Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Fitch Upgrades Citizens to ‘AA-‘, Outlook Stable
May 14 2015 // Fitch Ratings has upgraded the rating on the following senior secured bonds of the Citizens Property Insurance Corp., FL, PLA/CLA to ‘AA-‘ from ‘A+’: –$1.1 billion series 2012A-1; –$200...
Florida Will Not Appeal Decision Favoring Deloitte in Poe Financial Collapse
May 12 2015 // The Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) will not appeal the recent jury decision that found Deloitte & Touche not liable in the insolvency of Tampa-based Poe Financial Group following the unprecedented...
GEICO Names Silva Assistant VP of Underwriting in Florida Regional Office
May 12 2015 // Frankie Silva has been named assistant vice president of underwriting at GEICO’s regional office in Lakeland, Fla. Silva previously served as assistant vice president of underwriting in the company’s San Diego...
Citizens Board Approves 2015 Reinsurance Package, Ends 1-100 Assessment Risk
May 11 2015 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s Board of Governors approved a $3.9 billion risk transfer package for the 2015 hurricane season that completely eliminates the potential assessment risk on Florida policyholders in...
Florida-Based Baldwin Risk Partners Appoints Wiebeck as CFO
May 8 2015 // Baldwin Risk Partners (BRP), a privately-held insurance and risk management holding company based in Tampa, Fla., has appointed Kris Wiebeck as chief financial officer. Wiebeck will oversee finance, mergers and...
Jardine Lloyd Thompson Capital Markets Adds $10M Cat Bond to Florida Book
May 7 2015 // Jardine Lloyd Thompson Capital Markets (JLTCM) Inc., part of JLT Re, has arranged a private placement catastrophe bond, Market Re 2015-1, which closed at $10 million. The new bond provides one year indemnity-based...
Florida Commissioner McCarty Touts State Regulation Before Congress
May 6 2015 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty championed flexible state insurance regulation and warned against “one-size-fits-all” bank-like regulation for insurers in recent testimony before the U.S. Senate...
Florida-Based Lamar Dean & Associates Joins Acentria Insurance Group
May 6 2015 // Florida-based Acentria Insurance has partnered with Lamar Dean & Associates Insurance Services, a provider of both personal and commercial insurance in the state. Kevin Mason, president of Acentria Insurance, said with...
Southeast Schools Hoping to Fill Need for Insurance Cybersecurity Experts
May 5 2015 // The insurance industry, like other businesses, has come to realize it needs to do more to protect its companies, customers, employees and portfolios from cyber threats. Cyber-savvy professionals are in high-demand and are...
Florida-Based Triton Acquires Phoenix Insurance, Expands into Commercial Market
May 5 2015 // Triton Insurance Group, Inc., based in Margate, Fla., has entered the commercial insurance market with the acquisition of Phoenix Insurance Group, located in Coral Springs. Currently, Triton Insurance Group, Inc., offers...
Florida Man Sues Hospital after Amputated Leg Found in Trash
May 5 2015 // A Key Largo, Fla., man is suing a hospital after his amputated leg was found in the trash. The Miami Herald reports that the man found out about the incident when homicide detectives knocked on his door and asked him why...
Fitch Upgrades Citizens’ Coastal Account, Outlook Stable
May 5 2015 // Fitch Ratings has assigned an ‘AA-‘ rating to the following senior secured bonds of the Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Coastal Account (formerly known as the High Risk Account): –$750 million series...
Owner of Florida Medical Clinic Arrested for PIP Fraud
May 4 2015 // The Florida Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud has arrested Roxana Suarez La Rosa on charges related to PIP (personal injury protection) fraud. In 2012, the Saint Jose Injury Center in...
Beating Up on Workers’ Comp: Grand Bargain Taking Jabs from Multiple Directions
May 4 2015 // The state-based workers’ compensation system has stayed on its feet for 100 years in part by being able to defend itself against blows and then counterpunch when necessary. It has shown an ability to reform to fit...
Supreme Court Narrow Ruling Finds Elected Judges Aren’t Politicians
May 1 2015 // Chief Justice John Roberts isn’t a politician — and he wants you to know it. That’s the message of a surprising 5-4 decision issued Wednesday by the U.S. Supreme Court in which Roberts provided the...
Family of Paralyzed Florida Teen Will Get $3.5M Settlement From New Law
May 1 2015 // The family of a Jacksonville teenager who was left paralyzed by a falling tree limb will receive a $3.5 million settlement under a bill the Legislature sent to Gov. Rick Scott on Tuesday. If Scott signs the bill, Joseph...
Risk Transfer Success Leads to Ratings Upgrades for Florida Citizens
Apr 30 2015 // It’s an exceedingly rare thing that I’d ever point to anything my adoptive state of Florida does in the area of insurance markets as an example that others might want to copy. But in at least one important...
Bill Limiting Drone Use in Florida Sent to Governor
Apr 30 2015 // Using drones to take photos of people on their own property could soon be illegal in Florida. The Florida Legislature sent a bill to Gov. Rick Scott this week that places limits on the use of remote-controlled drones. If...
Florida-Based Orchid Underwriters Names New CIO
Apr 30 2015 // Orchid Underwriters Insurance Agency, LLC, a specialty underwriter of property insurance focused on coastal properties and based in Vero Beach, Fla., has named Chuck Fillizola as chief information officer. In this newly...
Florida Houses Passes Bill to Study, Regulate Fracking in State
Apr 29 2015 // The Florida House passed a bill Monday to study and regulate fracking, as well as prevent local governments from banning the oil and gas drilling practice. Democrats strongly opposed the bill, saying hydraulic fracturing...
