Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Woman’s Lawsuit Against Tobacco Company Goes to Trial
Dec 4 2008 // Opening statements are scheduled to begin this week in a trial against a tobacco company by the wife of a Florida smoker who died of lung cancer. It’s the first trial since the state Supreme Court threw out a $145...
Business Moves
Nov 30 2008 // Arthur J. Gallagher The HR Group International insurance broker Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. reported it has acquired The HR Group, LLC of Brentwood, Tennessee. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The HR Group...
Wanted: Agencies Focusing on Hispanic Market
Nov 30 2008 // The brains behind the insurance agency consolidation firm Confie Seguros say they are well-positioned to meet their goal of a $300 million revenue company focused on the Hispanic insurance market within a few years,...
It Figures
Nov 30 2008 // 10 The jail sentence in years given a West Virginia woman found guilty of submitting false insurance claims for jewelry. According to state officials, Sherry Kay Peyton, of Williamstown, submitted two separate claims for...
People
Nov 30 2008 // The Insurance Marketing and Communications Association (IMCA) named Richard Look as president. He is a marketing communications veteran with both agency and insurance company experience, and currently serves as vice...
Florida Cigarette Case Could Affect Other Products, Warn Business Groups
Nov 30 2008 // A tobacco lawyer has asked the Florida Supreme Court to reverse a $545,000 product liability verdict because the smoker who won wasn’t required to prove the company could have made a safer cigarette. The case could...
Florida Workers’ Compensation Insurers Seek 8.9% Rate Hike Due to Court Ruling
Nov 30 2008 // A Florida Supreme Court ruling has resulted in a request to raise workers compensation rates by 8.9 percent. The National Council on Compensation Insurance filed the request, citing last month’s ruling in which...
Former Agent Ends His Second Career as Florida Gators’ ‘Two Bits’ Cheerleader
Nov 30 2008 // After more than 50 years of urging on Florida football fans, one the Gators most enthusiastic supporters is retiring. George E. Edmondson Jr., a retired insurance agent who is known to UF fans as Mr. Two-Bits, says...
Wanted: Agencies Focusing on Hispanic Market
Nov 30 2008 // Texas on the List of States for Agency Acquisitions by Consolidators Behind Confie Seguros The brains behind the insurance agency consolidation firm Confie Seguros say they are well-positioned to meet their goal of a $300...
Former Insurance Agent, Florida’s ‘Mr. Two-Bits’ Retires His Cheer
Nov 26 2008 // After more than 50 years of urging on Florida football fans, one the Gators most enthusiastic supporters is retiring. George E. Edmondson Jr., a retired insurance agent who is known to UF fans as Mr. Two-Bits, says...
In Florida, Insurers Thankful No Major Hurricane Tested State Fund
Nov 25 2008 // As the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season officially comes to a close this on Nov. 30, Florida can be thankful for being spared from any major hurricane strike again this season. However, the dangers hurricanes present and the...
Wholesale Broker Advanced E & S Group Acquires Florida’s Symons
Nov 24 2008 // Hollywood, Florida-based insurance wholesale broker Advanced E & S Group has acquired Symons International Group of Boca Raton and merged it into its Florida operation. Symons is a wholesale broker and underwriting...
Florida Has New Agency: VanDyke Norman Opens for Business
Nov 24 2008 // VanDyke Norman Insurance began operations on Nov. 17 in St. Augustine, Florida. The newly created insurance agency is led by Kevin VanDyke and Andy Norman. VanDyke was formerly the president of Skinner Nurseries of...
Florida Workers’ Compensation Insurers Seek 8.9% Rate Hike
Nov 17 2008 // A Florida Supreme Court ruling has resulted in a request to raise workers compensation rates by 8.9 percent. The National Council on Compensation Insurance filed it Friday, citing last month’s ruling. The justices...
Mississippi Rebuilds Its Insurance Markets
Nov 16 2008 // Wind Pool Modernization, Better Building Code Enforcement and Carrier Recruitment Efforts Begin to Pay Off Back in January, when Mike Chaney was getting ready to be sworn in as Mississippi insurance commissioner after his...
Florida’s Citizens Offers New Commercial Nonresidential Policy
Nov 16 2008 // Florida’s state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has begun offering a commercial nonresidential multi-peril policy for business. This new policy is available to eligible nonresidential risks located...
Declarations
Nov 16 2008 // Row Own Boat “Taxpayers should be a last resort rather than a cheap source of capital … We’ll row our own boat.” —Evan Greenberg, Ace Limited’s CEO, chiding insurers that have hinted they...
Florida Cat Fund Questions Risk Trigger Insurer Ratings
Nov 16 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...
North Carolina, Florida Join States Lowering Workers’ Comp Rates
Nov 16 2008 // North Carolina and Florida have joined the ranks of states where workers’ compensation costs are falling. North Carolina Insurance Commissioner Jim Long approved a North Carolina Rate Bureau filing for a 4.4 percent...
Wanted: Agencies Focusing on Hispanic Market
Nov 16 2008 // Arizona, California, Nevada High on List of States for Agency Acquisitions by Consolidators Behind Confie Seguros The business model calls for growing agencies by expanding their product mix to include life products,...
