking a statewide average 27 percent rate increase. At a public rate hearing, Fidelity...
Florida Fifth Graders Go on a P/C Insurance Tour
May 20 2011 // During a recent field trip to The Main Street America Group’s corporate headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla., more than 60 fifth graders from Jacksonville’s Woodland Acres Elementary School learned the basics of...
Florida Hurricane Fund Gets More Time on Claims
May 19 2011 // The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund has been given more time to respond to an influx of claims from 2005 storms. A state panel chaired by Gov. Rick Scott approved an emergency rule waiving a 60-day deadline for acting...
Florida Gov. Scott Signs Property Insurance Cost Control Bill
May 17 2011 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed into law legislation that promises to lower costs for the state’s property insurers, including what they pay on sinkhole claims. While the memory of former Governor Charles...
Florida Court Knocks Out Hulk Hogan Claim Against Agency
May 17 2011 // A Pinellas County, Florida judge dismissed a lawsuit filed by Terry Bollea, better known as celebrity wrestler Hulk Hogan, in a matter stemming from his son’s 2007 car crash that left passenger, Nick Graziano, with...
Florida Nabs 53 Suspects in Staged Car Crash Scheme
May 16 2011 // Authorities say a five-month investigation into staged car accidents and insurance fraud culminated in arrest warrants for 53 people in the Tampa area. The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said that search...
Business Moves
May 16 2011 // Argus Fire & Casualty A Florida insurance company is on its way to closing its door as it informed agents it is going to start dropping policyholders when their policies are up for renewal. Argus Fire & Casualty,...
Florida Judge Finds Home Policy Covers Chinese Drywall
May 16 2011 // A Florida judge has ruled that a homeowners’ policy covers damage from tainted Chinese drywall. Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Robert Foster said he found no exclusion in the Teachers Insurance Co. policy that...
Florida Lawmakers Approve Property Reform
May 16 2011 // In the closing days of Florida’s legislative session, lawmakers approved a bill that addresses sinkhole claims and a number of other property insurance issues. In addition to redefining sinkhole losses, the measure...
Florida Deregulates More Commercial Lines
May 16 2011 // Commercial insurers in Florida will have more leeway in setting rates on a number of lines of insurance under a bill approved by state lawmakers. The Florida legislature approved CS/HB 99 that expands the list of...
Workers’ Comp TV Show Begins Filming in Florida
May 16 2011 // Hollywood thinks workers’ compensation can be funny. Workers’ Comp, a half-hour TV comedy about crazy employees handling absurd and often-fraudulent insurance claims from injured workers, begins filming pilot...
Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Boosts Reinsurance
May 13 2011 // Florida’s state-backed property insurance company is shoring up its ability to pay claims to home and business owners should a major hurricane or series of storms hit the state this year. For the first time in three...
P/C Insurers Cautious About Adopting New RMS Hurricane Model
May 10 2011 // Property/casualty insurers appear to be in no rush to adopt a controversial revised catastrophe model that dramatically raises certain estimates of potential hurricane losses in the country. California-based modeling firm...
Florida’s Acentria Acquires Stant Agency
May 10 2011 // Destin, Fla.-based Acentria reported it has acquired The Stant Agency. The office will remain in Crestview, Fla. Wes Stant, commercial lines agent, and Martha Stant, personal lines service representative, are joining the...
United Insurance, GreatFlorida Insurance to Provide P/C Coverage in Florida
May 10 2011 // United Insurance Holdings Corp’s., a property and casualty insurance holding company, homeowners, dwelling fire, and flood products will now be sold by agents from GreatFlorida Insurance, a privately held,...
