Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Surplus Lines Take-Out Bill Heading for Defeat
Mar 6 2012 // A bill that would allow surplus lines policies to directly assume policies from Florida’s state-run property insurer is all but dead after lawmakers tacked on an amendment that would require policyholders to sign-up...
Florida House Passes PIP Fraud Bill
Mar 5 2012 // A bill aimed at cracking down on rampant fraud in the state’s personal injury protection insurance was passed Friday in the Florida House of Representatives. The bill (HB 119) was approved largely along party lines...
Court Blocks Drug Enforcement Against Florida’s Cardinal Health, CVS
Mar 5 2012 // A U.S. appeals court has agreed to temporarily allow Cardinal Health Inc. to continue distributing strictly-controlled prescription drugs from a Florida facility, blocking a Drug Enforcement Administration order to suspend...
Texas Company Develops Up-to-Date Property Data for Insurers
Mar 5 2012 // In many ways, insurance is a battle for information. From marketing to underwriting to claims, the ability to know as much as possible about a potential insured, especially for property risks, is vital. With that in mind,...
4 Execs Cleared in Florida
Mar 5 2012 // Four insurance executives of a now defunct Florida property insurer have been found not guilty of defrauding the state’s reinsurance facility of over $20 million in a case stemming from hurricane losses dating back...
Senate Panel Advances Florida PIP Reform Bill
Mar 2 2012 // A Senate bill aimed at cracking down on the rampant personal injury protection insurance fraud that costs Florida drivers more than $1 billion annually in premiums is headed to the full floor for what promises to be a...
Florida Lawmakers Keep Their Health Premiums Below Other State Workers’
Mar 1 2012 // Florida legislators, saying that they differ from rank-and-file state workers, have killed an effort to force themselves to pay more for their health insurance. The 160 members in the Florida Legislature pay among the...
Florida May Change Citizens’ Policyholder Assessments
Feb 28 2012 // Funding for the Florida’s state-run property insurer is likely to change as state lawmakers are looking to access the insurer’s total assessment base quicker and give it more time to collect funds in the event...
Surplus Lines Analysis: Multistate Clearinghouse Economics Don’t Work
Feb 27 2012 // Recent data from Florida indicate that the economics for a multistate surplus lines tax allocation clearinghouse are unworkable. There simply is not enough multistate surplus lines tax to support the cost of a...
Florida Lawmakers Split on Workers’ Comp Drug Dispensing; Rate Cut Possible
Feb 27 2012 // Florida lawmakers appear headed toward a stalemate over how to rein-in the cost of physician-dispensed workers’ compensation prescription drugs. In an effort to force a deal, Senate lawmakers are calling for a...
Struggling Floridians Line Up for Mortgage-Mending
Feb 23 2012 // Nearly 1,200 people lined up at a downtown Miami conference center on Wednesday, holding onto mortgage documents and income statements in the hope of saving the homes they are struggling to pay for. Seated at rows of long...
Florida Senate Leader Opposes Immunity for Lawmakers
Feb 22 2012 // The incoming Senate president is opposing a proposal that would allow state lawmakers to wrap themselves in absolute immunity from having to testify in lawsuits. The House Judiciary Committee cleared a Republican bill (PCB...
Florida Jury Awards Man $3.3 Million Over Bank’s False Alarm
Feb 21 2012 // A Miami-Dade jury has awarded $3.3 million to a man who was trying to cash a check but was then detained after a Bank of America teller activated a silent alarm. According to the Miami Herald, the jury ruled Friday that...
Florida Lawmakers Still Balk at Raising Homeowners’ Premiums for Cat Fund
Feb 21 2012 // State lawmakers have gambled with their constituents’ money for years when it comes to dealing with Florida’s property insurance issues. But now, many top industry analysts suggest, the odds may be turning...
Cruise Ship Industry Leaves Crash Victims Little Hope for Recovery
Feb 21 2012 // When Walter Henry Alderfer learned last month about the Costa Concordia shipwreck off Italy, it brought back bad memories. In April 2007, he, his wife and his daughter were aboard the Sea Diamond cruise ship when it struck...
Looks Like The Year for PIP Reform in Florida
Feb 20 2012 // Roughly halfway through Florida’s legislative session, state Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty expressed optimism that state lawmakers would find a way to substantially reform the state’s no-fault auto...
4 Executives Found Not Guilty in Florida Hurricane Fund Fraud Case
Feb 17 2012 // Four insurance executives of a now defunct Florida property insurer have been found not guilty of defrauding the state’s reinsurance facility of over $20 million in a case stemming from hurricane losses dating back...
Electric Cigarette Explodes in Florida Man’s Mouth
Feb 17 2012 // A man trying to kick the smoking habit was puffing on an electronic cigarette when a faulty battery caused it to explode in his mouth, taking out some of his front teeth and a chunk of his tongue and severely burning his...
Florida Bill Seeks to Curb Medical Malpractice Claims
Feb 15 2012 // The Republican-controlled Florida Legislature is pushing ahead this year with changes meant to curb medical malpractice lawsuits against doctors. This effort is being criticized as an attack on the privacy rights of...
More Shipwreck Survivors File Lawsuits against Carnival, Costa Cruises
Feb 14 2012 // Dozens of additional survivors of the Costa Concordia shipwreck off Italy have joined a Florida lawsuit that accuses the ship’s owners of gross negligence and fraud, and asks for at least $528 million in damages. An...
