Latest Florida Headlines

It Figures

Feb 11 2007 // 122 The number of levees nationwide that are at risk for failing, according to the Army Corps of Engineers. Twenty-seven states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico had threatened levees, but only two had more than a...

Fla. Charges 2 Insurance Brokers, 1 Other in Major Workers’ Comp Fraud

Feb 9 2007 // Three Floridians including two insurance brokers have been charged with fraud and conspiracy for allegedly providing hundreds of workers with falsified workers’ compensation insurance certificates to more than 300...

Fla. Appeals Court Upholds Asbestos Medical Criteria Law

Feb 9 2007 // A Florida intermediate appellate court has found that retroactive application of Florida’s asbestos and silica medical criteria law is constitutional. The case, Daimler Chrysler v. Hurst, involved a lung cancer...

Citizens’ Emergency Centers in Central Florida to Close Today

Feb 9 2007 // The Citizens Property Insurance Corporation emergency operations centers in New Smyrna Beach and Lady Lake will be closed today (Feb. 9), a company official says. Tim Loftin, senior vice president of claims, said plans are...

Fla. Commissioner Prohibits Cancellation of Tornado Victims’ Policies

Feb 7 2007 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty issued an emergency order prohibiting insurance companies from canceling personal lines insurance policies for residents affected by last week’s tornadoes in central...

The Hartford Dropping One-Third of Fla. Property Risks; Tower Hill Reconsiders

Feb 5 2007 // The Hartford Financial Services group says it will drop about 38,000 property insurance policies in the next 18 to 30 months, about a third of its business and personal policies in the state. However, The Hartford’s...

Central Florida Clean Up Continues in Wake of Deadly, Costly Tornados

Feb 5 2007 // Officials in central Florida resumed search and rescue operations amid more thunderstorms Saturday, a day after powerful tornados killed at least 20 people and left a swath of central Florida in shambles. Violent...

La. Gov. Wraps up Calif. Trip with Plea to Insurance Executives

Feb 2 2007 // Insurance executives are growing more interested in doing business in Louisiana because of recent moves by the Florida Legislature that the industry considers government meddling, Gov. Kathleen Blanco said recently. Blanco...

Severe Weather Brings State of Emergency in 4 Florida Counties

Feb 2 2007 // Gov. Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency in four Florida counties in response to overnight tornadoes and severe weather in Central Florida. Sumter, Lake, Volusia and Seminole Counties re under the governor’s...

Fla.’s Citizens Insurance Board Appoints New Chief Financial Officer

Feb 1 2007 // The Citizens Property Insurance Corporation board of governors voted unanimously to name Sharon Binnun senior vice president of finance and accounting and chief financial officer. Binnun was deputy commissioner with the...

Fla. Gov. Crist Persuades Cabinet to Block Insurers’ Exit

Feb 1 2007 // In a forceful rebuke to insurance companies, Gov. Charlie Crist cajoled fellow Cabinet members into approving a rule Tuesday that will prevent property insurers from canceling Florida policies for much of the rest of this...

La.’s Blanco and Donelon Travel to Calif. for Outreach to Insurers

Jan 30 2007 // Louisiana Governor Kathleen Babineaux Blanco kicked off a three-day insurance outreach mission Jan. 29 in San Francisco, part of her continuing efforts to bring affordable insurance home to Louisiana, the governor’s...

There’s a lot insurers do not like in Florida’s property insurance fix

Jan 29 2007 // Legislators rolled up their sleeves, ripped off their ties and unbuttoned their collars as a special legislative session on property insurance came to a head in Florida. After six days of conferring, negotiating and...

People and Places

Jan 29 2007 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s board of governors voted unanimously to recommend interim President Scott Wallace be appointed to the post permanently. Wallace was selected from more than 70 candidates by a...

Snowbirds flee Florida’s hot insurance rates

Jan 29 2007 // Florida’s mild climate and world-class beaches continue to draw Northern retirees seeking temporary refuge from harsh winter weather, but tourism experts say many of these snowbirds are shortening their stays. Rental...

Fla. Pols Ready to Lead Lobbying Effort for National Catastrophe Fund

Jan 29 2007 // Now that the Florida Legislature has passed a bill that lawmakers say will address the state’s insurance problems, Gov. Charlie Crist and legislative leaders said Thursday their attention will be on pushing for a...

Snowbirds flee Florida’s hot insurance rates

Jan 28 2007 // Florida’s mild climate and world-class beaches continue to draw Northern retirees seeking temporary refuge from harsh winter weather, but tourism experts say many of these snowbirds are shortening their stays. Rental...

Jan 28 2007 // People Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s board of governors voted unanimously to recommend interim President Scott Wallace be appointed to the post permanently. Wallace was selected from more than 70 candidates by...

There’s lot insurers do not like in Florida’s property insurance fix

Jan 28 2007 // Legislators rolled up their sleeves, ripped off their ties and unbuttoned their collars as a special legislative session on property insurance came to a head in Florida. After six days of conferring, negotiating and...

Florida Insurance Vote Reflects Political Shift Against Insurers’ Wishes

Jan 25 2007 // The difference in how the state Legislature approached Florida’s insurance problems this year compared to last year are like the differences between night and day, hot and cold, black and white, and Jeb Bush and...