Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Demotech Holds-Off on Affirming ‘A’ Ratings for 16 Florida Insurers
Feb 28 2018 // A company that rates many Florida property/casualty insurers believes hurricane losses and assignment of benefits litigation during 2017 could affect some insurers’ financial ratings. Ratings company Demotech says it...
Berkshire’s 14-Year Insurance Win Streak Comes to an End
Feb 26 2018 // Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway’s combination of insurance entities have recorded 14 consecutive years of underwriting profit worth more than $28 billion. The Oracle from Omaha has repeatedly warned his...
Florida House to Vote on Bill to Restrict, Monitor Opioid Prescriptions
Feb 26 2018 // The Florida House’s version of legislation to combat the state’s opioid epidemic is headed to the floor. The bill, which passed the Health & Human Services Committee last week, would impose new restrictions...
Parents of Fraternity Pledge Killed at Florida State University File Civil Suit
Feb 23 2018 // The parents of a Florida State University fraternity pledge who died of alcohol poisoning after a party have filed a civil suit against those who have a connection in their son’s death. Thomas and Sandra Coffey are...
Gone With The Wind: Storms Deepen Florida’s Beach Sand Crunch
Feb 22 2018 // Down the palm tree-lined roads of northeast Florida’s Flagler County, a half-dozen dump trucks are shuttling back and forth along the Atlantic coast pouring thousands of tons of sand onto the local beach. Replacing...
Multiple Sinkholes Open in Florida Retirement Community
Feb 20 2018 // A Florida woman called police because she thought she heard a prowler. She actually was hearing the first of several sinkholes that have opened up in a Florida retirement community, displacing seven people. The Villages...
Attorney, Vendor AOB Lawsuits Top Insurance Litigation in 2017: FJRI Report
Feb 20 2018 // Litigation from the abuse of assignment of benefits by third parties represented more than half of all Florida insurance litigation in 2017, and without a legislative fix those fueling the abuse will continue to get rich...
People
Feb 19 2018 // The Alabama Department of Insurance has announced Jerry Workman as Deputy Commissioner. Workman will succeed Deputy Commissioner and Chief Actuary Charles Angell, who is retiring in July of 2018. He will lead the...
Appalachian Underwriters Adds Workers’ Comp Underwriter Cohn in Florida
Feb 15 2018 // Appalachian Underwriters, Inc. is has hired workers’ compensation underwriter Alon Cohn to its Sanford, Fla., office. Cohn will focus on the production of new workers’ compensation business in the Southeast...
Stamper Appointed Managing Director of Risk Strategies in Florida
Feb 14 2018 // Risk Strategies, a privately held, national insurance brokerage and risk management firm, has appointed Scott Stamper as managing director to run day-to-day operations and help guide the growth of Atlass Insurance Group,...
Appalachian Underwriters Taps Mambuca as Central, Northern Florida Marketing Rep
Feb 7 2018 // Appalachian Underwriters, Inc. has hired Marketing Representative Vianka Mambuca to its Sanford Florida office. She will focus on agent relationships in Central and Northern Florida counties. According to Carrie Bay,...
SterlingRisk Insurance Names O’Donnell President of Aviation Practice Group in Florida
Feb 6 2018 // Michael O’Donnell has been named president of the Aviation Practice Group at SterlingRisk Insurance, an independently owned insurance brokerage firm based in Destin, Fla. O’Donnell, who joined SterlingRisk in...
Heritage Insurance Holdings of Florida Appoints Lusk as CFO
Feb 5 2018 // Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc., a property and casualty insurance holding company, has appointed Kirk H. Lusk as its chief financial officer. Until April 28, 2018, Lusk will serve as co-chief financial officer with...
Florida Regulator Report Shows AOB Abuse Worsening Statewide
Feb 5 2018 // The epidemic of assignment of benefits (AOB) abuse that has been plaguing Florida for several years is only getting worse, says a new report from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR). The most recent data call...
Florida Construction Company Owner Arrested For $1.8 Million Workers’ Comp Scam
Feb 2 2018 // A construction company owner in Jacksonville, Fla., has been arrested following a workers’ compensation fraud investigation, according to a report from Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis. Jeovane...
Willis Towers Watson Makes Staff Changes in Florida, Taps Zutel to Lead CRB Business
Feb 2 2018 // Willis Towers Watson has appointed Fred Zutel as Corporate Risk and Broking (CRB) market leader for Florida, where he will focus on delivering the company’s property & casualty insurance broking services to...
Patriot National Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection
Feb 1 2018 // In accordance with a previously-agreed restructuring plan with lenders, Patriot National, Inc., an insurance technology and outsourcing firm, has officially filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and...
5 in U.S., 2 in Italy Arrested Over $21M Opioid ‘Pill Mills’ Scheme in Florida, Tennessee
Feb 1 2018 // Two people in Italy and five U.S. residents have been charged in a fraud and drug trafficking conspiracy to distribute opioids in Florida and Tennessee, leading to hundreds of deaths, federal prosecutors said last...
ARC, FAIA to Offer Parametric StormPeace Coverage to Florida Member Agents
Jan 31 2018 // The Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA) and Assured Risk Cover (ARC) have formed an agreement that grants FAIA member agents access to the StormPeace parametric insurance product that pays out-of-pocket expenses...
IBHS in Florida Announces Leadership Changes, Focus for 2018
Jan 26 2018 // The Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS), headquartered in Tampa, Fla., has promoted Anne D. Cope, Ph.D., P.E., to senior vice president of Research and chief engineer. Cope has assumed leadership of...
