Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Life After Runoff? Anchor Insurance Exploring ‘Possibilities’ in Warming Florida Market
Nov 8 2023 // It’s rare for a property insurance company to emerge from an orderly runoff and re-enter the marketplace as a going concern. In fact, it has never happened in Florida, industry experts say. But that may be what is...
Deadline for More Enhanced Hurricane Idalia Claims Data is Nov. 16
Nov 7 2023 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation wants property insurers to remember that another deadline for enhanced catastrophe reporting on Hurricane Idalia claims is Nov. 16. The OIR is required by law to collect a range...
Collab with Claims Handling is Key to Success for Insurance Defense Litigation
Nov 7 2023 // Navigating insurance defense litigation is a complex and often challenging process. Understanding the roadmap and important rules along the way ensures a smoother and more successful path. It is crucial for claims handlers...
More SE Houses Being Built to Withstand Hurricanes – and Cut Emissions
Nov 6 2023 // When Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle five years ago, it left boats, cars and trucks piled up to the windows of Bonny Paulson`s home in the tiny coastal community of Mexico Beach, Florida, even though the house...
After Raising Premiums, Shedding Policies, Heritage Reports a Smaller Net Loss for Q3
Nov 6 2023 // Heritage Insurance Holdings, parent company of Florida’s 10th-largest property insurance company, reported a net loss of $7.4 million for the third quarter of 2023, a significant improvement over last year after the...
Declarations
Nov 6 2023 // Underinsured Cannabis “What I am seeing is that there are insureds that are underinsured. … So, there’s still a lot of insurance to be sold.” — Curtis Prince, CEO and founder of Flux Insurance...
Business Moves
Nov 6 2023 // East World Insurance Associates, Oakwood Insurance Agency World Insurance Associates has acquired the business of Oakwood Insurance Agency LLC, also doing business as Insure Big Rig, of Califon, New Jersey. Oakwood has...
People & Places
Nov 6 2023 // National Edward Dandridge American International Group, headquartered in New York, New York, hired Edward Dandridge as executive vice president and chief marketing and communications officer. During his tenure at AIG,...
Kentucky Clarifies Matching Law While Florida Insurers Use Endorsements to Limit Replacement Costs
Nov 6 2023 // Matching requirements for roofs and interior furnishings have been a tough issue in the property insurance industry for years. Recent developments show how insurers and regulators in different Southeast states are managing...
Florida Special Session Called to Punish Iran … and Help Floridians with Wind Mitigation
Nov 6 2023 // Florida lawmakers have agreed to convene in another special session – the sixth in three years – this time to sanction the country of Iran but with a little indirect Florida property insurance relief also on...
Bad-Faith Payouts Are Penalties, Not Insurance Benefits, Florida Supreme Court Says
Nov 3 2023 // Randy Willoughby’s lawyers turned a $10,000 uninsured motorist policy into a $4 million bad-faith settlement with his auto insurer. Then they won a $30 million jury verdict against the co-owner of the truck that...
Progressive in a Better Place With Reserve Boosts Done, CEO Says
Nov 2 2023 // Shoring up loss reserves and adding “the premium equivalent” of a top 8 personal auto insurer to its books has put Progressive in a better place now than it was at the end of the second quarter. The...
South Florida P/C Insurance Agent Charged With Swiping $131,000 in Premiums
Nov 2 2023 // A south Florida insurance agent has been charged with absconding with more than $130,000 in premiums, leaving property owners uninsured after Hurricane Ian. Naser Al-Sweity, of Boca Raton, was booked into Palm Beach County...
Feeling the Strain of a Hurricane? Emergency Adjuster Licensing Can Help
Nov 2 2023 // This post is part of a series sponsored by AgentSync. Hurricane season is upon us once again, and while The Band of Heathens isn’t worried, the rest of us are preparing. So as homeowners brace for unprecedented winds...
Ravaged Fort Myers Becomes Magnet for Risk-Taking Property Buyers
Nov 1 2023 // A year after Hurricane Ian ripped through southwest Florida, wealthy risk-takers are transforming one beach town. In Fort Myers Beach, many of the middle-class cottages that once dotted the Estero Island town were wiped...
Florida Senator Raising Eyebrows with Pitch for Investment in New Insurance Company
Oct 31 2023 // Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, has sparked some controversy by pitching investment opportunities in a startup property insurance company in Florida. This may be a good time for a new business venture by an...
Lighthouse Insurance Misled Hedge Funds Before it Collapsed in 2022, Lawsuit Claims
Oct 31 2023 // A Florida lawsuit brought by private equity fund Fortinbras Enterprises and three others charges that Lighthouse Property Insurance Corp. executives concealed the extent of underwriting losses after Hurricane Ida, even as...
Florida Appeals Court Ruling Puts New Scrutiny on Wind Experts’ Credibility
Oct 31 2023 // Expert testimony is subject to a well-established standard set forth by the US Supreme Court 30 years ago in Daubert v. Merrel Dow Pharms., Inc. Under the Daubert standard, trial judges are gatekeepers of expert testimony,...
Duke Energy Plans Green Hydrogen Project in Florida
Oct 30 2023 // Electric utility Duke Energy plans to build a project to create clean energy using an end-to-end system to produce, store and combust 100% green hydrogen, in Florida. The new system, a collaboration between Duke,...
Universal Ready to Add Florida Policies Again, Contemplates Potential Rate Cuts
Oct 30 2023 // Universal Insurance Holdings, after discontinuing more than 160,000 policies over the last two years, now sounds like it’s ready to start growing again in its home state of Florida. “As we move forward,...
