Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Demotech Actuaries Offer Guidance on Florida Insurers’ Financial Ratings
Mar 18 2010 // The actuarial services firm, Demotech, which rates most of Florida’s newer and smaller domestic property insurers, has published a position paper outlining its approach to its carrier Financial Stability Ratings and...
Florida’s Southern Oak Agrees to Reduce MGA Fee, Wind Exposure
Mar 18 2010 // A Jacksonville property insurance company is back in the good graces of regulators. Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty signed off on an agreement with the Southern Oak Insurance Co. after the insurer agreed to make some...
Florida Fines Homeowners Choice Over Reinsurance Contract
Mar 18 2010 // A Clearwater-based property insurance company is the latest Florida company to run afoul of Florida insurance regulators. Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty ordered Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Co....
FEMA Denies Aid for Florida Families with Chinese Drywall Damage
Mar 17 2010 // Last week Florida asked for federal financial assistance for thousands of homeowners with property damage caused by defective Chinese drywall. But the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which typically deals with...
Sarasota HeraldTribune: How Florida Insurers Make Millions on the Side
Mar 16 2010 // The Sarasota HeraldTribune, as part of its series on the property insurance market in Florida, has reported that half of the state’s insurers are making money not from insuring homes but by diverting premiums into...
Florida Sweep Nabs 19 Suspects in Staged Accident Fraud
Mar 15 2010 // Florida officials say a statewide sweep of staged accident scammers last week resulted in the arrest of 19 suspects, including arrests in Ft. Myers, Miami, Orlando, Pensacola, Tampa and West Palm Beach Florida CFO Alex...
Florida Insurers Pin Hopes on Broad Bill Passed by Senate Panel
Mar 11 2010 // With the prospects for a controversial rate deregulation bill dimmed by Gov. Charlie Crist’s threat of a veto, the insurance industry is betting on a new wide-ranging insurance proposal to bring some reform to...
More New Florida Property Insurers in Trouble?
Mar 10 2010 // Florida insurance regulators this week 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. And the warning to...
House Panels Face Environmental, Insurer Groups Over Catastrophe Bill
Mar 10 2010 // Two House subcommittees have scheduled a joint hearing today on ways to address homeowners insurance costs in disaster-prone communities, an issue that has some environmentalists, taxpayer groups and insurers standing...
Florida’s Homeowners Choice Reports Profitable Q4, Year 2009
Mar 10 2010 // Homeowners Choice Inc., a Florida-based homeowners’ insurer, reported a profitable fourth quarter and year 2009. Net income for the fourth quarter of 2009 was $807,000, compared to net income of $5.1 million for the...
New Florida Legislative Session Faces Familiar Problems
Mar 7 2010 // Randi Schuknecht worried that her longtime, established insurance company was about to leave Florida — and leave her without a homeowner’s policy. So she found a new insurer — one she wouldn’t have...
Florida Cabinet Delays Hurricane Fund Assessments
Mar 7 2010 // The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund needs $710 million to continue to pay claims still coming in from 2005’s Hurricane Wilma but it is going to have to wait to assess policyholders to get those funds. The Florida...
State of Challenge: How Florida’s Surplus Lines Agents Are Faring
Mar 7 2010 // Interview with FSLA President Bruce Bowers Weak Economy, Insureds Going Bare, Hungry Admitted Markets and Citizens’ Low Rates Test Agents Hurricane Andrew, for all of the grief it delivered, gave wholesale broker...
Bring Back the New York … or Florida … Insurance Exchange?
Mar 7 2010 // New York regulators are pursuing a reincarnation of the New York Insurance Exchange, a Lloyd’s of London-style insurance market, which lasted for several years the last time it was tried. Insurance Superintendent...
Focus on Florida Surplus Lines
Mar 7 2010 // Florida Surplus Lines Premiums/Policy Count 2009 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 Aggregate Premium $3.8 billion $4.2 billion $4.8 billion $4.7 billion $3.7 billion Policy Count 682,221 724,158 745,714 789,101 781,111 Top Florida...
Florida Lawmakers Block Sprinkler Mandate for New Homes
Mar 5 2010 // A Florida House committee wants to extinguish a proposed rule that would require fire sprinklers in many newly constructed homes. The House Governmental Affairs Policy Committee voted unanimously Wednesday for a bill that...
Rental Car Firm Vicarious Liability Case Reaches Florida Supreme Court
Mar 3 2010 // An accident victim’s lawyer this week 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...
South Carolina’s Love Joins Florida-Based Home Safety Institute
Mar 2 2010 // The Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS) in Tampa, Fla. announced that Allison Dean Love has joined the organization as external relations consultant. Love brings 20 years of experience in media relations,...
Florida Cabinet Delays Hurricane Fund Assessments
Feb 25 2010 // The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund needs $710 million to continue to pay claims still coming in from 2005’s Hurricane Wilma but it is going to have to wait to assess policyholders to get those funds. The Florida...
Florida Recruits First Reinsurer Under Relaxed Collateral Rules
Feb 25 2010 // Florida insurance officials have reached an agreement with the first foreign reinsurer to operate under collateral requirements that were reduced in 2008 in an attempt to attract new reinsurers to the state. The Florida...
