Peter Schorsch
Fred Karlinsky was handed a surprise no risk model could have forecast — the Florida Insurance Council’s highest honor, recognizing a career that’s helped shape the rules of the industry itself.
On Thursday evening, during the closing dinner of FIC’s annual summer meeting, Karlinsky was named the 2025 recipient of the Mark Trafton Distinguished Service Award — a lifetime achievement honor selected by fellow professionals in Florida’s insurance sector.
FIC President Cecil Pearce, presenting the award, credited Karlinsky not only with transforming Florida’s insurance laws, but with elevating the industry’s stature on the national and global stage.
Karlinsky is Chair of Greenberg Traurig’s Global Insurance Regulatory and Transactions Practice and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee. For more than three decades, he has served as both legal strategist and policy architect for major insurance entities, including reinsurers, trade organizations, and compliance groups.
He’s also passed his expertise on to the next generation, teaching as an adjunct professor at Florida State University College of Law since 2008. Since 2014, Karlinsky has served on the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, currently as its Chair. Five of the seven sitting Justices were appointed during his time on the panel.
Joining him for Thursday’s recognition were his wife of 25 years, Autumn Karlinsky, and their children, Spencer and Allie — both current FSU students.
The Mark Trafton Award, named for the late FIC lobbyist, is the organization’s most distinguished peer-selected honor. Karlinsky joins a select list of recipients who have helped shape Florida’s insurance sector and policy.
