Latest Florida Headlines

All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Florida Workers’ Comp Rates to Rise; Doctor-Dispensed Drug Costs Eyed

Nov 7 2011 // Employers in Florida will be paying more for workers’ compensation next year following the state insurance chief’s approval of an 8.9 percent statewide average rate hike. Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin...

The Demotech Company Classification System Reveals State Specialist Property/Casualty Insurers

Nov 7 2011 // Company Name State of Speciality 2010 TOTAL DPW Texas Mutual Insurance Co. TX 596,191 Old American County Mutual Fire Insurance Co. TX 575,100 SAIF Corporation OR 327,373 St. Johns Insurance Co. Inc. FL 257,106 Brickstreet...

Declarations

Nov 7 2011 // Amish Appeal “We think there are important Kentucky constitutional issues that need to be resolved by this case.” William Sharp, an American Civil Liberties Union attorney representing Amish men in Kentucky who...

Business Moves

Nov 7 2011 // The Doctors Co., FPIC Insurance Medical liability insurer The Doctors Co. has completed its previously-announced acquisition of FPIC Insurance Group Inc., a major provider of health care liability insurance in Florida,...

Regulators Elect 2012 Officers; Florida’s McCarty Serves as President

Nov 4 2011 // The National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) has elected its 2012 officers. Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin M. McCarty will serve as president, and Louisiana Insurance Commissioner James J. Donelon will...

Florida Looks to Rein In Cost of Repackaged Drugs

Nov 3 2011 // In an effort to lower workers’ compensation costs, Florida lawmakers are proposing to limit the amount physicians can charge for providing patients with prescription drugs. State Sen. Alan Hays (R-Umatilla) and Rep....

Florida Calls for More Oversight in Check Cashing Industry Role in Workers’ Comp

Nov 3 2011 // Check cashing companies in Florida may be saddled with new regulations for their role in facilitating workers’ compensation fraud in the construction industry. Among other things, check cashing companies may have to...

Florida’s Scott Wants Recommendations from Citizens by Dec. 6

Nov 3 2011 // Gov. Rick Scott wants the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to recommend ways to shore up the troubled insurer. Scott, who would prefer the insurer be sold to a private company, wants answers from the...

Florida Consumer Advocate on PIP: Is it Worth the Cost?

Nov 2 2011 // Florida’s automobile no-fault law is in severe need of reform, but the cost of doing so may be more than the benefit, according to the state’s insurance consumer advocate. Speaking before Florida’s...

Florida, Georgia Agree on Catastrophe Cooperation Plan

Nov 2 2011 // Florida and Georgia have renewed their partnership to provide services in the event a catastrophe compromises their ability to respond to a disaster. First drafted in 2009, the updated plan is designed to ensure a...

Settlement Reached in Florida Anthrax Death Case

Nov 1 2011 // The widow of a tabloid photo editor who died in the 2001 anthrax mailings has reached a settlement in her lawsuit against the U.S. government. Maureen Stevens of Lake Worth, Florida, and the government have reached a...

Insurer Trade Group Urges Florida to Curb Auto Insurance ‘Fraud Tax’

Oct 28 2011 // Florida should allow more time for looking into suspicious claims, place a cap on attorneys’ fees and more closely regulate medical clinics to help reduce rampant fraud in the state’s personal injury protection...

What Should Florida Do to Fix Citizens, Property Insurance? Share Your Ideas

Oct 27 2011 // As Insurance Journal has reported, Florida lawmakers are considering the future of the state’s largest homeowners’ insurer, Citizens Property Insurance Corp. It’s supposed to be the insurer of last resort...

What Should Florida Do to Fix Citizens, Property Insurance? Share Your Ideas

Oct 26 2011 // As Insurance Journal has reported, Florida lawmakers are considering the future of the state’s largest homeowners’ insurer, Citizens Property Insurance Corp. It’s supposed to be the insurer of last resort...

Florida Approves 8.9% Workers’ Comp Rate Increase

Oct 25 2011 // Employers in Florida will be paying more for workers’ compensation coverage next year following the state insurance chief’s approval of an 8.9 percent statewide average rate hike. Florida Insurance Commissioner...

Florida Man Wins $1M Claim Against South Carolina Lawyer

Oct 25 2011 // A federal jury has awarded a Florida man $1 million in punitive damages against his former Charleston lawyer. The Post and Courier reported that a jury in Columbia ruled against attorney Robert Lowe Jr. in the legal...

More Unfit Floridians Have Driver’s Licenses Yanked

Oct 25 2011 // The number of Floridians who have had their driver’s licenses revoked because they are deemed physically or mentally unfit has more than doubled in the last decade. State figures show the main reasons many lose...

Carbone Joins Florida’s Kuykendall Gardner

Oct 21 2011 // Florida insurance broker Kuykendall Gardner has tapped Nicholas Carbone to serve as a vice president of transactional risk. In this role, he will assess, mitigate and transfer risk through insurance and other business...

Florida to Train More Troopers to Investigate Highway Accidents

Oct 20 2011 // Florida’s top highway safety official wants to put more troopers who specialize in investigating highway fatalities out on the road. Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Director Julie Jones told members of the Florida...

Florida Hurricane Fund Has $3.2 Billion Shortfall

Oct 20 2011 // Florida’s hurricane fund is confronting a potential $3.2 billion shortfall, financial experts said in a new estimate of the money available to the pool intended to help insurers make disaster payments. The fund was...