Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Lighthouse to Acquire Prepared Insurance of Florida
Mar 23 2020 // Lighthouse Property Insurance Corp. plans to acquire its sister carrier, Prepared Insurance Company (Prepared), from Prepared Holdings Group. Lighthouse is a Louisiana-domiciled property and casualty insurance carrier...
Southeast Insurance Regulators Issue Industry Guidance for Coronavirus Outbreak
Mar 20 2020 // Insurance departments across the Southeast are notifying industry representatives of updated procedures and expectations in response to the coronavirus outbreak, while also acknowledging the potential for a serious impact...
Florida Woman Pleads Guilty to Hurricane Disaster Assistance Fraud
Mar 19 2020 // A Florida woman has pleaded guilty to lying about damage caused by Hurricane Irma. Bernita Willette Carswell, 36, pleaded guilty in Jacksonville federal court last week to one count of disaster assistance fraud, according...
EG Insurance Takes Over Policies of Defunct Windhaven MGA The Hearth
Mar 19 2020 // A new managing general agent has taken over the policies of Windhaven Insurance Company subsidiary The Hearth Group and will begin writing new business in Florida and Texas in the near future. EG Insurance Agency, based in...
TigerRisk Names O’Neill Florida Client Executive
Mar 19 2020 // TigerRisk Partners LLC, a risk/capital management and strategic advisory firm, has named Brian O’Neill partner and client executive, Florida Business. In his new role, O’Neill will foster the development of...
Florida Regulator Directs Insurers to Prepare for Coronavirus-Related Interruptions
Mar 18 2020 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) is directing all insurers to review and update their business continuity and/or continuity of operations plans in light of the current outbreak of coronavirus strain...
Florida Clears Insurance Agency Reps to Work Remotely Amid Coronavirus
Mar 17 2020 // Florida’s state of emergency due to the rapid spread of coronavirus in the state, and throughout the country, has created a need for many workers to work remotely. However, certain licensed insurance employees were...
Update: Florida Bans Nursing Home Visits as Coronavirus Spreads
Mar 16 2020 // Gov. Ron DeSantis on Saturday banned most visits to nursing homes statewide as he acknowledged the coronavirus has likely spread into the general population. Meanwhile, officials closed world-famous South Beach to prevent...
Prepared Insurance of Florida to be Acquired by Lighthouse Property Insurance Corp.
Mar 16 2020 // Lighthouse Property Insurance Corp. plans to acquire its sister carrier, Prepared Insurance Company (Prepared), from Prepared Holdings Group. Lighthouse is a Louisiana-domiciled property and casualty insurance carrier...
Resler Appointed to Florida Self Insured Guaranty Association
Mar 13 2020 // Risk manager Mark Resler has been appointed to the Florida Self Insured Guaranty Association (FSIGA) by Florida Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Jimmy Patronis, according to a statement from the Florida Department of...
Florida Passes Bill to Combat Blue-Green Algae Blooms
Mar 13 2020 // The Florida Legislature is attempting to rein in the blue-green algae blooms that have hurt tourism and wildlife, sending Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis a bill that seeks to reduce nutrients reaching the state’s...
Visits to Florida Nursing Homes Restricted Amidst Coronavirus Spread
Mar 13 2020 // Gov. Ron DeSantis placed limits Wednesday on who can can visit Florida’s nursing homes and other assisted living facilities, bidding to protect the state’s sizeable and vulnerable elderly population from the...
Florida Construction Co. Owner Accused of Evading $74K in Workers’ Comp Premiums
Mar 12 2020 // A construction company owner in Florida has been arrested for allegedly evaded paying nearly $74,000 in workers’ compensation insurance premiums, according to a statement from the Florida Department of Financial...
Florida Governor Declares State of Emergency Over Coronavirus
Mar 11 2020 // Swift-moving developments over the new coronavirus ricocheted across Florida’s Capitol as Gov. Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Monday and lawmakers disrupted their legislative session so crews in surgical...
Lawsuit: Teens’ Bodies Misidentified, Switched After Fatal Florida Car Crash
Mar 10 2020 // The parents of two teenagers killed in a car crash are suing the Florida Highway Patrol and others, claiming the bodies of their daughters were misidentified and switched. The lawsuits follow a July 29 crash in the...
Florida Insurer Security First Appoints Burt DeVriese as President
Mar 10 2020 // The Security First Board of Directors has approved Melissa Burt DeVriese to serve as president and Locke Burt as chairman and chief executive officer of Security First, effective immediately. Quality Assurance led by Mark...
Auto Insurer Windhaven National Ordered Into Liquidation by Texas Court
Mar 9 2020 // Texas-based private passenger auto insurer Windhaven National Insurance Co. (WNIC), a subsidiary of Windhaven Insurance, has been ordered into liquidation at the request of the Texas Department of Insurance, which was...
Windhaven Insurance Ceasing Operations; Texas Placing Windhaven National into Receivership
Mar 9 2020 // Auto and home insurer Windhaven Insurance has alerted its agents and employees that it is winding down the insurance operations of its entities, including Windhaven National Insurance Co., ClutchAnalytics and The Hearth...
One U.S. State May Look at Insurers’ Fossil Fuel Investments and Underwriting to Combat Climate Change
Mar 5 2020 // A Connecticut lawmaker has plans for a bill that not only calls for the state to look at which insurers have fossil fuel investments – a growing trend among government entities as of late – but also which ones are...
Update: Demotech Evaluating 2019 Results of Florida Carriers, Expects ‘Many’ Downgrades
Mar 4 2020 // Ratings agency Demotech is currently reviewing the 2019 fourth quarter earnings and year-end financials of the Florida insurers it rates after indicating in January that several Florida domestic insurers could receive...
