Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Declarations
Nov 2 2008 // Rocky Quarter “It was a rocky third quarter for insurers, but risk managers still saw prices improve on average. It is increasingly clear, though, that premiums cannot continue to fall at this pace, especially with...
A.M. Best, Insurers Worry Financial Crisis Could Affect Florida’s Cat Fund
Nov 2 2008 // The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund Advisory Council recently rattled the nerves of insurers when it presented its 2008 October bonding estimates. David Sampson, president of the Property Casualty Insurers Association...
It Figures
Nov 2 2008 // 22% The percentage of agents responding to an Insurance Journal survey who said they have cut unnecessary spending in response to the current financial crisis. Another 22 percent have taken steps to communicate more with...
Florida Gets Workers’ Comp Hike Warning
Nov 2 2008 // The Florida Supreme Court recently struck down a cap on fees for lawyers of injured workers, saying the attorneys must receive reasonable pay. Businesses fear the ruling will lead to higher workers compensation...
Florida-based AmCOMP Gets Approval to Merge with Employers
Oct 30 2008 // North Palm Beach, Fla.-based AmCOMP Inc. received stockholder approval for Employers Holdings Inc. to acquire AmCOMP. Approval required a vote of at least a majority of AmCOMP’s outstanding shares of common stock. Of...
Florida Approves Another Rate Decrease for Workers’ Comp
Oct 30 2008 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty approved the National Council on Compensation Insurance’s amended rate filing for workers’ compensation insurance rates that will become effective Jan. 1. The rate...
Florida Insurance Fraud Case Lands Attorney in Prison
Oct 30 2008 // A South Florida attorney has been disbarred and ordered to surrender on Nov. 7 to serve 366 days in a Florida prison, according to Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink. Broward County Circuit Judge Pedro Dijols...
Exposure to Florida Catastrophe Fund Triggers A.M. Best Review
Oct 30 2008 // A.M. Best Co. says based on the credit market contraction and the uncertainty regarding the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund’s ability to fund its claims-paying capacity, it placed several insurers’ ratings...
Florida Insurance Commissioner Names Legislative Affairs Director
Oct 28 2008 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty appointed John McBride as legislative affairs director. McBride will report to Chief of Staff Audrey Brown. McBride comes to the Office of Insurance Regulation from his most...
Tennessee Underwriter Forms Commercial Brokerage in Florida
Oct 28 2008 // Tennessee-based Appalachian Underwriters Inc. established a commercial brokerage division and will open a new office in Sarasota, Fla. to house the new operation. AUI will focus on property and casualty risks that are...
Florida Supreme Court Overturns Workers’ Comp Attorney Fee Limits
Oct 24 2008 // The Florida Supreme Court announced its final ruling in Murray v. Mariners Health/ACE USA, reinstating hourly attorneys’ fees in workers compensation cases. In response to the announcement, William Stander, assistant...
Florida-based First Guard Insurance Offers Truck Towing Coverage
Oct 21 2008 // Venice, Florida-based truck insurer, First Guard Insurance Co., is offering a comprehensive physical damage policy for lease owner operators that includes all towing expenses incurred from a covered accident to the nearest...
Florida-based United Insurance Holdings Corp. Changes Ticker Symbol
Oct 21 2008 // United Insurance Holdings Corp. of St. Petersburg, Fla., began trading its common stock, warrants and units on the OTC Bulletin Board under the new symbols UIHC, UIHCW and UIHCU respectively. The change became effective on...
Carriers’ Marketing to Latinos is Good but Could be Better, Say Agents
Oct 20 2008 // A majority of independent agents and brokers in a good position to know say insurance carriers do an acceptable job marketing to the Latino community, although as many as 40 percent also rate carriers’ efforts as...
Florida’s Citizens Cancels New Office
Oct 20 2008 // In the wake of criticism by key Florida lawmakers, the state-backed property and casualty insurer, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., is backing off plans to seek a new, larger office complex that once included a...
Florida Warns Rising Energy Costs Could Increase Home Fires
Oct 20 2008 // Florida Chief Financial Officer and State Fire Marshal Alex Sink is joining the American Red Cross and the National Fire Protection Association in warning Floridians about the risks of using alternative and unconventional...
Wanted: Florida Agencies Focusing on Hispanic Market
Oct 20 2008 // Sunshine State High on List of States for Agency Acquisitions by Consolidators Behind Confie Seguros The movers behind the insurance agency consolidation firm Confie Seguros say they are well-positioned to meet their goal...
Shrinking Citizens Signals Progress in Florida Property Market
Oct 20 2008 // Florida remains focused on recovery of its property insurance market. But new rules for reinsurers, a national catastrophe plan and the use of occupational rating in insurance are also on the radar of Florida Insurance...
People
Oct 20 2008 // Angelo Ganguzza, vice president of Boca Raton, Fla.-based LIG Insurance Agency and Kimberly Langston Gray, managing partner of Langston Insurance Agency in central Florida, accepted election to the Professional Insurance...
Florida-based Homeowners Choice Assumes 45,000 Citizens Policies
Oct 17 2008 // Homeowners Choice Inc., a Florida-based insurance holding company, reported that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Co. Inc., assumed approximately 45,000 homeowners’...
