Latest Florida Headlines

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

Gallagher Begins Ground Game in GOP Gubernatorial Primary

May 1 2006 // Tom Gallagher approached Robb Mercado in Valrico, Fla. as he sat outside his house reading the newspaper Saturday and soon was involved in a long discussion about problems with the homeowners insurance market, education...

Gallagher Calls On Lawmakers to Make Insurance Reforms

May 1 2006 // As state lawmakers enter the home stretch of the 2006 legislative session, Tom Gallagher, Florida’s CFO, renewed his call for immediate rate-relief, improved access to property coverage and reforms to help strengthen...

Florida Group Alerts Members About Poe Financial’s Status

Apr 28 2006 // The Professional Insurance Agents of Florida has issued a member alert about Southern Family Insurance, a subsidiary of Poe Financial Group and its subsidiaries, Atlantic Preferred and Florida Preferred. “It’s...

Exotic Warranty Co. Put Into Receivership

Apr 28 2006 // Exotic Warranty Company has been ordered into receivership for purposes of liquidation by Judge Thomas H. Bateman III of the Second Judicial Circuit Court in Leon County and the Florida Department of Financial Services...

Poe Financial Group’s 2005 Statements Go Online

Apr 28 2006 // The 2005 annual statements of Southern Family Insurance Co., Atlantic Preferred Insurance Co. and Florida Preferred Insurance Co. have been posted on the Internet by Kevin McCarty, Florida Insurance Commissioner. “I...

Gov. Bush Signs Important Fla. Tort Reform Legislation

Apr 27 2006 // Florida Gov. Jeb Bush has signed legislation (HB 145) that insurance companies say will bring greater equity to the civil justice system by repealing the doctrine of joint and several liability, according to the Property...

Fla. Insurance Council Describes Pending Legislation

Apr 27 2006 // The Florida House Insurance Committee and the House Fiscal Council have approved CS/CS/HB 7225, and according to the Florida Insurance Council, the next stop is the full House. FIC released a side-by-side comparison of...

Fla. Court Orders Southern Family Into Rehabilitation; Citizens to Receive Policies July 1

Apr 26 2006 // Leon County (Florida) Circuit Court Judge Thomas Bateman has ordered Southern Family Insurance Company, one of three financially-troubled property insurers of the Tampa-based Poe Financial Group, into rehabilitation. The...

Two Florida-only Marine Industry Class Codes Approved

Apr 26 2006 // The National Council on Compensation Insurance Inc. has received approval for two new Florida-only class codes related to the marine industry effective July 1, 2006. NCCI is the oldest and largest provider of...

S. Fla. Agent Banned From Selling ‘Bogus’ Policies

Apr 26 2006 // The license of South Florida insurance agent Gordon Arthur Esses of Aventura, Fla. has been revoked for selling “bogus” policies and the agent has been banned from writing business in the state, according to...

Fla. Consumer Services: Poe Officials Vow to Reduce Complaints

Apr 25 2006 // Florida’s Consumer Services representatives held a meeting April 21 with officials of the Tampa, Fla.-based Poe Insurance Group to discuss how to reduce the number of consumer complaints about the firm and its...

Poe Dropping Storm-Damaged Homes

Apr 24 2006 // Florida insurance officials confirmed that complaints filed recently against troubled Poe Financial Group came from people who said their policies were dropped before their homes were repaired. A condominium association in...

Fla. HB 7225 Advancing: Boosts CAT Funding; Provides No-Interest Loans

Apr 24 2006 // A rapid cash buildup of 25 percent for the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund and the establishment of a hurricane mitigation endowment fund to allow homeowners to obtain no-interest loans to implement hurricane mitigation...

Fla. Dept. of Consumer Services, Poe Discuss How to Reduce Consumer Complaints

Apr 21 2006 // Florida’s Consumer Services representatives held a meeting on Friday morning with officials of the Tampa, Fla.-based Poe Insurance Group to discuss how to reduce the number of consumer complaints about the firm and...

Gallagher Praises Legislators for Acting on Rate Relief

Apr 20 2006 // When the House and Senate appropriation committees set aside hundreds of millions of dollars to provide insurance rate relief for Florida homeowners, both the consumer and the insurance industry scored a victory, according...

Grippa to Head Brown & Brown’s Daytona Beach, Fla. Retail Operation

Apr 19 2006 // Anthony M. “Tony” Grippa has been named as the new profit center manager for the Daytona Beach, Fla. retail operation of Brown & Brown Inc. He will be responsible for overseeing the company’s...

Fla. House Proposal Would Use Full Surplus to Mitigate Citizens Deficit

Apr 19 2006 // Nearly $1 billion in state tax dollars would go to offset the deficit faced by Citizens Property Insurance under an amendment approved in Tallahassee, Fla. by a House panel that would help out Florida homeowners who are...

Fugitive N.Y. Insurance Fraud ‘Princess’ Arrested

Apr 19 2006 // A Manhattan woman who posed as a Saudi Arabian princess in an insurance scam plans to return to New York following her arrest at a Florida shopping mall on a fugitive from justice warrant, authorities said. Antoinette...

Fla. Encourages Agents to Use Translated Policy Forms

Apr 19 2006 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has issued a formal notice to all insurance companies licensed in Florida, reminding them that the use of approved translated policy forms is acceptable and...

$960M in Unanticipated Fla. Revenue Could Provide Rate Relief

Apr 17 2006 // The Florida General Revenue Estimating Conference has released new estimates stating Florida is expected to receive an additional $960 million in unanticipated revenue this year and the next. This estimate is in addition...