Articles by William Rabb

Rabb is Southeast Editor for Insurance Journal. He is a long-time newspaper man in the Deep South; also covered workers' comp insurance issues for a trade publication for a few years.

Florida Class Action Targets Litigation Funding Firm Over Data Breach

Third-party litigation financing have become big business across the country, much to the chagrin of businesses and insurance companies that have faced multi-million lawsuit verdicts. But now one Florida-based litigation funding firm, which has loaned money to plaintiffs in a …

Florida Bill Advances, Would End Board of Engineers, Other Professional Agencies

Elon Musk’s age of government efficiency has spread to Florida, with legislation advanced last week that would abolish at least 22 state boards that oversee licensing and disciplinary reviews for engineers, contractors, building inspectors, accountants and many more professionals. House …

USI Says Lockton, Former Team Leader Poached Workers, Harmed Client Relations

USI Insurance Services, one of the largest brokerages in the country, has filed suit against a former sales team leader and another powerhouse broker, Lockton, accusing them of poaching employees and harming client relationships. Elisia Hahnenberg, who began her career …

NC Committee Approves Bill to End Education Requirements for Insurance Agents

A North Carolina House of Representatives committee voted Wednesday to do away with educational course requirements for insurance agent licenses, a move that could help address what has been called a shortage of producers in the state. “It’s a 40-hour …

Florida’s Anchor Insurance is Reborn as Patriot Select With $29M in Capital

It was once known as Anchor Property & Casualty Insurance Co., based in St. Petersburg, Florida, and launched in 2014. Then it was known as another Florida carrier that had slipped into financial troubles and was placed into an orderly …

Growing Fast, Going Public: Florida’s American Integrity Insurance Files for IPO

American Integrity Insurance, one of the largest property insurance carriers in Florida with more than 350,000 policies in force, is going to Wall Street with an initial public offering. The Tampa-based parent company, American Integrity Insurance Group, founded in 2006, …

Brown & Brown Charges Former VP With Poaching Clients, Breaching Agreements

Florida-headquartered Brown & Brown, one of the largest insurance brokerages in the country, this week filed a federal lawsuit against a former vice president, charging him with secretly setting up a competing business and poaching clients. The lawsuit in the …

Rebates on HO Premiums? It’s a Thing, Orion180 Says in Launching Florida Coverage

Orion180, a property insurance and surplus lines carrier founded in Melbourne, Florida, in 2016, has now started writing policies in the state where it is headquartered. And it is doing so with what appears to be an unusual strategy: Rebates …

Court: 911 Not Part of Emergency Services, Barring Dispatcher Liability Coverage

A 911 dispatch center is not necessarily part of a county’s emergency services department and is not covered by a secondary liability insurance policy, a federal appeals court found this week in a decision that will cost Travelers several million …

Florida OIR Faults DFS in Move to Combine Regulatory Functions. DFS Pushes Back

In a March memo to lawmakers, Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation sharply criticized the state’s rather unique two-agency insurance regulatory structure, arguing that the Department of Financial Services has dropped the ball on consumer complaints, investigations and insurer affiliate companies. …