Latest Florida Headlines

Tokio Marine to Acquire Philadelphia Insurance for $4.7 Billion

Jul 23 2008 // Japan’s Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc. reported that it has agreed to acquire all outstanding shares of Philadelphia Consolidated, a U.S. property/casualty insurance company offering specialty commercial property and...

Florida-based North American Risk Services Buys Unisource Tallahassee

Jul 22 2008 // Headquartered in Maitland, Florida, North American Risk Services purchased the Tallahassee divisional assets of Unisource Administrators from Claimetrics Inc. NARS is a national provider of property and casualty...

Florida-based Brown & Brown Reports 3.6% Gain in Fees and Commissions

Jul 18 2008 // Florida-based Brown & Brown Inc. announced that its total commissions and fees revenues for the second quarter of 2008 increased 3.6 percent over the second quarter of 2007. The company’s net income for the...

Florida Air Controllers File Injury Reports, 5 Sue over Chemical Exposure

Jul 17 2008 // Five Florida air traffic controllers are suing roofing contractors claiming they lost their jobs after being unable to work because of toxic chemical exposure. The five employees, Barbara Cooper, Shawn Fields, Dan Kersh,...

State Farm Files Average 47.1% Increase in Florida Homeowners Coverage

Jul 17 2008 // State Farm Florida Insurance Co., a Florida-only property insurance company, filed an average 47.1 percent homeowners insurance rate increase with the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation on July 16. Ed Domansky,...

Florida Gov., Insurance Chief Discuss Reinsurance with Lloyd’s of London

Jul 15 2008 // Florida Gov. Charlie Crist met with Lord Levene, the chairman of Lloyd’s of London, to discuss reinsurance issues in Florida, as well as Lloyd’s climate change initiatives. The meeting took place during the...

Economic Downturn Dooms Florida Hurricane Supplies Tax Break

Jul 14 2008 // Economic woes have forced Florida lawmakers to ax a pair of popular tax breaks as parents prepare to return their children to school next month and the state readies itself for hurricane season. Prompted by dismal revenue...

Florida Property Insurer Offers Boat Insurance to Members

Jul 9 2008 // Florida-based PURE Risk Management recently launched an insurance program for personal boaters called PURE Watercraft Insurance. PURE provides hull coverage, including coverage for windstorm, on an agreed-value basis, and...

Texas-based SureTec Opens Florida Office, Names Vice President

Jul 8 2008 // Houston, Texas-based underwriter, SureTec, named Jay Edenfield as vice president in charge of southeast operations in its new Tampa office. Edenfield has over 25 years of surety experience and worked as chief surety...

New Web Site Provides Information on Florida’s Property Insurance Issues

Jul 8 2008 // The Florida Catastrophic Storm Risk Management Center launched a comprehensive Web site (www.stormrisk.org) designed to serve as a one-stop shop for citizens, policy makers, the media and others seeking to learn about...

Florida Approves $224 Million Plan to Bolster State Catastrophe Fund

Jul 7 2008 // Florida residents might see an increase in property insurance rates because of a plan to bolster the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund. State officials last week approved a plan to spend $224 million so that the state can...

Floridians Flock to Free Wind Inspections

Jul 7 2008 // More than 365,000 Florida homeowners have signed up for free wind inspections through the My Safe Florida Home program, only 35,000 inspections shy of the Florida Legislature’s goal of 400,000 by June 2009. The...

McCain, Southeast Governors Split Over National Disaster Fund

Jul 7 2008 // Republican Presidential Nominee Opposes Idea that Remains Popular with Many Gulf Coast Voters A congressional proposal to create a national “catastrophe fund” to help states recover from natural disasters has...

Public Adjusters Take the Heat for Reopened Hurricane Claims

Jul 7 2008 // Public adjusters are being blamed for thousands of unresolved insurance claims in Florida dating back to the 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons. A Florida task force monitoring how state-backed Citizens Property Insurance...

It Figures

Jul 7 2008 // 1% The amount of insurance policy surcharge the Florida Cabinet voted to extend to cover hurricane claims that began in 2007 for two additional years through 2014. The assessment covers outstanding claims that originated...

Jul 7 2008 // People The National Association of Professional Insurance Agents (PIA) has announced the promotion of Mike Becker to director of federal affairs. Since joining PIA, Becker has managed the day-to-day responsibilities...

Florida Rejects Farm Bureau 30% Property Insurance Rate Hike Again

Jul 2 2008 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has officially adopted the ruling of an administrative law judge who rejected a 30.3 percent property insurance rate increase sought by Florida Farm Bureau. “Rulings like...

Florida Parents of Premature Baby Who Died Awarded $12 Million

Jul 1 2008 // A jury says the parents of a premature baby who died at Tampa General Hospital should be awarded $12 million dollars. Allyson Parham and Robert Gardner contended their child died because Tampa General didn’t have the...

Florida Elderly Services Crunch Could Spur Demand for Liability Insurance

Jul 1 2008 // Florida faces a crisis in meeting the demand for aging services over the next 22 years as the population aged 85 and older is forecast to grow by 126 percent. This will require 15,000 more skilled nursing beds at a time...

Florida Chief Financial Officer Appoints Deputy

Jun 30 2008 // Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink named Tammy Teston as deputy chief financial officer for the state’s Department of Financial Services. A former banker and businesswoman, Teston most recently served as the...