Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Insurers Urge Tougher Building Codes for Fla. Panhandle in Today’s Vote
Aug 22 2006 // In its vote today, the Florida Building Code Commission should adopt the same windborne debris requirements for the Panhandle that are in place throughout Florida, insurers have urged. “The commission should adopt...
Trial Attorneys Claim Insurers Putting Profits Over People in Katrina’s Wake
Aug 22 2006 // One year after Hurricane Katrina swept across the Gulf Coast, the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers (AFTL) and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America (ATLA) are launching a national petition drive calling on insurance...
Insurers: Trial Bar Short on Facts in Katrina Charges
Aug 22 2006 // Trial attorneys’ charges that the insurance industry is putting profits over people in the handling of claims from Hurricane Katrina are being dismissed by industry trade groups. The Florida Insurance Council (FIC),...
News Currents
Aug 21 2006 // Miss. weighs changes to wind pool Mississippi lawmakers are considering revamping the Mississippi Windstorm Underwriting Association to help stabilize the state’s post Hurricane Katrina insurance crisis. The...
Golf Course Risks and Greek Mythology
Aug 21 2006 // In Greek mythology, Sisyphus was a deceitful king who was condemned to spend eternity pushing a giant boulder up a mountain. As Sisyphus approached the peak of the mountain, the rock would elude him and roll back down to...
Floridians begin to question insurers’ ‘pup companies’
Aug 21 2006 // A lot of Floridians have had their homeowners insurance company — call it XYZ Florida Insurance — increase their premium because of huge losses. Weeks later, the residents see XYZ Insurance USA, based in...
EPI Study Finds Coastal Population Drain Following Hurricanes
Aug 18 2006 // A study conducted by the Earth Policy Institute (http://www.earth-policy.org) concludes that a number of people who evacuated their homes in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma may have left permanently. The EPI...
Fla. Commissioner Orders Citizens to Reduce Rates in Monroe County
Aug 18 2006 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty rejected a request by Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens) to increase rates in Monroe County and ordered it to reduce homeowners insurance rates for the area. By...
New State-Run Commercial Insurance Unit OK’d by Fla. Governor, Cabinet
Aug 18 2006 // Following a presentation by Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty, Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida Cabinet approved an emergency rule establishing a property and casualty joint underwriting association to make...
Insurance Crisis Defines Republican Race for Fla. CFO
Aug 17 2006 // If money talks, as it so often does in Florida politics, Senate President Tom Lee should be favored to win the Republican nomination in a three-way contest for chief financial officer that’s focusing on who can solve...
Floridians Flock to Get Home Hurricane-Preparedness Inspections
Aug 17 2006 // Florida homeowners on Aug. 15 flocked to a new state program that offers free hurricane-preparedness inspections and grants to help cover the cost of improvements. More than 3,500 people applied online within hours after...
Penn Treaty American Temporarily Suspends Sales in Florida
Aug 16 2006 // A subsidiary of insurance firm Penn Treaty American Corp. has temporarily suspended new sales of Florida policies pending the filing and review of its 2005 statutory audit report, the company announced this week. Penn...
Florida’s $250 Million Property Loss Mitigation Program Begins
Aug 15 2006 // Florida has begun My Safe Florida Home program, a $250 million mitigation program to help Floridians strengthen their homes against hurricanes and to reduce property losses. Tom Gallagher, Florida’s chief financial...
USAA Seeks 40% Homeowners Rate Hike in Fla.
Aug 14 2006 // USAA Casualty, which primarily insures military personnel and their families, has asked the state to increase its homeowner and condominium premiums by an average of 40 percent. The company made the request last Friday to...
Fla. Charges Agency with ‘Sliding’ Ancillary Costs onto Auto Policies
Aug 14 2006 // Tom Gallagher, Florida’s chief financial officer, said he has filed administrative charges against 12 agents and customer representatives of Direct General Insurance Agency for “sliding” ancillary...
Jacksonville, Fla. Tree Service Business Owner Charged with Workers’ Comp Fraud
Aug 11 2006 // A Jacksonville, Fla. tree service business owner has been arrested after the electrocution of one of his employees and charged with workers’ compensation fraud, first degree, for failure to provide workers’...
Aug. 11 Public Hearing Scheduled in Bradenton, Fla. to Gauge Commercial Insurance Woes
Aug 9 2006 // A public hearing to gauge the scope and nature of the burgeoning commercial insurance crisis in Florida has been scheduled held Friday Aug. 11 from 4 p.m. until 6 p.m. in Bradenton, Fla. by Florida Insurance Commissioner...
Not Buying Reinsurance for La. Cost Allstate $2 Billion
Aug 8 2006 // Allstate Insurance Co. bought reinsurance to cover some of the cost of policies all along the East Coast last year, but not for Louisiana – a gamble that cost it $2 billion in claims. The company’s models did...
Three Arrested for Staging Florida PIP Fraud Accidents
Aug 8 2006 // Three individuals, including a father and daughter have been arrested and face felony charges stemming from staged accidents and $40,000 in fraudulent auto insurance billings according to Tom Gallagher, Florida’s...
Companies step up to take Texas Select policyholders
Aug 7 2006 // Some 150,000 Texas homeowners will be affected by the liquidation of Vesta Fire Insurance Co. and its Texas subsidiaries by the Texas Department of Insurance, but the situation seems to be not as dire as previously...
