Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Suit Against Tesla Over Fatal Florida Accident Blames Battery
Jan 9 2019 // Chicago law firm Corboy & Demetrio said on Tuesday it filed a lawsuit against electric carmaker Tesla Inc. alleging that its 2014 Model S sedan had a defective battery pack that caused the death of an 18-year old...
Florida Courts Bogged Down by New Gun Law, Hurricane Suits
Jan 8 2019 // Florida’s new gun law is keeping courts busy, and the state Supreme Court also says lawsuits over hurricane disputes could be on the rise. The Florida Supreme Court said Dec. 28 that 100 petitions a month have been...
5 Children in Church Van Killed in Fiery Crash on Florida Interstate
Jan 7 2019 // A church van packed with children was headed to Walt Disney World when it got caught in a fiery pileup involving two 18-wheelers. Seven people, including five of the youngsters, died in the crash. On Friday, investigators...
Libertate/Risk MD Merges With Ballator Group of Florida
Jan 7 2019 // Ballator Insurance Group (BIG) of Orlando, Fla., and Libertate Insurance/RiskMD have merged to offer support with insurance placements and data management for professional employer organizations (PEO’s). BIG and its...
Southeast Officials Focus on Curbing Fraud, Rising Auto Rates, Flood Insurance, and Distracted Driving
Jan 7 2019 // For the seventh year in a row, the Florida insurance industry, regulators, and consumer advocates will push for reforms to the state’s assignment of benefits issue that has now become an insurance crisis, according...
2018 Agents of the Year
Jan 7 2019 // Jacob Barzivand Paramount Exclusive Insurance Services Inc. | Encino, California Jacob Barzivand started working as an insurance producer right after college at the age of 20. Now, at just 26, he’s built a sizable...
3 Reasons Recovery from Hurricane Florence is Different from Hurricane Michael
Jan 7 2019 // Lessons from Past Storms and Economic Changes Suggest Rebuilding Efforts After Florence Will Be Arduous As the saying goes – location is everything. Following the two largest U.S. hurricanes this year, Hurricane...
2019 Insurance Industry Meetings & Conventions Directory
Jan 7 2019 // 2019 CIWA Industry Days Jan 6-8 Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines La Jolla, CA CIWA www.ciwa.net 2019 Big ‘I’ Winter Meeting Jan 9-12 Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch St. Louis, MO Independent Insurance Agents...
Florida Zoo Halts ‘Premium’ Experiences After Toddler Enters Rhino Enclosure
Jan 4 2019 // A Florida zoo where a toddler stumbled into a rhinoceros enclosure is suspending exhibits offering “premium” animal experiences while officials review safety protocol. The Brevard Zoo in Melbourne, Fla.,...
6 Ex-Florida State Fire College Employees Sue Over Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals
Jan 3 2019 // Six former employees of the Florida State Fire College have sued manufacturers of firefighting suppressants used at the training facility, saying they caused cancer or other diseases. The Ocala Star-Banner reports the...
Florida Roofer Arrested for Stealing Nearly $50K from Homeowners, Insurance Fraud
Jan 3 2019 // A Florida roofing company owner was arrested last month after allegedly attempting to defraud multiple homeowners out of more than $49,000 and working without workers’ compensation insurance, according to a statement...
4 Arrested in Theft of $500K in Tequila from Truck Stop in Florida
Jan 2 2019 // Sheriff’s deputies in Florida have recovered a half-million dollar truckload of stolen tequila. Hillsborough Sheriff’s spokesman Danny Alvarez said in a statement that a truck driver hauling the load of tequila...
Timber Farms in Florida, Georgia Suffering After Hurricane Michael
Jan 2 2019 // Strewn in gnarled piles from Florida’s Gulf Coast up through South Georgia, the livelihood of timber farmers is on the ground. And, after the ravaging buzz saw of Hurricane Michael in early October, it will be a...
Florida Regulator Calls on Insurers to Handle Hurricane Michael Claims
Dec 31 2018 // Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier is urging Florida insurers to close the more than 42,000 Hurricane Michael claims that remain open nearly three months after the storm. In a Dec. 19 memorandum to all property...
Insurance Journal Southeast’s Top Stories for 2018: Fraud, Hurricanes, Data Security Law
Dec 31 2018 // It was a busy year in the Southeast with two major hurricanes that wreaked havoc on the region, an escalating insurance crisis in Florida, and a new industry-specific cybersecurity law in South Carolina that takes effect...
Florida County Wants Hurricane Michael Named Category 5 Storm
Dec 28 2018 // Some officials in one Florida Panhandle county are pushing for Hurricane Michael to be labelled a Category 5 storm. The News-Herald reports that some in Bay County – which was hit hard by the fierce October storm...
McCarty Elected Chair of FAIR Board; Hartford Exec Larkin-Thorne to Co-Chair
Dec 28 2018 // The Florida Association for Insurance Reform (FAIR), a non-partisan insurance consumer advocacy association, has elected former Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty as the chair of its Board of Directors and Sonja...
70 Mobile Homes Damaged by Mid-December Tornadoes in Central Florida
Dec 27 2018 // A tornado damaged more than 70 homes in a mobile home park and a 90-year-old woman was taken to a hospital after a roof fell on her head after a day of wild weather in central Florida Dec. 20. Officials in Pasco County,...
Florida Man Gets 8 Years for Hurricane Irma Fraud
Dec 21 2018 // A Florida man has been sentenced to eight years in prison for taking advantage of people who suffered property damage last year during Hurricane Irma. Collier County prosecutors says 44-year-old Daniel Lawrence Ohleyer was...
Florida Panhandle City Borrows $50M for Hurricane Cleanup
Dec 20 2018 // Officials in Florida’s Panhandle have agreed to take out a $50 million loan to help pay for Hurricane Michael-related bills until federal reimbursements are received. The Panama City Commission approved the measure...
