Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
It Was No Katrina But Some in Coastal America Remember Ivan’s Terror
Sep 17 2009 // People who lived through Hurricane Ivan can’t forget the haunting images left by one of the strongest storms ever recorded: condo towers collapsed in roiling surf, splintered homes or flat slabs, fragments of...
Pitts Named Florida Workers’ Compensation Judge by Gov. Crist
Sep 17 2009 // Florida Gov. Charlie Crist has appointed Neal P. Pitts of Orlando as judge of Compensation Claims, succeeding Ivy Cream Harris in the Jacksonville district. Pitts, 55, has been a sole practitioner since 1987 and from 1983...
Another New Florida Home Insurer, Sawgrass Mutual, Open for Business
Sep 14 2009 // Sawgrass Mutual Insurance Co. is now selling residential property insurance coverage to Florida homeowners through independent agents. The company was launched last month with $10 million in initial capitalization. CEO...
Florida in Better, Not Perfect, Insurance Shape Should Major Hurricane Hit
Sep 7 2009 // Florida property insurers are warning that a major hurricane is likely this season given the state’s history of storms. At the same time, the industry says, the state-backed catastrophe reinsurance fund, the Florida...
People
Sep 7 2009 // CNA Financial Corp. named Bob Lindemann as president and chief operating officer of CNA’s Commercial Lines operations. In this role, Lindemann will be responsible for CNA’s $3.5 billion commercial...
State Farm Scrapping Some Florida Homeowners’ Discounts
Sep 7 2009 // State Farm Florida has been given the green light to eliminate some homeowners insurance discounts but the insurer must continue to offer discounts for storm mitigation steps unless it supports that change with more...
Florida Agents Say Home Mitigation Effort Is Riddled with Fraud, Inefficiencies and Errors
Sep 7 2009 // Florida’s efforts to encourage homeowners to harden their homes to better withstand big storms by giving them insurance premium discounts is not getting the job done, according to a report from insurance agents in...
Florida, Georgia Insurer First Commercial to Be Liquidated
Sep 7 2009 // Miami-based First Commercial Insurance Co. and its subsidiary have been declared insolvent and ordered liquidated about six weeks after being placed under state control. All policies written by FCIC and its subsidiary,...
New Insurer Ascendant to Rescue First Commercial Insureds, Jobs in Florida
Sep 4 2009 // Florida officials announced that a new Miami-based insurance company will pick up the insurance for about 15,000 of the policyholders now with bankrupt First Commercial Insurance Co., which is in liquidation. Florida CFO...
Some State-Run Property Insurance Plans in Precarious Financial Situation
Sep 4 2009 // As the 2009 Atlantic hurricane season enters its peak period, the finances of a number of residual market property plans in hurricane-exposed states are on shaky ground. The credit crunch and prolonged economic downturn...
Coastal Home Owners Face Huge Losses from Rising Seas
Sep 3 2009 // Australians Lesley and Doug McGrath have for decades battled ocean swells that have eaten away at the backyard of their multi-million dollar Sydney home. They bought an old beach shack on Collaroy Beach in 1976 and...
Florida Hurricane, Pension Funds Boosted By Financial Markets Upswing
Sep 3 2009 // Florida’s public employee pension and hurricane catastrophe funds are benefiting from an upswing in the financial markets, state investment managers said earlier this week. The State Board of Administration received...
Tampa Bay Doctor Wins $10 Million Libel Suit Against Florida Newspaper
Sep 3 2009 // A jury has sided with a Tampa Bay doctor in a libel suit against Times Publishing Co., the parent company of the St. Petersburg Times. The decision calls for Dr. Harold L. Kennedy, former chief of medicine at Bay Pines VA...
Ratings Recap: Western National, Westminster, Carolina Casualty, MedPro, Tower Hill
Sep 2 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating to ‘A’ (Excellent) from ‘A-‘ (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings to “a” from “a-” of Western National Insurance...
Nebraska High Court: Judge Must Explain Countrywide Insurance Ruling
Sep 1 2009 // A judge must explain to the Nebraska Supreme Court why he ordered a new trial in a multimillion dollar insurance dispute involving Florida and Omaha-based Countrywide Insurance Agency. In June 2008, the Supreme Court threw...
Legal Challenges Could Turn Off Florida’s Red Light Cameras
Aug 31 2009 // Last year, Pembroke Pines turned on its first red-light camera. Across South Florida, other cities followed. But now critics — and lawsuits — are questioning whether the cameras pass legal muster. Several...
Florida’s Tower Hill Insurance Downgraded by A.M. Best; Tower Hill Responds
Aug 27 2009 // A.M. Best Co. has downgraded the financial strength ratings (FSR) to D (Poor) from B (Fair) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) to “c” from “bb” of Tower Hill Preferred Insurance Co., Tower Hill Prime...
Florida, Georgia Insurer First Commercial to Be Liquidated
Aug 26 2009 // Miami-based First Commercial Insurance Co. and its subsidiary have been declared insolvent and ordered liquidated about six weeks after being placed under state control. All policies written by FCIC and its subsidiary,...
Florida’s Suncoast Insurance Joins ISU Network
Aug 25 2009 // Suncoast Insurance Associates of Tampa, Florida, recently joined the ISU Insurance Services network, according to Daniel Titus, Suncoast president. ISU Suncoast Insurance Associates specializes in architects and engineers...
15 Years Later, Tobacco Lawsuits Still Winding Through Florida Courts
Aug 21 2009 // Fifteen years after a Miami Beach pediatrician suffering lung disease took on the tobacco giants, thousands of smokers’ lawsuits are working their way through Florida courts and early results encourage both...
