Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Citizens’ Rate Increases Way Below Actuaries’ Indications
Jul 28 2010 // If insurance actuaries had their way, rates for homeowners insured through Florida’s public insurer Citizens Property Insurance would be going up 55.9 percent on average. But state law caps how much Citizens can...
Florida’s MDW Insurance Buys Genesis Risk Advisors
Jul 27 2010 // Coral Gables, Florida-based insurance agency MDW Insurance Group has acquired Genesis Risk Advisors. Terms were not disclosed. The founders of Genesis Risk Advisors — Gary Farbish, Craig Weinstein, and Charles...
Florida Braces for Tropical Storm Bonnie
Jul 23 2010 // Tropical Storm Bonnie barreled toward south Florida Friday on a track that was expected to take it over the site of BP Plc’s massive oil spill in the energy-rich Gulf of Mexico by Saturday afternoon. The fast-moving...
Florida Insurers Need Rate Increases, Says Rating Expert
Jul 21 2010 // Florida’s property/casualty insurers appear to have adequate reinsurance and capital in place to withstand at least two major storms this season but their overall fate could hinge on whether they are allowed to raise...
Rhoden Joins Guarantee Insurance in Florida
Jul 20 2010 // Chris Rhoden has joined Guarantee Insurance Co., a subsidiary of Patriot Risk Management, Inc., as an underwriter for alternative markets. Rhoden will co-lead Guarantee’s underwriting team focused on the professional...
American Integrity to Begin Writing Dwelling Fire Policies in Florida
Jul 19 2010 // Tampa, Florida-based American Integrity Insurance Co. said it will begin writing dwelling fire (DP-1) policies for Florida homeowners. American Integrity CEO and President Bob Ritchie, said the company expanded its product...
Arguments For and Against Reinsurance Tax Bill Continue
Jul 16 2010 // Yesterday’s hearing before the House Ways and Means Committee has inspired both sides in the debate over Rep. Richard Neal’s (D-MA) plan, HR3424, to tax foreign-based insurers and reinsurers. [See IJ web site...
Lawsuit in Florida Targets Flood Insurance As Danger to Sea Turtles
Jul 15 2010 // The National Wildife Federation claims in a lawsuit that the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s flood insurance program is hurting sea turtles by spurring coastal development. The lawsuit filed in Miami federal...
Reinsurance Tax Debate over HR 3424 Heats Up at Committee Hearing
Jul 15 2010 // Both sides presented their views at a hearing of the House Ways and Means Committee on Wednesday, July 14. Compromise over whether or not to disallow deductions for premiums paid to purchase reinsurance from...
Georgia Couples Who Own Land in Florida Sue BP
Jul 15 2010 // Two Atlanta couples are suing BP PLC for damages as a result of the Gulf oil spill. The class-action lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court of Northern Georgia, seeks compensation for loss of income, property value and...
Allstate’s Castle Key Insurers Seek 18-33% Rate Hikes in Florida
Jul 13 2010 // Allstate Insurance subsidiaries in Florida are seeking rate increases from 18 percent to 33 percent. Castle Key Insurance Co. has filed with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) to increase homeowners rates by...
MarketScout Wholesale Expands with Florida Office Headed by Lyons
Jul 8 2010 // MarketScout Wholesale (MSW) has expanded operations opening a new location in Tampa, Florida. Greg Lyons joined MSW to lead Florida operations as a senior broker. Prior to joining MSW, Lyons was a property broker with...
Latin Insurance Agent Groups Growing, Going Mainstream
Jul 7 2010 // A group of New York insurance agents has launched a new trade group for Latin insurance producers as well as brokers who serve the Hispanic community in the Northeast. LABA is not the first group geared toward insurance...
Post Office Says System Worked; No Florida Citizens Insurance Mail Lost
Jul 7 2010 // Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance might not be missing any mail or checks from customers after all, although the insurer can’t be 100 percent certain. Insurance Journal and other media reported yesterday...
Florida’s Citizens Insurance Missing Week’s Worth of Mail, Checks
Jul 6 2010 // Citizens Property Insurance has learned that some of its mail has been fraudulently forwarded to another address, raising the possibility some customer payments may have been lost. Citizens said it was informed by the U.S....
Staged Accidents Soar 58% in Florida
Jul 5 2010 // The number of suspicious auto accidents that were staged or deliberately caused by criminals in Florida has increased dramatically in the past year. A study by the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) of questionable...
Florida Jury Awards $2.4 Million in First Chinese Drywall Trial
Jul 5 2010 // A Florida couple who fled their dream home because of foul-smelling, ruinous Chinese drywall was awarded $2.4 million in damages in America’s first jury trial over the defective wallboard that could have legal...
Non-Resident Blogger Can Be Sued in Florida Over Defamation
Jul 5 2010 // The Florida Supreme Court has ruled that a non-resident blogger can be sued in the state for posting allegedly defamatory comments about a Florida company on her out-of-state Web site. In a unanimous opinion, the court...
Florida Court Says Fishermen Can Sue Polluter; Is BP Next?
Jul 5 2010 // With BP’s offshore oil gusher in the Gulf of Mexico as a backdrop, the Florida Supreme Court recently ruled that commercial fishermen may sue a company that discharged pollutants into Tampa Bay for lost income and...
Business Moves
Jul 5 2010 // Keystone, Latta Latta Insurance Services Inc. of Henderson, Ky., has become Keystone Insurers Group’s seventeenth franchise partner in Kentucky.Latta Insurance Services President Williams S. Latta announced the new...
