Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Fla. Orders Universal Underwriters Return $5.3M in Overcharges
Sep 17 2006 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has ordered Universal Underwriters Insurance Co. to return what the state says are $5.3 million in overcharges to 526 commercial policyholders. According to Florida Insurance...
Public Hearings Set for Nationwide, USAA Rate Filings in Fla.
Sep 15 2006 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (Office) has scheduled public hearings for Sept. 19 and 26 on rate filings submitted by Nationwide Insurance Company of Florida, United Services Automobile Association, USAA...
Floridians Told Not to Worry About Quakes Despite Recent Rattler
Sep 13 2006 // Floridians can go back to worrying about hurricanes. Scientists said last Sunday’s magnitude 6.0 earthquake that rattled windows from southwest Florida to Louisiana was rare, and a seismic jolt powerful enough to do...
Fla. Considers Standards for Home Insurers’ Mitigation Discounts
Sep 12 2006 // Florida home insurance companies may have to spell out standardized premium discounts homeowners would get for certain home improvements under a recommendation discussed Thursday by a state panel. The Property and Casualty...
Some Fla. Residents May Save on Sinkhole Coverage
Sep 12 2006 // Residential property owners in Florida could potentially save up to from 4 to 14 percent on the sinkhole portion of their home insurance premium due to changes in coverage enacted earlier this year. However, since the...
Study: Fla. Med Mal Climate Discouraging OB/Gyn Students
Sep 11 2006 // The medical malpractice climate in Florida is discouraging medical students from pursuing careers in obstetrics and gynecology – a trend that could further reduce patients’ access to obstetric care, a survey by...
Fla. Commercial JUA Hires Carrier, Moves Closer to Operation
Sep 7 2006 // Florida’s residual market for commercial insurance is closer to realizing its plan to provide coverage for businesses with property valued under $1 million that can’t obtain coverage in the private insurance...
Fla. Judge Blocks Credit Score Rule Enforcement
Sep 6 2006 // In a victory for insurers, a Florida administrative law judge ruled yesterday that the state’s Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) does not have the authority to begin enforcing a rule governing insurers’ use...
News Currents
Sep 4 2006 // There are “35 million people living along the hurricane-prone coast that stretches from North Carolina to Texas. Half of these live in Florida, 10 million on the Atlantic coast and seven million on the Gulf coast....
Declarations
Sep 4 2006 // A handful “It’s not hundreds of things that need to be done. It’s a handful of things.” Florida Governor Jeb Bush in encouraging homeowners to take advantage of a new $250 million state program that...
Rates are softening
Sep 4 2006 // As the surplus lines world turns to another year of soft market conditions, specialists and innovators may be the ones to survive as increasing competition intensifies, according to excess and surplus lines brokers,...
Pursuing Auto Insurance Fraud as Organized Crime Pays Off
Sep 1 2006 // Investigators across the country are trying new tactics to crack down on the old problem of auto insurance fraud, using wiretaps, undercover agents and prosecutors who view the schemes and scams the same way they do...
Fla. Gubernatorial Hopefuls Focus on Rising Insurance Costs
Aug 31 2006 // Gerlinde Thomas doesn’t often get deeply involved in politics, and during a recent interview she wasn’t even 100 percent sure what party she’s in. “I think I’m a registered Democrat,”...
Fla. Prepares Golf Event, Scholarship to Honor Slain Claims Adjuster
Aug 31 2006 // On the afternoon of Friday, October 6, the family and friends of Katie Froeschle will host the First Annual Katie Froeschle Memorial Golf Tournament at the Heritage Harbor Golf & Country Club located in Lutz, Florida...
Fla. Rejects First Floridian Hike
Aug 31 2006 // Last week when Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty issued a notice of intent to deny a 63.2 percent statewide average rate increase for homeowners insurance sought by First Floridian Auto and Home Insurance...
UPDATE 3: Florida Breathes a Sigh of Relief as Ernesto Fizzles
Aug 30 2006 // Despite some scattered power cuts and a lot of rain, Tropical Storm Ernesto has proved to be more of an inconvenience than a disaster for most Florida residents. Ernesto went from a tropical depression to the...
UPDATE 2: Weakened Ernesto Crosses Cuba; Florida on Watch
Aug 29 2006 // A significantly weaker Tropical Storm Ernesto crossed over the eastern Provinces of Cuba on Monday, bringing heavy rains. More than 500,000 people were evacuated from the region by authorities as a precaution, but so far...
Fla. Police Seek Stores, Bars Selling Liquor to Teens
Aug 29 2006 // There’s one in every town — a convenience store where IDs aren’t necessary, or a low-lit bar whose servers never bother to ask. In Jacksonville, Florida officials say, that bar was Rockets, where Stephanie...
Fla. Workers Comp Insurers File for 13.3% Rate Reduction
Aug 29 2006 // Workers compensation insurers have filed to reduce rates in Florida an average 13.3 percent statewide next year. Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty said the cut, if approved, would produce a savings of over $400...
UPDATE 1: Hurricane Ernesto Menaces Haiti, Cuba; Florida in Storm’s Path
Aug 27 2006 // As of 11:00 am EDT, when the National Hurricane Center in Miami issued its latest bulletin, Tropical Storm Ernesto had become a Category 1 hurricane, the first of the current season. The hurricane’s center was...
