Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Nominations Open for Third Annual CHOICE Workers’ Compensation Awards
Feb 21 2005 // A call for nominations for the third annual Florida CHOICE Awards for Workers’ Compensation has been issued by CHOICE Medical Management Services LLC of Tampa, Fla. The program recognizes physicians who deliver...
Hurricane Victims to Submit Multiple Deductible Information
Feb 21 2005 // Homeowners eligible to receive compensation for multiple hurricane deducti-bles have been called on by Florida’s CFO Tom Gallagher to file their applications for relief so they are received in Tallahassee before...
People & Places
Feb 21 2005 // M. Lee Patkus M. Lee Patkus has been named regional vice president of the Florida region of Hanover Insurance Co. Effective Feb. 1 Patkus became responsible for commercial and personal lines distribution, marketing and...
PCI Urges Market-Oriented Solutions to Florida’s Hurricane Insurance Issues
Feb 18 2005 // The Florida Joint Select Committee on Hurricane Insurance, meeting in Tallahassee this week, approved a series of recommendations for the Legislature that broadly affect the state’s property insurance market and...
22 Insurance-Fraud Ring Members Apprehended; Fla. Warns Others About Tough Penalties
Feb 18 2005 // A campaign to point out the consequences of staging an auto accident or participating in auto insurance fraud has been launched by the Florida Department of Financial Services Division of Insurance Fraud. The...
Citizens Predicts $400 Million Deficit; Fla. Joint Selective Committee to Hear Recommendations Tomorrow
Feb 16 2005 // An estimated $400 million shortfall in Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s high-risk account was confirmed yesterday by Citizens spokesman Justin Glover in meetings in Orlando with the company’s board of...
Rep. Cannon: Hurricanes Provided Valuable Lesson; Citizens Concerns PIA Members
Feb 15 2005 // The silver lining to last year’s hurricanes proved that without adequate compensation for agents, there will be trouble when claims need to be settled, freshman Rep. Dean Cannon (R-Winter Park) told Professional...
532,000 Fla. Mobile Home Owners Could Face Costly Premium Increases
Feb 14 2005 // Six months after four hurricanes tore through Florida, more than 532,000 mobile home owners in the state could soon face costly premium increases or lose coverage according to Sam Miller, executive vice president of the...
Brown & Brown Acquires Emerald Benefits Inc.
Feb 14 2005 // Brown & Brown Inc., with headquarters in Daytona Beach, Fla. has announced the acquisition of retail insurance agency Emerald Benefits Inc. of Weston, Fla. Emerald Benefits, with annualized revenues of approximately...
Prime Now Writing Surplus Lines in Florida
Feb 10 2005 // The Prime Insurance Syndicate Inc. (www.primeis.com) has received approval to write surplus lines insurance business in Florida effective as of Feb. 9. Prime, which offers solutions for hard-to-place risks, will offer...
Fla. CFO, Legislators to Address Feb. 15 PIAF Legislative Day
Feb 8 2005 // Important insurance issues will be addressed by prominent members of the Florida Legislature and Tom Gallagher, Chief Financial Officer and Secretary of the Department of Financial Services during the Professional...
Fla. Schedules Public Hearings on Rate Increase
Feb 7 2005 // Four public hearings have been scheduled March 1 in Florida to discuss Nationwide Insurance’s proposed 28.3 percent statewide average rate increase for homeowner’s insurance policies. Two hearings are scheduled...
Foxes Watching the Hen-House
Feb 7 2005 // Four months before the hurricane season, storm clouds are forming due to insurance reform measures suggested by Sen. Ron Klein, D-Boca Raton. Klein told South Florida television stations and newspapers it’s essential...
Fla. Arrests Unlicensed Adjusters
Feb 7 2005 // Florida insurance fraud investigators arrested two unlicensed public adjusters, one in Broward County and one in Orange County. These arrests bring the total to seven unlicensed public adjusters arrested in the aftermath...
Fla. Suing Jewelry Retailer
Feb 7 2005 // Florida is suing Savannah-based Friedman’s Inc. retail jewelry chain, alleging it sold millions of dollars worth of insurance on jewelry items but didn’t disclose the costs to consumers. Friedman’s, which...
Deltona, Fla. Sinkhole Panics Homeowners; Fla. Legislature Considers ‘Pool’
Feb 7 2005 // Gun-shy Florida homeowners have a new natural disaster to add to their list of concerns, sinkholes. Dec. 13, accompanied by the sounds of tree roots snapping and limestone collapsing, a 225 ft. wide and 50 ft. deep...
Insurance Concerns on Fla. Agenda
Feb 7 2005 // The Florida Legislature is considering numerous actions during spring sessions, including taking a close look at preparedness for the upcoming hurricane season, now five months away; implementing single-deductibles;...
Rep. Davis Voices Concerns Over Industry’s Weakness in Fla.
Feb 4 2005 // While describing himself as a novice on insurance industry topics, Rep. Jim Davis, D-Tampa, summarized the current state of the industry in Florida during a Friday morning presentation to the Windstorm Insurance Network...
Fla. CEO Requests Rate ‘Freeze’; Insurance Council Shares His Concerns
Feb 3 2005 // Florida’s CFO Tom Gallagher has requested a freeze on all insurance rate increases for homeowners policies. According to a press release issued by the Department of Financial Services: “I learned today that...
Windstorm Panelists Doubt Hurricane Claim Settlement Statistics
Feb 2 2005 // Panelists and even the audience dispute Florida Insurance Council and Florida Office of Insurance Regulation statistics indicating that a large percentage of claims from the four hurricanes that hit Florida in 2004 have...
