Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Guy Carpenter: Rates Rising on U.S. Property Catastrophe Reinsurance
Apr 7 2009 // A new industry briefing shows reinsurance rates continuing to increase for the U.S. property-catastrophe reinsurance market for April 1, 2009 renewals. According to Guy Carpenter & Co.’s “Rates Up on...
Florida Denies State Farm Hearing on Homeowners Market Withdrawal Plan
Apr 6 2009 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has denied State Farm Florida an administrative hearing on details of the insurer’s plan to withdraw from the state’s homeowners market. State Farm Florida has...
Florida Finds People Can’t Trust People’s Trust Insurance
Apr 6 2009 // One of Florida’s new startup property insurance companies that was expected to help pick up the slack when State Farm Florida exits the market has been barred from selling any new policies. The company was found to...
People
Apr 6 2009 // Florida Governor Charlie Crist has named Marjorie Renee Hill of Tallahassee as Judge of Compensation Claims. Hill, 47, has served as the director of the First District Court of Appeal’s Workers’ Compensation...
Declarations
Apr 6 2009 // Federal Aid “We need a more disciplined, structured plan for providing federal assistance following any major natural disaster.” —U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D.-Fla, in asking the U.S. Treasury to provide...
Florida Charges NFL’s Stallworth with DUI Manslaughter in Crash
Apr 3 2009 // The NFL and the Cleveland Browns are reviewing the charges against wide receiver Donte Stallworth, who is accused of killing a pedestrian while driving his Bentley drunk after a night out at a posh South Beach...
Florida Cap on Workers’ Compensation Lawyers’ Fees Goes to Senate
Apr 2 2009 // A bill that would trump a Florida Supreme Court ruling and restore a cap on attorneys’ fees in workers’ compensation cases passed the Florida House after some mild debate. Following a second round of discourse...
Florida Senate Postpones Vote on Catastrophe Funding Bill
Apr 2 2009 // A Senate committee searching for ways to improve Florida’s shaky property insurance situation and lower the state’s risk recommended borrowing money from the state retirement system to obtain some short-term...
Florida Suspends License of Weakened Coral Insurance
Apr 1 2009 // A Florida domestic property insurance company has been told to stop writing business– the second time in a week state regulators have had to act against an insurer. Hollywood-based Coral Insurance, which began doing...
Florida Panel Advances Bill to Restore Parental Liability Waivers for Kids
Mar 31 2009 // A Florida House panel moved to override a recent state Supreme Court decision that blocked enforcement of a liability waiver signed by a parent on behalf of his child. The Florida Supreme Court in December held in Kirton...
Florida Denies State Farm Hearing on Withdrawal Plan
Mar 30 2009 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has denied State Farm Florida an administrative hearing on details of the insurer’s plan to withdraw from the state’s homeowners market. State Farm Florida has...
Florida House Moves Workers Comp Attorneys’ Fee Limit Bill
Mar 30 2009 // A bill that would restore a cap on attorney’s fees in Florida workers’ compensation cases is ready for a final vote in the House. After an amendment was defeated, the measure (HB 903) sponsored by Rep. Anitere...
Florida Gov. Crist Names Hill As Compensation Judge
Mar 27 2009 // Florida Governor Charlie Crist has named Marjorie Renee Hill of Tallahassee as Judge of Compensation Claims. Hill, 47, has served as the director of the First District Court of Appeal’s Workers’ Compensation...
Florida’s New VanDyke Norman Insurance Agency Thinks Big
Mar 25 2009 // Kevin VanDyke and Andy Norman opened their St. Augustine agency around Thanksgiving last year but already they are thinking big. They plan to grow their business in the Jacksonville metropolitan area not just by outselling...
Sen. Nelson Seeks U.S.Help on Florida Hurricane Losses
Mar 25 2009 // U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson has asked the U.S. Treasury to provide assurances to private market lenders that any loans they make in Florida would be repaid at fair market interest in the event of a catastrophe. Nelson, however,...
Spring Weather Warnings: Midwest Floods; Droughts in South, West
Mar 24 2009 // Flooding in the upper Midwest, which could rival the high water levels experienced in 2006 and possibly 1997, and continued drought in the South and West are among the warnings contained in the national outlook for this...
Obama’s Grabs Florida’s Fugate to Head FEMA
Mar 23 2009 // Florida emergency manager Craig Fugate would bring a lot with him if he takes over the Federal Emergency Management Agency: plenty of hurricane experience, a blunt style, and a belief that preparation begins on the local...
Business Moves
Mar 23 2009 // Auto Club Insurance, MEEMIC Auto Club Insurance Association, a Dearborn, Michigan-based insurer, reported it has agreed to acquire MEEMIC Insurance Co. and its insurance agency affiliate, MEEMIC Insurance Services...
People
Mar 23 2009 // Richard G. “Dick” Clarke, senior vice president of J. Smith Lanier & Co. in West Point, Ga., has been elected 2009 president of RiskProNet International, a network of 25 independent insurance brokers in...
Sink-ing Feeling: Florida Still Searching for Fix for Hurricane Exposure
Mar 23 2009 // Florida lawmakers need to make some smart decisions on reducing the risk to Florida property owners from hurricanes, the state’s chief financial officer said. In a letter to legislative leaders, CFO Alex Sink said...
