Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
U.S. High Court Weighs Foreign Investors Suing in U.S. Courts
Apr 6 2010 // The Supreme Court indicated this week it could prohibit foreign investors from using U.S. securities law and American courts to sue a foreign bank for fraud. The court heard argument in a challenge from Australian...
P/C Insurers Can Handle Chinese Drywall Costs, Says Moody’s
Apr 5 2010 // Property/casualty insurers are expected to continue to handle costs for defective Chinese drywall claims in the normal course of business, according to a rating analyst with Moody’s Investors Service. Losses from...
Florida Enforcement Sting Nets Unlicensed Moving Companies
Apr 5 2010 // Florida officials are targeting unregistered and uninsured moving companies following complaints from consumers and others in the industry. Florida Agriculture and Consumer Services Commissioner Charles H. Bronson said he...
Florida’s Federated National Gets $10 Million in Capital; Rating Affirmed
Apr 5 2010 // Florida’s 21st Century Holding Co. announced that its subsidiary Federated National Insurance Co. (FNIC) has received a capital infusion of $10 million. The transaction follows the previously announced notice from...
Business Moves
Apr 5 2010 // 21st Century, HomeWise 21st Century Holding Co. has agreed to acquire HomeWise Insurance Co. and HomeWise Management Co. from HomeWise Holdings Inc. The agreement also includes renewal rights to certain policies from...
Florida Eyes Insurer Payments to Affiliates
Apr 5 2010 // Florida Gov. Charlie Crist wants the state insurance regulator to have authority to prevent excessive payments by home-based insurance companies to affiliate managing general agencies and other entities. “I’d...
FEMA Nixes Aid for Florida Chinese Drywall Damage
Apr 5 2010 // Florida asked for federal assistance for thousands of homeowners with property damage caused by defective Chinese drywall but the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which typically deals with hurricanes and other natural...
Before the Storms
Apr 5 2010 // As Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty told the Florida Cabinet, “the marketplace still faces serious challenges.” Out of the more than 200 property insurance companies in Florida, 81 reported underwriting...
Montgomery Offers Commercial Fleet Technology Service in Florida
Mar 31 2010 // Montgomery Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Group regional operation, is now providing Onboard Advisor for commercial fleets in Florida. Onboard Advisor is a fleet management solution that helps companies increase fleet safety...
Florida’s Crist Opposes, Bush Backs Bill Deregulating Insurance Prices
Mar 31 2010 // Tallahassee politicians must ensure a robust private property insurance market to avoid a financial disaster if a major hurricane or several smaller storms strike the state this summer, former Gov. Jeb Bush said this...
Should Florida Follow New York and Revive Its Surplus Lines Exchange?
Mar 30 2010 // New York regulators are pursuing a reincarnation of the New York Insurance Exchange, a Lloyd’s of London-style insurance market that lasted for several years the last time it was tried. New York Insurance...
Florida Orders Hillcrest Insurance Executive to Return Investment Monies
Mar 29 2010 // A director and part owner of Hillcrest Insurance Co. in Gainesville has been ordered to return $600,000 in policyholders’ money he used in February 2009 to buy stock in a bank he founded and part owned. Florida...
P/C Insurers Can Handle Chinese Drywall Costs, Says Moody’s
Mar 26 2010 // Property/casualty insurers are expected to continue to handle costs for defective Chinese drywall claims in the normal course of business, according to a rating analyst with Moody’s Investors Service. Losses from...
Florida Jury Awards $26.6 Million to Smoker’s Widow
Mar 25 2010 // A Florida jury ordered R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris Wednesday to pay $26.6 million to the widow of a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer, the latest verdict against cigarette makers in the “Engle...
Florida Governor, Regulator Want Check on Insurer Payments to Affiliates
Mar 24 2010 // Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said he would like to give the state insurance regulator authority to prevent excessive payments by home-based insurance companies to affiliated managing general agencies and other...
Montgomery Insurance Looks to Grow Florida Commercial Lines Business
Mar 23 2010 // Montgomery Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Group regional operation, says it is implementing a commercial lines growth plan in Florida with its independent insurance agents. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based unit with...
21st Century Holding to Buy Florida’s HomeWise Insurance
Mar 23 2010 // 21st Century Holding Co. has agreed to acquire HomeWise Insurance Co. and HomeWise Management Co. from HomeWise Holdings Inc. The agreement also includes renewal rights to certain insurance policies from HomeWise Preferred...
Florida CFO Sink Wants Data on Troubled Property Insurers
Mar 22 2010 // Florida insurance regulators have notified a Jacksonville-based insurer that it has until the end of the month to comply with solvency requirements to avoid suspension or losing its license. The warning to Southern Oak...
Florida Court to Hear Rental Car ‘Vicarious Liability’ Case
Mar 22 2010 // An accident victim’s lawyer has urged the Florida Supreme Court to rule that rental car companies can be held liable for damages in an accident they did not cause in the state, even though a new federal law is...
Florida’s Market and How Surplus Lines Agents Are Faring
Mar 19 2010 // Hurricane Andrew, for all of the grief it delivered, gave wholesale broker Hull & Co. and Bruce Bowers a big opportunity. “Prior to ’92, there wasn’t much of a need for personal lines in the excess...
