He previously was senior vice president and state agency manager for Florida. In his new position, Furlong will oversee the company's entire sales network and continue to manage business development activity from his suburban Maitland, FL office.

Just back from a swing around the state, Furlong tells GlobeSt.com Miami and Fort Lauderdale appear to be the most active markets in new commercial construction and investments. "One [Miami] attorney told me that virtually every large office building in Downtown Miami changed hands in the last year or so," says the former Seminole County commissioner.

Tampa and Orlando, however, "are not experiencing much in the way of new office space construction their Downtown area," Furlong says. Instead, "what Downtown Orlando is getting is new high-rise, multifamily residential." The insurance executive says this trend also is occurring in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach "and soon will be happening in Tampa, as well."