Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
World Insurance Associates Acquires West Coast Insurance, Combs Insurance of Florida
Aug 1 2019 // World Insurance Associates LLC, an independent insurance agency headquartered in Tinton Falls, N.J., has expanded its presence in Florida with the acquisitions of West Coast Insurance Group and Combs Insurance, effective...
Sexual Harassment Scandal Rocks Florida CFO’s Office; Banking Regulator Fired
Jul 31 2019 // The Florida Cabinet fired the state’s top banking regulator last week, a week after the release of a state investigator’s report asserting that the official misused his public office and subjected women to...
Florida Regulator Approves Post-AOB Reform Rates for Citizens Policyholders
Jul 30 2019 // Florida’s insurance regulator has established 2019 rates for Citizens Property Insurance Corp. after the insurer resubmitted its rate filing as part of a requirement of the new assignment of benefits law that...
Challenges Facing the Florida Insurance Market: A Reinsurer’s Perspective
Jul 30 2019 // Hurricanes Irma and Michael served as a reminder that Florida, more than any other state, is at risk of one of the most intense natural perils, namely hurricanes. The existence of a stable insurance market providing its...
1K Guests at Hotel Near Florida SeaWorld Evacuated After Room Fire
Jul 29 2019 // Officials say more than 1,000 guests were temporarily evacuated from a Florida hotel near SeaWorld after a fire broke out in a room. Orange County Fire Rescue posted on Twitter that Thursday morning’s blaze at the...
Florida-Based Insurance Office of America Names Peters SVP of Operations
Jul 29 2019 // Insurance Office of America has added operational leader Robert J. Peters to its Longwood, Fla., headquarters. Peters joins IOA’s growing team as senior vice president of insurance operations, a newly created...
17K Oysters Stolen from Florida Seafood Company
Jul 26 2019 // Pensacola Bay Oyster Co. posted photos on Instagram of more than 35 empty bags that were tossed into a wooded area along the beach in East Bay on Tuesday. They’re offering a reward for information that leads to the...
N.Sure Opens All Digital Home, Auto Insurance Agency in Florida
Jul 25 2019 // Boca Raton, Fla.-based Nsure.com has launched an online, digital home and auto insurance agency in Florida that offers comparison quotes from more than 25 insurers. The new, fully-licensed company’s technology gives...
EEOC Sues McDonald’s Over Religious Discrimination Against Florida Job Applicant
Jul 24 2019 // The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has sued the owner of multiple McDonald’s restaurants in Central Florida for violating federal law for refusing to hire a job applicant who would not shave his...
Addressing Florida’s Rising Tide of Flood Exposures
Jul 24 2019 // In the past five years, all 50 states have experienced some type of flooding. Flooding has led to disasters throughout the decades, and this year, it is expected to become unprecedented yet again. Despite a long history of...
Report: Florida Pill Mills Helped Fuel Opioid Crisis
Jul 22 2019 // Florida survives on tourism, but a decade ago thousands of visitors made frequent trips to the state not to visit its theme parks or beaches. Instead, they came for cheap and easy prescription painkillers sold at...
Florida’s AssuredPartners Acquires UK-Based Hettle Andrews
Jul 18 2019 // AssuredPartners Inc. has acquired Birmingham, England-based Hettle Andrews & Associates Ltd. The transaction is subject to customary approval by the Financial Conduct Authority and the deal terms have not been...
Florida Gets Ready for Peak Hurricane Season After 3 Years of Major Storms
Jul 17 2019 // Floridians are on alert as the state heads into peak hurricane season after three straight years of being impacted by major storms. Meanwhile, the Florida Panhandle continues its recovery from Hurricane Michael that...
Florida-Based Universal Insurance Holdings Names Downes Executive Chairman; Donaghy Appointed CEO
Jul 17 2019 // Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc.’s Chairman and CEO Sean P. Downes has taken on the role as executive chairman, beginning July 15. The Universal Insurance Holdings Board has appointed current Chief Operating...
Court Rules Florida Medical Marijuana Regulations Are Unconstitutional
Jul 16 2019 // A Florida appellate court ruled that the state’s approach to regulating marijuana is unconstitutional, possibly allowing more providers to jump into a market positioned to become one of the country’s most...
Harden Expands into South Florida; Taps Beller as Market Leader
Jul 16 2019 // Harden, an insurance, risk management and employee benefits firm in the Southeast, has formally expanded into the South Florida market with the opening of an office in Fort Lauderdale. The firm currently serves many...
Florida-Based Olympus Insurance Appoints Carpenter AVP of Sales, Marketing
Jul 15 2019 // Olympus Insurance Co. has appointed James “Jim” Carpenter as assistant vice president of Sales and Marketing. Jim Carpenter Carpenter has more than 20 years of experience in the property & casualty...
Miami Insurance Agent Arrested in $1.7M Fraud Scheme
Jul 15 2019 // A former Miami insurance agent has been arrested for allegedly stealing more than $1.7 million in insurance premiums from two insurance premium finance companies, according a statement from Florida CFO Jimmy...
I.I.I. Appoints Friedlander as Florida Communications Consultant
Jul 12 2019 // The Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.) has appointed Mark Friedlander as its new Florida-based communications consultant. Friedlander was most recently a communications consultant at the Insurance Institute for...
Fire Damages Equipment at SpaceX Facility in Florida
Jul 11 2019 // Authorities say a fire at a SpaceX facility in Florida caused damage to equipment, but no injuries were reported. News outlets report it happened Monday afternoon in Cocoa. City officials say firefighters responded quickly...
