Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Fla. Withdraws Added Finite Reinsurance Requirements
Aug 30 2005 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has withdrawn proposed state-specific requirements regarding the accounting treatment of finite reinsurance, making it the second state in three weeks to do so. The office has...
Florida AG Notes $21,000 in Price Gouging Restitution with 2 Companies
Aug 30 2005 // Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist has announced his office has reached settlements with two companies accused of price gouging during last year’s record-setting hurricane season. Both cases involve established...
Insurers Post Special Toll-Free Numbers to Help Katrina Victims as Storm Moves North
Aug 29 2005 // Policyholders with questions regarding their coverage for damage caused by Hurricane Katrina should contact their insurance agent or company representative. To assist consumers, special toll-free numbers have been set up...
UPDATE: Katrina Sets Sights on New Orleans; Sustained Winds at 160 mph
Aug 28 2005 // Officials, residents and tourists went into the evening hours Sunday in New Orleans and surrounding areas watching the skies. As rain began to fall and winds picked up, The Big Easy could be in line for a direct and...
Gulf Coast States Keep Watchful Eye on Katrina; Seven Deaths Reported
Aug 27 2005 // Having already killed seven and resulting in a variety of property damages, Hurricane Katrina set her sights on the Florida Panhandle and westward Saturday as she spun in the Gulf of Mexico. As of Saturday morning, the...
Five Tampa Clinic Owners Arrested for Patient Brokering
Aug 26 2005 // Five Tampa-area clinic owners have been arrested and a warrant issued for the arrest of a sixth owner for “selling” patients, most of whom were accident victims, to diagnostic facilities that then billed auto...
RMS: Katrina Losses Initially Estimated at $1B-$2B
Aug 26 2005 // Risk Management Solutions (RMS), a provider of products and services for the management of catastrophe risk, said that insured losses from Hurricane Katrina’s first landfall in the U.S. are likely to range from $1 to...
Brain Injury Assoc. of Pa. Takes Issue with Helmet Law
Aug 25 2005 // The following is an op-ed or “Letters” statement from The Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania passed a law to allow motorcyclists to drive without wearing a helmet. But who pays the medical...
TD12 Predicted to Build Into Hurricane Katrina, Hit South Florida Thursday
Aug 24 2005 // The National Hurricane Center in Miami predicts Tropical Depression 12 will build to near hurricane strength before it hits the South Florida coast late Thursday as Hurricane Katrina. Forecasters say Hurricane Katrina...
FAIA to Study ‘Another Avenue’ to Cover Florida’s Windstorm Risk
Aug 24 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...
Fla. Task Force Begins Talks on How to Solve Hurricane Insurance Crisis
Aug 24 2005 // A 12-member Task Force on Long-Term Solutions for Florida’s Hurricane Insurance Market meets today in Tallahassee to discuss how to help Floridians obtain hurricane insurance, amid complaints that consumers...
Physicians Recognized for Treating Workers’ Compensation Patients
Aug 24 2005 // Five Florida physicians received the 2005 Florida CHOICE Awards for Workers’ Compensation, an honor granted to physicians who demonstrate excellence in treating injured employees. Former Secretary of Health and Human...
Fla. Attorney General Warns Against Unscrupulous Business Operators
Aug 24 2005 // Unscrupulous business operators have been warned by Florida Attorney General Charlie Crist to avoid taking advantage of residents and visitors as they cope with emergency conditions caused by heavy rains and severe...
Fla. Man Faked Cancer Fund Claims, Receives 6-Year Prison Sentence
Aug 23 2005 // Attorney General Charlie Crist has announced that a Lake Worth, Fla. man has been sentenced to prison for defrauding a nationwide settlement fund intended to help cancer patients who overpaid for the cancer-fighting drug...
UF Study Shows Homes Built After 2002 Stood Up Better to Hurricanes
Aug 22 2005 // Homes built under the Florida Building Code that became effective in 2002 sustained less damage on average than those built between 1994 and 2001 under the Standard Building Code, according to a University of Florida study...
Latin Agents Tackle Wind Damage Issues; Explain Confusing Condo Statutes
Aug 22 2005 // Like a hurricane rolling in from the Atlantic, a panel on hurricane insurance claims, moderated by Rudy Valdez-Diaz, a past-president of the Latin American Association of Insurance Agents, went into high-gear during the...
Florida CFO Gallagher’s Releases ‘Shock’ Miami Public Adjuster
Aug 22 2005 // Dear Mr. Gallagher, As a single mother and licensed public adjuster, I have been shocked by the apparent lack of clarity from your office. In a July 11, 2005 article in Insurance Journal Southeast entitled, “DFS...
News Briefs
Aug 22 2005 // ALABAMA Hurricane Sales Tax Measure Dies An effort was mounted during Alabama Legislature meetings to grant a sales tax break on necessary supplies to prepare for a hurricane but the measure did not pass. Its sponsor Rep....
S. Fla. Agent Arrested for Switching Policies, Defrauding Seniors
Aug 22 2005 // An insurance agent who targeted victims between the ages of 72 and 86 and fed on their fears about aging has been arrested for allegedly defrauding at least nine South Florida senior citizens by offering them a quote for...
Looyenga Outlines Major Hurricane Policy Changes
Aug 22 2005 // Open Market System Suggested: It’s essential to prepare now in case that one-in-10,000 major hurricane hits the Southern United States, Roger Looyenga, CEO of Auto-Owners Ins-urance said at the Florida Assoc-iation...
