Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida’s Citizens Policy Count Reaches Lowest Level on Record
Jan 21 2016 // Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corporation announced Jan. 20 that it has reduced its policy count to under 500,000. The company said in a statement that its policy count on Jan. 19 was 484,788, the lowest...
Florida-Based BKS-Partners Promotes Desmarais to Benefits Director
Jan 20 2016 // Kristy Desmarais Baldwin Krystyn Sherman Partners (BKS-Partners) has promoted Kristy Desmarais to Benefits director. As Benefit’s director, Desmarais is responsible for the strategic planning and execution of...
Florida Tornadoes Leave 2 Dead, Several Injured
Jan 19 2016 // Florida officials say two adults have been killed and four children have been injured after two tornadoes swept through central Florida. Manatee County EMS officials tell WFLA-TV that several people were injured as severe...
Serial Arsonist Arrested in Florida
Jan 14 2016 // The Florida State Fire Marshal’s Office, which operates under the direction of the Florida Department of Financial Services and CFO Jeff Atwater, announced the arrest of Travis Michael Pierce for allegedly setting...
Wallace Welch & Willingham Acquires Florida Agency Sondregger Insurance
Jan 13 2016 // Wallace Welch & Willingham (W3) has acquired Sondregger Insurance, an independent agency based in St. Petersburg, Fla. The acquisition was made final on December 9, 2015. Sondregger Insurance specializes in personal...
Southwest Florida Cleans-Up Damage from Weekend Tornado
Jan 12 2016 // Authorities say a weekend tornado that touched down in southwest Florida with winds up to 135 mph damaged several homes, left thousands without power for a time, but caused no serious injuries or deaths. Police say the...
Confie Acquires Florida-Based Most Insurance
Jan 12 2016 // Confie, a national provider of personal and commercial lines insurance, has acquired Most Insurance, LLC of Tampa, Fla. Established by Bob Most in 1973, Most Insurance, LLC is a family owned and operated business. With...
Business Moves
Jan 11 2016 // NFP, Absolute Advantage, Vanorsdale Insurance NFP Property & Casualty has acquired Lake Havasu City, Ariz.-based Absolute Advantage Insurance Services LLC. NFP also acquired San Diego, Calif.-based Vanorsdale...
Florida Lawmakers to Industry: We Want YOU to Join State Flood Insurance Market
Jan 11 2016 // We think the time is right for you all to explore the [Florida] flood insurance market.” That was the message Florida Senator Jeff Brandes gave insurance industry attendees at the first ever Florida Flood Insurance...
People – South Central
Jan 11 2016 // John Pollock, BB&T Insurance Services Florida regional insurance president, has been promoted to a multi-state regional leadership position. According to the company, BB&T Insurance Services is experiencing...
Industry Reacts to McCarty Resignation, Contemplates His Next Move
Jan 8 2016 // Insurance industry reactions to Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty’s decision to resign have been rolling in since the long-time state regulator announced Jan. 5 that he would step down from his position...
McCarty Replacement Rumors Start Swirling; Successor Has ‘Huge Shoes to Fill’
Jan 8 2016 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty’s successor has yet to be announced, but whoever takes over will have his or her work cut out for them when McCarty leaves office after 12 years on May 2. “These are...
Florida Surplus Line Service Office Names Young Assistant Director of Agent Services
Jan 7 2016 // Bryan Young Florida Surplus Line Service Office (FSLSO) has promoted Bryan Young to assistant director of Agent Services Young stepped into the role effective Jan. 1 after 10 years of service with FSLSO. During his tenure...
Florida Insurance Commissioner McCarty to Resign After 12 Years in Job
Jan 5 2016 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin M. McCarty announced today that he is resigning effective May 2, 2016 after 12 years in the post to pursue other job opportunities, according to the Florida Office of Insurance...
Florida Approves Removal of 71,000 Policies from Citizens for March Takeouts
Jan 5 2016 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has approved the removal of up to 70,000 personal residential policies and 1,500 commercial residential polices from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens). The...
NORCAL Mutual Acquires Florida-Based FD Insurance
Jan 4 2016 // NORCAL Mutual Insurance Co. has completed its acquisition of FD Insurance, a Florida domiciled medical malpractice provider for physicians and surgeons. This acquisition expands NORCAL’s national footprint and...
Former NFL Player Sues Florida City Over Bikini Bar Ban
Jan 3 2016 // A former NFL player is suing the city of Jacksonville, Fla., over a law that restricts sexually themed bars. The Florida Times-Union reports that Laveranues Coles filed the lawsuit Dec. 29 in federal court in Jacksonville....
12 Insurance Talks to Hear Before the Ball Drops
Dec 31 2015 // As a property/casualty insurance professional, you had a lot on your plate in 2015. You didn’t get to watch, listen to or read everything you wanted. From the 2015 Wells Media archives, here are some talks you may...
Top 10 Southeast Stories of 2015
Dec 30 2015 // Ridesharing, drones and medical marijuana garnered a lot of attention from the insurance industry in 2015, and readers in the Southeast were no exception. Among the most popular stories in the Southeast included...
Florida Lawmakers to Industry: We Want YOU to Join State Flood Insurance Market
Dec 30 2015 // “We think the time is right for you all to explore the [Florida] flood insurance market.” That was the message Florida Senator Jeff Brandes gave insurance industry attendees at the first ever Florida Flood...
