Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Hears First Community’s Home Rates; OKs Dwelling Increase
Mar 27 2011 // Florida regulators held a public hearing last week to consider the First Community Insurance Co.’s request to raise its homeowner rates a statewide average by 23.3 percent. The company said there are two driving...
Florida’s Homewise, First Home Insurance Companies to Merge
Mar 24 2011 // Two of Florida’s domestic insurance companies have announced that they plan to merge. Homewise Insurance Co. and First Home Insurance Co. are planning to merge sometime in the second quarter pending regulatory...
Florida Homeowners Insurers Seek ‘Flex-Rating’ Up to 15%
Mar 24 2011 // Florida lawmakers are considering giving homeowners insurers more flexibility to raise rates. The Florida Senate and Banking Insurance Committee recently approved a bill that would give homeowners insurers some latitude,...
Florida Lawmakers Take Two-Pronged Approach to Insurance Reform
Mar 23 2011 // Tort reform and fraud have become the two big targets as Florida lawmakers are finally gearing up to tackle the state’s no-fault auto insurance law. Taking a divide and conquer approach, the House Insurance and...
First Community Seeks 23% Florida Homeowners Insurance Rate Hike
Mar 22 2011 // A group of Florida homeowners could see a double-digit increase in their property premiums if regulators go along with their insurer’s rate request. Florida regulators are holding a public hearing today to consider...
Texas Broker Bowen, Miclette & Britt Acquires Florida Agency
Mar 22 2011 // Texas-based insurance broker Bowen, Miclette & Britt Inc. has expanded into the Florida market though the acquisition of Huckleberry Sibley & Harvey Insurance & Bonds. The acquired agency, HSH, has a client...
Florida Lowers Collateral for Montpelier Re
Mar 21 2011 // A tenth reinsurer –and ninth from Bermuda– is taking advantage of a Florida law that allows it to post a lower collateral amount while still conducting business in the state. Florida regulators announced that...
People
Mar 21 2011 // Jennifer McPhillips has been promoted to senior director of federal government affairs for the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America (the Big “I”) and will serve as one of the...
Florida Moves on Two Troubled Insurers
Mar 21 2011 // Two Florida insurers are facing regulatory action as the state’s Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) ordered commercial insurer AequiCap Insurance Co. into liquidation and suspended the license of insurer Seminole...
Florida Lawmakers Aim to Shrink State Insurer Citizens
Mar 21 2011 // Florida lawmakers are looking to cut the state’s largest property insurer down in size. The plan is to reduce the number of properties insured by Citizens Property Insurance Corp. by raising its rates and stopping it...
Florida Interests Unite to Battle PIP Fraud
Mar 21 2011 // Florida insurers, government agencies and consumer advocate groups have established a statewide alliance to push for legislative reforms aimed at cracking-down on staged-accidents that the industry says are costing Florida...
Florida Senate Moves to Curb Liability Suits Against Car Makers
Mar 17 2011 // The Florida Senate has approved a bill that would change the apportionment of damages in product liability cases so that a judge or jury must consider the fault of all parties. The bill is designed to shield or limit the...
Two Florida Insurers Face Insolvency Actions: Seminole, AequiCap
Mar 14 2011 // Two Florida insurers are facing regulatory action as the state’s Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) ordered commercial insurer AequiCap Insurance Co. into liquidation and suspended the license of insurer Seminole...
Vredenburg Heads Acquisitions for Florida’s Assured Agencies
Mar 11 2011 // Paul Vredenburg has joined Assured Agencies in Lake Mary, Fla. as senior vice president of business development. In this position, Vredenburg will be responsible for identifying acquisition opportunities for Assured...
BP Oil Spill Claims Chief Feinberg to Face Florida Lawmakers
Mar 10 2011 // The man in charge of paying BP claims for the Gulf oil spill will soon face a Florida legislative committee to answer questions about how the compensation scheme is going. Kenneth Feinberg, the lawyer who is overseeing the...
Florida House Leader Wants Separate Civil, Criminal Supreme Courts
Mar 9 2011 // Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon this week proposed creating a second Florida Supreme Court so that one set of justices could specialize on criminal appeals and the other on civil cases. The Winter Park Republican said a...
Obama Administration Appeals Florida Judge’s Healthcare Ruling
Mar 8 2011 // The Obama administration Tuesday appealed a U.S. judge’s ruling in Florida that struck down its landmark healthcare overhaul law as unconstitutional because it required Americans to buy healthcare insurance or face a...
Florida Lawmakers Aim to Shrink State Insurer Citizens
Mar 8 2011 // Florida lawmakers are looking to cut the state’s largest property insurer down in size. The plan is to reduce the number of properties insured by Citizens Property Insurance Corp. by allowing it to raise its rates by...
Florida’s E&S Brokers: Doing Business in a World Gone Flat
Mar 7 2011 // Brokers Hoping Improving Economy, Changes in Tallahassee, Rate Deregulation Will Bring Some Relief The numbers alone tell the story. According to the Florida Surplus Lines Office, the total surplus lines premiums written...
Florida Briefs
Mar 7 2011 // PIP Fraud Insurance companies are taking to the Internet to combat auto insurance fraud in Florida. The Property Casualty Insurers Association of American has launched www.InsuranceFraudUncovered.com, a Web site designed...
