Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida’s Crist Opposes, Bush Backs Bill Deregulating Insurance Prices
Mar 31 2010 // Tallahassee politicians must ensure a robust private property insurance market to avoid a financial disaster if a major hurricane or several smaller storms strike the state this summer, former Gov. Jeb Bush said this...
Should Florida Follow New York and Revive Its Surplus Lines Exchange?
Mar 30 2010 // New York regulators are pursuing a reincarnation of the New York Insurance Exchange, a Lloyd’s of London-style insurance market that lasted for several years the last time it was tried. New York Insurance...
Florida Orders Hillcrest Insurance Executive to Return Investment Monies
Mar 29 2010 // A director and part owner of Hillcrest Insurance Co. in Gainesville has been ordered to return $600,000 in policyholders’ money he used in February 2009 to buy stock in a bank he founded and part owned. Florida...
P/C Insurers Can Handle Chinese Drywall Costs, Says Moody’s
Mar 26 2010 // Property/casualty insurers are expected to continue to handle costs for defective Chinese drywall claims in the normal course of business, according to a rating analyst with Moody’s Investors Service. Losses from...
Florida Jury Awards $26.6 Million to Smoker’s Widow
Mar 25 2010 // A Florida jury ordered R.J. Reynolds and Philip Morris Wednesday to pay $26.6 million to the widow of a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer, the latest verdict against cigarette makers in the “Engle...
Florida Governor, Regulator Want Check on Insurer Payments to Affiliates
Mar 24 2010 // Florida Gov. Charlie Crist said he would like to give the state insurance regulator authority to prevent excessive payments by home-based insurance companies to affiliated managing general agencies and other...
Montgomery Insurance Looks to Grow Florida Commercial Lines Business
Mar 23 2010 // Montgomery Insurance, a Liberty Mutual Group regional operation, says it is implementing a commercial lines growth plan in Florida with its independent insurance agents. The Charlotte, North Carolina-based unit with...
21st Century Holding to Buy Florida’s HomeWise Insurance
Mar 23 2010 // 21st Century Holding Co. has agreed to acquire HomeWise Insurance Co. and HomeWise Management Co. from HomeWise Holdings Inc. The agreement also includes renewal rights to certain insurance policies from HomeWise Preferred...
Florida CFO Sink Wants Data on Troubled Property Insurers
Mar 22 2010 // Florida insurance regulators have notified a Jacksonville-based insurer that it has until the end of the month to comply with solvency requirements to avoid suspension or losing its license. The warning to Southern Oak...
Florida Court to Hear Rental Car ‘Vicarious Liability’ Case
Mar 22 2010 // An accident victim’s lawyer has urged the Florida Supreme Court to rule that rental car companies can be held liable for damages in an accident they did not cause in the state, even though a new federal law is...
Florida’s Market and How Surplus Lines Agents Are Faring
Mar 19 2010 // Hurricane Andrew, for all of the grief it delivered, gave wholesale broker Hull & Co. and Bruce Bowers a big opportunity. “Prior to ’92, there wasn’t much of a need for personal lines in the excess...
Demotech Actuaries Offer Guidance on Florida Insurers’ Financial Ratings
Mar 18 2010 // The actuarial services firm, Demotech, which rates most of Florida’s newer and smaller domestic property insurers, has published a position paper outlining its approach to its carrier Financial Stability Ratings and...
Florida’s Southern Oak Agrees to Reduce MGA Fee, Wind Exposure
Mar 18 2010 // A Jacksonville property insurance company is back in the good graces of regulators. Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty signed off on an agreement with the Southern Oak Insurance Co. after the insurer agreed to make some...
Florida Fines Homeowners Choice Over Reinsurance Contract
Mar 18 2010 // A Clearwater-based property insurance company is the latest Florida company to run afoul of Florida insurance regulators. Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty ordered Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Co....
FEMA Denies Aid for Florida Families with Chinese Drywall Damage
Mar 17 2010 // Last week Florida asked for federal financial assistance for thousands of homeowners with property damage caused by defective Chinese drywall. But the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which typically deals with...
Sarasota HeraldTribune: How Florida Insurers Make Millions on the Side
Mar 16 2010 // The Sarasota HeraldTribune, as part of its series on the property insurance market in Florida, has reported that half of the state’s insurers are making money not from insuring homes but by diverting premiums into...
Florida Sweep Nabs 19 Suspects in Staged Accident Fraud
Mar 15 2010 // Florida officials say a statewide sweep of staged accident scammers last week resulted in the arrest of 19 suspects, including arrests in Ft. Myers, Miami, Orlando, Pensacola, Tampa and West Palm Beach Florida CFO Alex...
Florida Insurers Pin Hopes on Broad Bill Passed by Senate Panel
Mar 11 2010 // With the prospects for a controversial rate deregulation bill dimmed by Gov. Charlie Crist’s threat of a veto, the insurance industry is betting on a new wide-ranging insurance proposal to bring some reform to...
More New Florida Property Insurers in Trouble?
Mar 10 2010 // Florida insurance regulators this week notified a Jacksonville-based insurer that it has until the end of the month to comply with solvency requirements to avoid suspension or losing its license. And the warning to...
House Panels Face Environmental, Insurer Groups Over Catastrophe Bill
Mar 10 2010 // Two House subcommittees have scheduled a joint hearing today on ways to address homeowners insurance costs in disaster-prone communities, an issue that has some environmentalists, taxpayer groups and insurers standing...
