Latest Florida Headlines

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

New Hampshire Insurance Requests Rate Hike In South Florida

Aug 1 2005 // New Hampshire Insurance Co. has asked state insurance regulators for permission to increase rates for its homeowner and condominium policies. Should state regulators give approval, the company’s premiums for...

DFS Tells PIA of Fla.: Global Insurance Group an ‘Unauthorized Entity’

Aug 1 2005 // Some Professional Insurance Agents of Florida members have contacted the association’s headquarters in Tallahassee to ask about Global Insurance Group Inc. headquartered in Aventura, Fla. Global has been aggressively...

Safeco Stops Writing New P/L Property Policies in Fla.; Will Stop Renewing Them in 2006

Jul 26 2005 // As of July 26, Safeco stopped writing new personal property policies in Florida and has notified the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation that at the beginning of 2006, it plans to stop renewing personal lines property...

Bill Gunter Elected to Florida Assoc. of Insurance Agent’s Board of Directors

Jul 26 2005 // Bill Gunter has been elected to the board of directors of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents in Tallahassee, Fla. Gunter is chairman and chief executive officer of Rogers, Gunter, Vaughn Insurance Inc., a...

Hurricane Dennis Losses Estimated at $900 Million in Four S.E. States

Jul 26 2005 // Insurance companies are expected to pay policyholders in four states $900 million on claims for insured property losses from Hurricane Dennis according to damage estimates released by the Florida Insurance Council and...

U.S. Rep. Seeks to Halt Denial of Insurance Due to Travel Plans

Jul 25 2005 // U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., was outraged when she applied for additional life insurance and was denied because she might travel to Israel at some unspecified point. So now she’s planning to file a...

Fla. Commissioner McCarty Issues Statement Backing TRIA’s Renewal

Jul 22 2005 // The removal of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act, set to expire Dec. 31, could return the insurance market to the uncertainty of the aftermath of Sept. 11, 2001, according to Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin...

Labor, Material Shortages Result in Unfinished Repairs in Florida

Jul 21 2005 // Contractors attempting to rebuild buildings destroyed in the Florida Panhandle by Hurricane Ivan last year, and Hurricane Dennis this month, claim their inability to complete repairs is due to a lack of labor; while...

Fla. Issues Emergency Order to Protect Homeowners in 12 Panhandle Counties

Jul 20 2005 // An emergency order has been issued to all property and casualty insurers and surplus lines insurers by Florida’s Commissioner of Insurance Regulation Kevin McCarty prohibiting carriers from canceling or failing to...

$120,000 In ‘Ditched’ Vehicles Offered ‘For Sale’ to DFS Undercover Officers

Jul 20 2005 // Eight individuals have been apprehended in West Palm Beach, Fla. for attempting to claim more than $120,000 in auto insurance theft benefits; but, there was one hitch, they attempted to “ditch” the vehicles by...

FAIA Management, Automation Training Seminar Participants to Discuss Agency Concerns, Workflow

Jul 18 2005 // Automation workflow, practical leadership, technical agency valuation, automation management, incentive compensation, recruiting, sales management and a wide range of other agency concerns will be discussed by some of the...

Education Essential

Jul 18 2005 // Frequent CE Classes Keep Agents Informed Efforts to provide first-quality education at its annual convention, insurance day programs and at regular errors and omissions education programs puts the Professional Independent...

FAIA Says PIA of Florida ‘Gave Away the Playbook’ to the Opposition

Jul 18 2005 // During two Big I conventions in Florida, speakers accused the Professional Insurance Agents Florida of taking credit for Florida Association of Insurance Agents’ accomplishments, while “giving away the...

Dennis Slams Fla. Panhandle; AIR Damage Estimate $1B to $2.5B

Jul 18 2005 // Hurricane Dennis slammed into the northern coastline of the Gulf of Mexico between Pensacola Beach and Navarre Beach, Fla. July 10 shortly after 3 p.m. (EDT) packing top sustained winds of 120 mph. The hurricane lost...

Fla. Panhandle Residents Face Fuel, Electricity Shortages

Jul 14 2005 // Residents of the Florida Panhandle, where Hurricane Dennis hit on Sunday, face gasoline shortages, power outages and health issues ranging from mosquitoes to falls from ladders, according to John Agwunobi, Florida Health...

Hurricane Dennis’s Bark Was Worse Than Its Bite; Carriers, Associations Evaluating Damages

Jul 12 2005 // As Hurricane Dennis approached Key West, Fla., large insurance carriers, expecting and preparing for the worst, alerted hundreds of adjusters to proceed to Florida and Alabama, and put hundreds of other employees on...

Fitch Reports Hurricane Dennis Could Have Implications for Fla. Market

Jul 12 2005 // Chicago-based Fitch Ratings states that Hurricane Dennis is expected to represent a material loss to the insurance industry. Dennis came ashore on Sunday, July 10, at 3:25 p.m., on Santa Rosa Island, Fla., as a Category 3...

Bouchard Insurance Joins Marsh, Berry & Co.’s APPEX Network

Jul 12 2005 // Clearwater, Fla.-based Bouchard Insurance Inc., with five offices in southwestern and central Florida has joined the Marsh, Berry & Co. Inc.’s Agency Peak Performance EXchange. Richard E. Bouchard, CEO, and J....

Citizens Activates Hotline, Dispatches Response Unit; Only a Few FAIA Agents Report Damage

Jul 11 2005 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp. reports it has set up its “storm claims hotline,” and has dispatched a claims response unit to Milton, Fla.; while the Florida Independent Insurance Agents reports most of its...

Mercury Group Teams Mobilize to Help Victims of Hurricane Dennis

Jul 11 2005 // Mercury Insurance Group emergency response teams have mobilized to support its policyholders with claims resulting from Hurricane Dennis. The response teams are now in place and prepared to immediately deploy to impacted...