Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Editor’s Note: Speak Out Against Insurance Fraud
Oct 3 2005 // Insurance fraud is a lucrative occupation, just ask any insurance commissioner or state attorney general and they will agree insurance fraud is rampant. The fraud stories on page 35 are only a few crossing my desk in...
New Report Warns of Rising Threat to US Insurers from Climate Change
Oct 3 2005 // Higher premiums, coverage restrictions already hitting many parts of country. Hurricane Katrina is a poignant reminder that U.S. insurers, government and consumers are at enormous risk from escalating losses from...
Creation of a Federal Cat Fund Hits Mainstream
Oct 3 2005 // The devastation left by Hurricane Katrina stirred up familiar talk in the insurance industry and beyond about the need for a federal catastrophe risk program. And less than a month after Katrina, insurance regulators from...
Fla. Personal Lines Advisory Committee Slates First Meeting
Sep 30 2005 // The first meeting of a new 10-member Standard Personal Lines Advisory Committee, assigned to develop a standard homeowners insurance policy for Floridians that is easy to understand and offers comprehensive coverage, will...
PIA Legislative Update: Agents Have Until March to Make Recommendations to Florida’s Hurricane Task Force
Sep 30 2005 // Legislative changes effecting property insurance that took place this year in the Florida Legislature were discussed by Keri Rayborn, Rayborn Consultants, and Ron Villella, PIA’s government affairs director, during a...
DFS Spokesperson Outlines New Licensing Changes, Requirements to PIA of Florida
Sep 29 2005 // Changes in Florida’s legislation during the spring session and new administrative changes requiring agency licensure or registration were detailed by Hazel Muhammad, bureau chief of Agent and Agency Licensing with...
Williams Heads New Officer’s Slate for PIA of Florida
Sep 28 2005 // The new slate of officers of the Professional Insurance Agents of Florida will take over Oct. 1, with Lori Williams, president; Bob Fowinkle, president-elect; Phil Zelman, vice president; and Doug Whitaker,...
FAIA Extends MATS Seminar Online Registration Date
Sep 27 2005 // The deadline to register online has been extended to Sept. 30 for the Florida Independent Insurance Agents Management and Automation Training Seminar and Exhibit. The seminar and exhibit will be held by FAIA Oct. 16 to 18...
Fla. Supreme Court Rules Liability Insurance Does Not Cover Gun Manufacturers’ Damages
Sep 26 2005 // The Florida Supreme Court has ruled in Tallahassee against Miami-based gun manufacturers Taurus International Holdings and Taurus International Manufacturing Inc. In a unanimous ruling the court said gun-makers’...
Floridians Warned: Hire Reputable Contractors for Hurricane Cleanup
Sep 26 2005 // Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist has advised Floridians affected by Hurricane Rita to use extra caution when hiring workers to help clean up the damage caused by the storm. In particular, Crist warned those who are...
PIAA of Fla. Educational Event Answers Essential Hurricane, Catastrophe Planning Questions
Sep 22 2005 // Professional Insurance Agents of Florida instructor Ron Silverman answered 40 essential questions about catastrophe planning for hurricanes during educational sessions titled “Lessons Learned from Charley, Frances,...
UPDATE: Hurricane Rita Reaches Category 2 Status
Sep 20 2005 // What was once a tropical storm hovering off the Florida coast has turned into Hurricane Rita, as she strengthened into a Category 2 hurricane on Tuesday, lashing the Florida Keys with heavy rain and strong wind. Winds were...
Hurricane Rita, Packs 100 mph Winds, Passes Key West; Forecasters Predict Texas Track
Sep 20 2005 // Preliminary reports suggest only moderate damage occurred as Hurricane Rita threaded the needle between the Florida Keys and the northern coast of Cuba Tuesday afternoon flooding roads and beaches with seawater. As...
Fla. AG Warns: Beware of Unscrupulous Operators Capitalizing on Hurricane Rita
Sep 20 2005 // Florida’s Attorney General Charlie Crist has warned unscrupulous businesses operators against attempting to take advantage of Florida residents and visitors as they cope with potential emergency conditions brought on...
Insurance Commissioners To Form National CAT Insurance Program
Sep 20 2005 // Insurance Commissioners of several large states will convene at a summit to develop a National Catastrophe Insurance Program. The summit is being organized by California Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi,...
Latin Agents Urge Insurers to Join the Hispanic Market Explosion
Sep 19 2005 // As the Hispanic population surpasses 40 million with a combined purchasing power of more than $700 million, the insurance industry is keeping its eye on this ever-growing market segment. Hispanic agents and Latin agent...
NHC Tracking Tropical Storm Rita, Hurricane Philippe
Sep 19 2005 // Rita became the 17th named storm of the current season over the weekend, as maximum sustained winds neared 50 mph (85 km/hr) with higher gusts. Miami’s National Hurricane Center warned that the storm could become a...
Rita Wobbles West Toward Key West; Expected to Gain Hurricane Strength Monday Evening, Hit Keys Tuesday Morning
Sep 19 2005 // Tourists and residents are beginning to evacuate Key West, and homeowners and businessmen are boarding-up, as Tropical Storm Rita continues on a path from east of Nassau, Bahamas toward south Florida. Rita’s winds...
FAIA Studying Windstorm ‘Vehicle’
Sep 19 2005 // The Florida Association of Insurance Agents has announced it will study “another avenue” for covering hurricane wind damage in Florida and would like to establish its own “vehicle” to insure...
S. Floridians Viewed Hurricane Katrina as an Expensive Nuisance
Sep 19 2005 // Insurance adjusters scrambled to South Florida to work on claims before they realized Hurricane Katrina was going to cross into the Gulf of Mexico and become a catastrophic hurricane devastating Mississippi and...
