Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Approves Removal of Up to 184,500 Policies from Citizens
Sep 14 2015 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has approved the removal of up to 181,909 personal residential policies and 2,591 commercial residential/non-residential polices from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation...
Florida-Based Prepared Holdings to be Acquired by Meridian
Sep 11 2015 // Prepared Holdings, LLC, the holding company for Prepared Insurance Co., has entered into a definitive merger agreement with Meridian Insurance Holdings, Inc., a private investment group, under which Prepared will be...
Report: Florida Ranks 2nd in U.S. in Natural Disaster Risk
Sep 9 2015 // A new report says Florida ranks second only to California in the number of homes at risk for a natural disaster. The research firm, RealtyTrac, said in a report released last week that Florida had 6.7 million homes in...
Florida Approves Citizens’ 2016 Rates With Minor Adjustments
Sep 9 2015 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation has approved a slate of 2016 property insurance rates for Citizens Property Insurance Corp. In an order signed September 8 by Florida Commissioner Kevin McCarty, FLOIR set the...
2 Miami Residents Accused of Conducting $200K in Illegal Insurance Transactions
Sep 8 2015 // The Florida Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud (DIF) announced the arrests of Miami residents Alina Del Prado, 60, and Karla Patricia Figueroa, 40, who are accused of deceptively using...
Florida City Approves Ridesharing, Taxi Rules
Sep 8 2015 // Gainesville, Fla., has passed new rules for private car-sharing companies like Uber to operate in the city. The City Commission passed regulations that apply to both taxis and companies like Uber. Mayor Ed Braddy told The...
Citizens Highlights ‘Disturbing’ Water Loss Trend at FLOIR Rate Hearing
Sep 7 2015 // Representatives from Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. delved into and defended their rate filing for 2016, which included significant increases in many Florida regions, before the Florida Office of...
Fraud Roundup
Sep 7 2015 // 2 North Carolina Residents Accused of Insurance Fraud in Multiple Counties North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Wayne Goodwin announced the arrests of Pamela Christine Liles, 31, and Travis Paul Randolph, 30, of...
Florida Foreclosure Filings Spiked in July
Sep 7 2015 // After almost a year of month-to-month declines, new foreclosure starts in Florida rose in July. The research firm Realty Trac reported that foreclosure starts increased 16 percent in July from the previous July. Florida...
Business Moves
Sep 7 2015 // Distinguished, Fulcrum Distinguished Programs Holdings LLC announced the pending acquisition of Bellevue, Wash.-based Fulcrum Insurance Programs. The businesses will be combined and rebranded as Distinguished Specialty....
Stamping Offices Report Moderate Growth in U.S. Premium
Sep 7 2015 // Collectively, the 14 U.S. surplus lines stamping offices have reported moderate growth in surplus line premiums during the first half of 2015. Approximately 60 percent of all surplus lines insurance is processed by...
California Supreme Court and the Coming Assignment-of-Benefits Gold Rush
Sep 3 2015 // The California Supreme Court recently decided to break with its own precedent and declare that insurers can’t stop policyholders from assigning the benefits of their policies before a claim is settled. Like many...
Florida High Court to Decide on $3.3 Million Award to Man Mistaken for Bank Robber
Sep 3 2015 // Rodolfo Valladares wore the wrong hat to the wrong Miami bank while trying to cash a $100 check in a case of mistaken identity that’s led to a court battle over $3.3 million. A bank teller mistook Valladares for a...
Miami Agent Arrested for Operating With Expired License, Stealing Premium Funds
Sep 2 2015 // The Florida Division of Insurance Fraud announced the arrest of Tania Michel, 41, for failing to notify the Department of Financial Services of a federal fraud conviction, continuing to work in the insurance industry after...
Florida-Based Psychic Network Sues General Mills Over ‘Miss Cleo’ Image
Sep 2 2015 // The South Florida company that owns the rights to the popular TV psychic “Miss Cleo” is suing General Mills alleging copyright infringement for hiring the psychic to promote its breakfast cereal. According to a...
Doctors Ask Federal Appeals Court to Reconsider Florida ‘Docs vs. Glocks’ Law
Sep 1 2015 // Physician groups are asking a federal appeals court to reconsider a ruling upholding a Florida law restricting what doctors can ask patients about guns. Organizations representing some 11,000 medical providers want the...
Tropical Storm Erika Fades Before Florida After 20 Deaths in Caribbean Island
Aug 31 2015 // Tropical Storm Erika, which killed at least 20 people on the small Caribbean island of Dominica, broke up in the waters off Cuba, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Saturday. All tropical storm warnings and watches...
Ross Joins Florida’s SUNZ Insurance as In-House Counsel
Aug 31 2015 // SUNZ Insurance Co. has hired Donna Ross to join the Sarasota, Fla.-based company’s in-house legal counsel. According to Steve Herrig, CEO of SUNZ, said, Ross is joining the company as it expands its legal department...
U.S. Risk to Acquire Florida-Based Strategic Program Managers
Aug 31 2015 // U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc. has entered into an agreement involving the acquisition by U.S. Risk of an undisclosed ownership interest in Florida-based Strategic Program Managers, a specialist trucking MGA and broker....
Florida Nightclub Reaches $5M Settlement with Patron Attacked by Bouncer
Aug 28 2015 // Attorneys say a young man who was attacked by a bouncer at a South Beach nightclub has received a $5 million settlement. The lawyers representing 22-year-old Youness Adlan announced the settlement August 26. The Miami...
