Latest Florida Headlines

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

Universal Insurance Holdings Lukewarm to Golden Apple’s Proposed Acquisition

Nov 21 2002 // Universal Insurance Holdings Inc. of Miami received correspondence regarding a proposed takeover by Golden Apple Holding Company, a subsidiary of Navigator Ventures Inc. (OTCBB:NVGV), that reportedly seeks to acquire all...

Golden Apple May Acquire Universal

Nov 19 2002 // Florida-based Golden Apple Holding Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Navigator Ventures Inc., offered to enter into a ninety day period of exclusive discussion with the Board of Directors of Universal Insurance...

Liquidation Ordered for Aries

Nov 18 2002 // A Leon County (Florida) Circuit Court Judge Janet Ferris ordered liquidation for troubled Miami property and casualty insurance carrier Aries Insurance Company, making way for the use of state guaranty funds to pay...

Florida to See WC Premiums Hikes

Nov 15 2002 // Workers’ compensation premiums may rise by an average of 15 percent next year for many Florida employers, with some employer groups paying as much as a 42 percent rate increase, according to Florida Treasurer and...

Liquidation of Miami Company Sought

Nov 12 2002 // Florida State Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher wants Aries Insurance Company to consent to liquidation as a result of an arbitration panel ruling that determined the company is deeper in debt than...

Summit Global Partners Adds Sr. VP in Boca Raton Office

Nov 12 2002 // International risk and insurance brokerage, and benefits consulting firm Summit Global Partners announced that J. John Simione has joined the Boca Raton, Fla. office as senior vice president. Simione specializes in...

Former Miami Policeman Charged With Buying Accident Reports

Nov 5 2002 // Florida Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher announced that a former City of Miami police officer is facing numerous felony charges after he allegedly bought more than 280 police accident reports for $25 each...

PIA of Florida Named Association of the Year

Nov 1 2002 // The Tallahassee Society of Association Executives (TSAE) honored the Professional Insurance Agents of Florida (PIA of Florida) with the 2002 Association of the Year Award, which recognizes PIA of Florida’s...

Florida Man Ordered to Stop Selling Insurance Without a License

Oct 29 2002 // The Florida Department of Insurance ordered Roy Gutierrez, of State No-Fault Insurance Agency in Kissimmee, to stop selling insurance without a valid insurance agent license. The department alleged that Gutierrez also...

Fla. Commissioner: Get Rid of Arbitration Panel

Oct 28 2002 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Tom Gallagher had harsh words for the arbitration panel that recently granted State Farm big increases in rates for homeowners coverage. Expressing his disappointment in the panel’s...

Florida Regulators Want to Liquidate Aries Insurance

Oct 28 2002 // Florida regulators want property/casualty insurer Aries Insurance Co. of Miami be liquidated immediately. According to A.M. Best, Aries voluntarily went into receivership seven months ago and is contesting the...

State Farm Gets Rate Increase in Fla.

Oct 21 2002 // State Farm Insurance Co. is expected to resume writing new homeowners insurance policies in Central Florida and other parts of the state on a limited basis after being granted a 23.3 average increase for homeowners...

Heart & Hypertension Workers’ Comp Network Launched in Fla.

Oct 17 2002 // CHOICE Medical Management Services Inc. of Tampa, Fla., unveiled its new specialty workers’ compensation network for heart and hypertension at the 2002 Florida PRIMA State Conference. CHOICE indicated its program is...

Workplace Fatalities Rise 12 Percent in Florida

Oct 17 2002 // The Florida Department of Insurance, Division of Workers’ Compensation, released a census report revealing that workplace fatalities in Florida rose by 12 percent in 2001, marking the first increase in three years....

Florida Agent and his Mother Arrested

Oct 9 2002 // Florida Department of Insurance investigators arrested a former licensed insurance agent and his mother, who served as office manager, on charges of selling insurance without a license and issuing fraudulent certificates...

Fla. Speaker-Designate Appoints Med Mal Committee

Oct 7 2002 // Incoming Florida House Speaker Johnnie B. Byrd, Jr. announced the creation of a Medical Liability Insurance Workgroup to study the issue of rapidly rising medical liability insurance premiums in Florida. According to the...

BB&T Insurance to Buy its First Florida Agency

Oct 3 2002 // Raleigh, N.C.-based BB&T Insurance Services, the insurance subsidiary of BB&T Corp. of Winston-Salem, announced plans to purchase Tallahassee, Fla. agency Landrum-Yaeger & Associates Inc. The purchase...

Felony Charges May be in Store for Fla. Agents Selling Unlicensed Coverage

Oct 1 2002 // Stricter penalties go into effect October 1 in Florida for licensed insurance agents who sell unlicensed insurance policies. Those agents could face a felony charge and lose their license under a new law passed during the...

The State of the Surplus Lines Market with Michael J. Hall

Sep 30 2002 // Insurance Journal publisher Mark Wells recently spoke with Michael J. Hall, chairman of M.J. Hall & Company Inc. and president of Golden Bear Insurance Company, both headquartered out of Stockton, Calif. Hall shared...

Fla. Doctors Protest Med Mal Costs

Sep 20 2002 // Doctors rallied at Broward County Courthouse in Florida, protesting the high cost of medical malpractice insurance and rising claims that they say are forcing physicians to limit their practices. According to the Florida...