Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Suit Filed in Florida Against Tesla Claims Autopilot Failed, Caused Crash
Nov 1 2018 // A Florida man says the autopilot feature of his Tesla vehicle failed to detect a disabled car on a highway, leading to a collision that left him with permanent injuries, according to a negligence lawsuit filed...
Florida Insured Losses from Hurricane Michael Top $2B, And Growing
Nov 1 2018 // Total estimated insured losses from Hurricane Michael have reached more than $2.1 billion, according to the most recent data from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. The current number of claims from Hurricane...
Weather, Wildfire Claims an Increasing Share of Home Insurance Losses
Oct 31 2018 // U.S homeowners insurers saw an increase in both the number of losses and the percentage of those losses that resulted from an extreme weather event during 2017. According to a LexisNexis Home Trends report, loss costs...
A.M. Best Upgrades Ratings of Workers’ Comp Insurers Retail First, BusinessFirst of Florida
Oct 31 2018 // A.M. Best has upgraded the financial strength ratings of two workers’ compensation insurers based in Florida. RetailFirst Insurance Co. and BusinessFirst Insurance Co. have received a financial strength ratings of A-...
Hurricane Michael Death Toll Now at 35 in Florida, 45 Total
Oct 30 2018 // Florida authorities have linked six more deaths to Hurricane Michael, raising the state’s death toll to 35. The storm’s overall death toll now stands at 45, with 10 deaths in other states. Florida Emergency...
Florida Fraud Strike Team Targets Unlicensed Contractors in Panhandle
Oct 30 2018 // Three contractors conducting business in Leon, Gadsden, and Gulf counties have been removed from the Panhandle by the Florida Department of Financial Services’ Disaster Fraud Action Strike Team for unlicensed...
Damage to Florida Crops from Hurricane Michael to Total $158M
Oct 29 2018 // A new study says Florida crops suffered $158 million in damages from Hurricane Michael. The report released Friday by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences says that almost all of the...
OSHA Fines Florida Farm Over Worker’s Death by Lightning
Oct 26 2018 // Officials say the farm that employed a Florida woman fatally struck by lightning has been cited for failing to protect workers. A U.S. Department of Labor news release says Occupational Health and Safety Administration...
Red Tide Plaguing Florida Beaches Spreads to Space Coast
Oct 26 2018 // A toxic algae bloom has reached Florida’s Space Coast. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said red tide had reached parts of Brevard County. The wildlife commission says red tide now spans from...
Survey: Florida Keys Population Fell by Nearly 3K After Hurricane Irma
Oct 25 2018 // An annual population survey in the Florida Keys shows how many people left the island chain after Hurricane Irma last year. The Bureau of Economic and Business Research at the University of Florida found that every Keys...
Florida Death Toll From Hurricane Michael Climbs to 29
Oct 24 2018 // Authorities in Florida say Hurricane Michael has killed at least 29 people in the state, bringing the overall death toll to 39. Florida Emergency Management Division spokesman Alberto Moscoso says the state toll stood at...
BRP Partners with Medicare Division of Trilogy Financial Group of Florida
Oct 24 2018 // Baldwin Risk Partners (BRP), a Tampa, Fla., based insurance distribution holding company, has completed the formation of its partnership with the Medicare Division of Trilogy Financial Group, a financial agency based in...
Parents of Florida College Student Killed by Garbage Truck Awarded $25M
Oct 23 2018 // Jurors have awarded $25 million to the parents of a University of Florida student who was run over and killed by a garbage truck near campus. The Gainesville Sun reports that an Alachua County jury awarded $12.5 million...
Power Outages Still Plague Florida Panhandle Nearly 2 Weeks After Michael
Oct 22 2018 // It’s the greatest need after a hurricane and sometimes the hardest one to fulfill: Electricity. Almost two weeks after Hurricane Michael smashed into the Florida Panhandle on a path of destruction that led all the...
Timber Industry Suffers $1.3B in Losses from Hurricane Michael
Oct 22 2018 // Trees brought down by Hurricane Michael’s ferocious winds took a heavy toll on life, property and the timber industry in the heavily forested Florida Panhandle, where $1.3 billion in timber was lost, authorities said...
Insurance Office of America Hires Lane in Florida, Expands in Brevard County
Oct 22 2018 // Insurance Office of America (IOA) has hired industry veteran Phillip Lane to its team as it adds locations in Brevard County, Fla. Lane joins the team as a risk management consultant. Prior to joining IOA, Lane was a...
Florida Residents Hit by Michael Return to Face Damage as Death Toll Climbs
Oct 19 2018 // More than a week after Hurricane Michael slammed into the Florida Panhandle, authorities are reporting three more deaths from the Category 4 storm as residents returning to their homes try to piece together their lives...
JBA Risk Management Releases High-Resolution Flood Maps for Florida
Oct 19 2018 // Flood specialist JBA Risk Management has rolled out its high-resolution flood maps and associated pricing data for the continental United States starting with the State of Florida. These new maps are designed to enable...
Regulators, Industry Seek to Keep Florida AOB Abuse In Check After Michael
Oct 18 2018 // Haley Nelson inspects damages to her family properties in the Panama City, Fla., spring field area after Hurricane Michael made landfall in Florida’s Panhandle on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018. (Pedro Portal/Miami Herald...
A Drive Through the Panhandle After Michael
Oct 17 2018 // You know that Hurricane Michael came through the Florida panhandle as a powerful Category 4 storm. In fact, when it made landfall, it was just 2 mph from being considered a Category 5 storm. It is the most powerful...
