Latest Florida Headlines

All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Fla. Senate Says No to Requiring Storm Shutters in High-Risk Areas

May 2 2007 // The Florida Senate has voted against requiring people with houses worth $300,000 or more in much of the state to buy hurricane shutters the next time they make any major home improvement. Critics said too many people...

Florida Lawmakers Faced with Lengthy to-do List in Final Week

Apr 30 2007 // The Republicans who control the Florida Legislature swore they would solve the property tax imbroglio before the 2007 session ends May 4, but their competing bills remain unresolved along with several other bills of...

Commissioner Urges Floridians to Buy Flood Insurance

Apr 30 2007 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty urged Floridians to purchase flood insurance to protect their homes. McCarty’s warning comes in anticipation of the 2007 hurricane season which officially begins June 1....

Fla.’s Citizens to Provide Commercial Coverage for Small Businesses

Apr 27 2007 // Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s board of governors gave its approval Thursday of expanded commercial property insurance coverage for small businesses across Florida. “Our goal is to make coverage...

Romney Wants Early Fla. Primary, Backs National Catastrophe Fund

Apr 26 2007 // Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is betting on an early Florida primary and continued his push for support this week, wooing Gov. Charlie Crist and speaking a lot about a top Florida insurance issue. The...

My Safe Fla. Home Program Addressing Waiting List of Homeowners

Apr 25 2007 // My Safe Florida Home — a state-funded windstorm mitigation initiative — is vowing to take care of the more than 50,000 homeowners on its pilot program waiting list for services and begin accepting new requests for free...

Fla. House Panel Moves Bill Banning Fla.-Only Insurer Subsidiaries

Apr 24 2007 // National insurance companies would be prevented from setting up new, Florida-only subsidiaries under a bill a House panel approved Monday, part of an effort to force property insurance rates lower to appease angry...

2007 Agency Salary Survey says …

Apr 23 2007 // More than a 1,000 insurance agencies nationwide responded to the 2007 Agency Salary Survey published in the March 12, 2007, issue of Insurance Journal. While Insurance Journal published the survey results in its annual...

News Currents

Apr 23 2007 // Florida system rates homes’ wind resistance Florida officials have developed a system to rate homes on their ability to withstand wind damage. The rating system — created in response to recent legislation and...

Majority of medical malpractice claims close without payment

Apr 23 2007 // The majority of medical malpractice claims in a study of seven states were closed without any compensation paid to those claiming a medical injury, the Justice Department’s Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS)...

Coastal population growth contributing to high cost of property coverage

Apr 23 2007 // The U.S. population in hurricane-prone coastal states continues to rise, a trend that is likely to impact adversely the nation’s coastal property insurance market for years to come, according to Dr. Robert Hartwig,...

Coastline populations increasing insurance prices

Apr 23 2007 // The U.S. population residing in hurricane-prone states continues to rise, a trend which is likely to impact adversely the nation’s coastal property insurance market for years to come, according to testimony by Dr....

2007 Agency Salary Survey says …

Apr 23 2007 // More than a 1,000 insurance agencies nationwide responded to the 2007 Agency Salary Survey published in the March 12, 2007, issue of Insurance Journal. While Insurance Journal published the survey results in its annual...

U.S. Approves Funds for Florida Tornado Victims

Apr 18 2007 // Federal officials have approved more than $17.7 million in payouts in connection with tornadoes that hit Florida last winter. The Federal Emergency Management Agency said it also approved an additional $20.6 million in...

Fla. CFO Supports New Rules on Insurance Sales to Military

Apr 17 2007 // Saying she is concerned about Florida’s servicemen and women falling victim to deceptive and improper insurance sales practices, Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink spoke before the Senate Banking and Insurance...

Military Insurer USAA Restricts New Business in Florida

Apr 13 2007 // Effective immediately, military personnel insurer USAA said it will “significantly restrict” the number of new homeowner, fire, and renter insurance policies it sells in Florida. USAA will only sell new...

Bush Administration Rejects Pleas for Federal Disaster Plan

Apr 13 2007 // Warning of another looming hurricane season, lawmakers including Florida Gov. Charlie Crist pleaded this week in Washington for a national catastrophe fund to help stabilize an insurance industry that they say has gone...

Industry to Congress: Private Market Is the Best Solution on Natural Disasters, But Some Say Federal Help Needed

Apr 11 2007 // The private insurance marketplace, not the federal government, is the best vehicle to address coastal insurance issues and natural disasters in the U.S., according to insurers. Even so, the federal government can play a...

Insurers Slam Florida Citizens Expansion Bill

Apr 10 2007 // The larger the Citizens Property Insurance Corp. becomes, the greater the financial crisis that could occur when a major storm hits Florida, insurers cautioned this week. That message from the Property Casualty Insurers...

Are state-backed insurance schemes the wave of the future?

Apr 9 2007 // The government’s role in insurance markets is a matter of increasing importance and controversy. Historically, state insurance departments have regulated insurers and insurance markets, overseeing solvency, rate and...