Latest Florida Headlines

All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Emergency Management Director Addresses Florida’s Hurricane Response Weaknesses

Nov 10 2005 // The failures that left thousands of Florida residents unprepared for Hurricane Wilma should be addressed by launching a new election-style marketing campaign, expanding the tax-free shopping week and beefing up...

Safeco Sees After-Tax Losses from Wilma at $29 Million

Nov 10 2005 // Seattle-based Safeco announced estimated after-tax catastrophe losses from Hurricane Wilma of $29 million, or $0.23 per diluted share. Pretax catastrophe losses from the storm are estimated at $45 million. These figures...

FAIA Forms Young Agents Council to Perpetuate Leadership, Advocacy

Nov 9 2005 // A new Young Agents Council has been formed by the Florida Association of Insurance Agents in Tallahassee, Fla. The purpose of the YAC is to perpetuate the future of the independent insurance agency system by serving as the...

Citizens Property Board to Consider Rate Hikes When it Meets Next Week

Nov 9 2005 // Back-to-back insurance rate increases averaging 20 percent for non-hurricane premiums and 32 percent for wind-only premiums could be requested by Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s board of directors after it meets...

Fla. CFO Gallagher Supports Tax-Deferred CAT Fund Reserves; Suggests Reinsurance Rate Study

Nov 8 2005 // Legislation in Congress to pass U.S. Rep. Mark Foley’s proposal to allow the accumulation of tax-deferred catastrophic reserves by insurers, and a study on how to add programs to the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe...

Medical Examiner Attributes 25 Percent of Hurricane Deaths to Cleanup Efforts

Nov 8 2005 // Cleanup activities after hurricanes in 2004 and 2005 resulted in 25 percent of the 201 deaths registered according to Dr. Stephen Nelson, chairman of the Florida Medical Examiners Commission. Accidents from cleaning up,...

People & Places

Nov 7 2005 // Cathy DeCoulaz Jim Shevlin has been named assistant vice president and regional business development manager for ACE USA’s Southeast Region. ACE USA is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pa. Marta Reeves Based in...

Lack of Electricity, Gasoline Slows Hurricane Wilma Recovery Efforts

Nov 7 2005 // Four days after Hurricane Wilma crossed southwest Florida and tore into South Florida, insurance agents in Naples and Miami told Insurance Journal they had not encountered the onslaught of claims they expected, but...

Harrington Tells FAIA: Employment Crisis Major Threat to Agencies

Nov 7 2005 // An impending employment crisis threatens independent insurance agencies and will become disastrous by 2010 unless employers act now, Lisa Harrington, Florida Association of Insurance Agents vice president of Education,...

VESTA REINSURANCE TO COVER WILMA

Nov 7 2005 // Vesta Insurance of Birmingham, issued a statement saying it has complete reinsurance coverage for Hur-ricane Wilma claims in Florida. “As previously disclosed, Vesta’s losses from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita...

AMICUS BRIEF ON VALUED POLICY LAW

Nov 7 2005 // The National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies has joined with State Farm Florida Insurance Company to file an amicus curiae brief in a case involving Florida’s valued policy law. “We filed a friend of...

The Need for Uniform Building Codes in Louisiana

Nov 7 2005 // In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we have an historic opportunity to make crucial changes to Louisiana’s building codes and construction practices. Doing so will help create more resilient homes, businesses...

Lack of Electricity, Gasoline Slows Hurricane Wilma Recovery Efforts

Nov 6 2005 // Four days after Hurricane Wilma crossed southwest Florida and tore into South Florida, insurance agents in Naples and Miami told Insurance Journal they had not encountered the onslaught of claims they expected, but...

Harrington Tells FAIA: Employment Crisis Major Threat to Agencies

Nov 6 2005 // An impending employment crisis threatens independent insurance agents and will become disastrous by 2010 unless employers act now, Lisa Harrington, Florida Association of Insurance Agents vice president of Education, told...

People

Nov 6 2005 // Jim Shevlin has been named assistant vice president and regional business development manager for ACE USA’s Southeast Region. ACE USA is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pa. Based in Atlanta, Shevlin will manage...

News Briefs

Nov 6 2005 // ALABAMA Vesta Reinsurance To Cover Wilma Vesta Insurance of Birmingham, issued a statement saying it has complete reinsurance coverage for Hur-ricane Wilma claims in Florida. “As previously disclosed, Vesta’s...

The Need for Uniform Building Codes in Louisiana

Nov 6 2005 // In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, we have an historic opportunity to make crucial changes to Louisiana’s building codes and construction practices. Doing so will help create more resilient homes, businesses...

Florida Big ‘I’ to Unveil Its New, Improved Web site Upgrade on Monday

Nov 4 2005 // The Florida Association of Insurance Agents in Tallahassee will unveil a new and improved version of its Web site on Monday at www.faia.com. “Although our site reconstruction has been carefully planned and thoroughly...

Insurance Spokespersons to Discuss ‘Aftermath of Hurricane Wilma’ on Saturday S. Fla. Radio Talk Show

Nov 4 2005 // The aftermath of Hurricane Wilma and insurance issues will be discussed on Saturday morning by an on-the-air panel of insurance industry experts, including the president of the Latin American Insurance Agencies, Coral...

Wilma Damaged a Record Number of Vehicles in South Florida

Nov 2 2005 // State Farm and Progressive spokespersons indicate they received more auto damage claims from Hurricane Wilma than any of last year’s hurricanes. The two firms are Florida’s largest auto insurers. Wind is to...