Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
New York-Based Insurance Broker BWD Group Expands to Florida
May 4 2009 // With the addition of Saul Landesberg as regional vice president, BWD Group LLC opened a Florida office of its insurance and risk management brokerage operation. Landesberg, a long time resident of the Tampa area, will...
Florida Passes Bill Giving Insurance Firms Credit for School Vouchers
May 1 2009 // A bill to strengthen a private school voucher program for children from low-income families is going to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. The measure would give insurance companies dollar-for-dollar credits against premium taxes...
Hub Sells ABCO Insurance Wholesaler to Former Owner
Apr 29 2009 // Insurance broker Hub International Limited is selling some of its Florida wholesale and specialty insurance business back to a previous owner. Hub said it is selling Hub International Florida, including wholesaler ABCO...
Florida Bills Limiting Cell Phone Use By Drivers Hit Dead End
Apr 29 2009 // Several bills that would have restricted drivers who talk or text message on their cell phones appear to be headed toward a dead end in the Florida Legislature. The bills would have banned drivers from sending text...
Florida Senate, House Seek to Close Property Insurance Legislation Gaps
Apr 29 2009 // The Florida House and Senate are trying informally to work out differences in bills to address the state’s property insurance crisis, including how much rates for more than one million customers of the state-backed...
Florida Rep. Proctor Challenges Commissioner McCarty’s Insurance View
Apr 28 2009 // In my opinion, Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty’s assertions that our state has “one of the most” competitive property insurance markets in the country and that easing rate regulation will not...
Insurers’ Taxes Could Back Florida Private School Voucher Program
Apr 27 2009 // A private school voucher program for children from low-income families in Florida would be strengthened by a bill the House passed last week, but critics say it would be another financial blow for public...
Florida House Approves Property Insurance Measure
Apr 27 2009 // The Florida House has approved property insurance legislation that promises to reduce the exposure of the state’s backup hurricane insurance fund and gradually raise rates for policyholders insured in state-backed...
Florida’s Property Insurance Market: An Overview by Commissioner McCarty
Apr 24 2009 // It is always interesting, and frequently amusing, to read various “research” pieces on the Florida property insurance market. While I, like every other insurance regulator, industry professional and observer in...
All Policies of Florida’s Coral Insurance To Be Cancelled May 31
Apr 24 2009 // All policies of Florida property insurer Coral Insurance will be cancelled as of May 31, 2009 and any unearned premiums will be returned to policyholders, under a state plan approved by a Leon County judge overseeing the...
What Young Agents Value About Being Independent
Apr 24 2009 // Good things come to those who wait and work hard. Even in today’s challenging economic climate, young independent insurance agents remain hopeful and happy to be in a profession that allows them to work...
Florida Nears Votes on Property Insurance Bills
Apr 24 2009 // Today could be the day both the Florida House and Senate take up legislation to improve the state’s property insurance market, including proposals allowing state-backed insurance writer Citizens Property Insurance to...
Freberg, ZCL Target Florida with Underground Storage Tank Insurance
Apr 23 2009 // ZCL Composites Inc., an underground fiberglass tank manufacturer, has partnered with Freberg Environmental Insurance of Denver to offer Prezerver, a non-cancellable, 10-year underground storage tank insurance policy for...
Florida Among States Considering Ban on Accident Response Fees
Apr 22 2009 // It was bad enough when Matthew Norville rear-ended another driver, crushing the front end of his own car. A few weeks later, the Pensacola college student got a $714 bill to cover the cost of the county police and...
Florida Bills to Clarify Regulation of Surplus Lines Insurance Advance
Apr 22 2009 // Florida’s surplus lines insurance brokers and carriers are encouraged that legislation to clarify the surplus lines industry’s regulatory status in the state has survived several committee hurdles and appears...
The Freedom to Grow
Apr 20 2009 // What Young Agents Value About Being Independent Profile of Young Agents Older Side of Young 62% are 31 to 40 years old 38% are 30 and under Career Choice 84% consider insurance to be a permanent career choice 14% are...
Florida Takes Over Coral Insurance; Security First, MacNeill Step In
Apr 20 2009 // Coral Insurance Co., a residential property insurer in Florida, has been ordered into receivership for the purpose of rehabilitation. The Department of Financial Services was named as the receiver by Leon County Circuit...
Lawmakers Seek to Ban Chinese Drywall
Apr 20 2009 // U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson, D.-Fla., and Mary Landrieu, D.-La., have filed federal legislation for a recall and immediate ban on tainted building products from China, as people around the country are reporting problems in...
Rates Rising on U.S. Property Catastrophe Reinsurance
Apr 20 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...
Universal North America’s Financial Rating Upgraded by Demotech
Apr 17 2009 // Universal Insurance Co. of North America has received an upgraded Financial Stability Rating of A’ (A Prime) Unsurpassed for its Florida operations from the rating organization Demotech. Demotech said it upgraded the...