Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Patronis to Run for Florida CFO Position in 2018
Nov 7 2017 // Jimmy Patronis is asking voters to keep him in his current job as chief financial officer. Patronis officially filed paperwork on Nov. 1 to run for the Cabinet post in 2018. The 45-year-old Patronis was appointed in June...
Florida Construction Company Owner Arrested for $1M Workers’ Comp Scam
Nov 6 2017 // The owner of a Florida construction company has been arrested for allegedly obtaining a fraudulent workers’ compensation policy by underreporting the number of staff he employed, the company’s annual payroll...
Florida Jury Awards $45M to Parents of Med Student Killed in Crash
Nov 3 2017 // A jury has awarded the parents of a medical school student killed in a 2015 Florida crash $45 million in damages. Twenty-nine year old Raymond Astaphan was killed along Interstate 75 as he crossed paths with a flatbed...
Florida Orders Workers’ Comp Rate Decrease of 9.8%
Nov 2 2017 // Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier has ordered a statewide overall workers’ compensation rate decrease of 9.8 percent, a slightly higher decrease than the 9.6 percent decrease filed by the National Council...
Lorentz Joins Florida-Based Universal Insurance Services
Nov 2 2017 // Boca Raton, Fla.-based Universal Insurance Services LLC, a subsidiary of Vanbridge LLC, has added Jamie Lorentz to the firm as an analyst for Corporate and Institutional Insurance. Lorentz joins Universal from...
Florida Woman Has SUV Driven Into Lagoon For Insurance Money
Nov 1 2017 // Authorities say a Florida woman had her SUV driven into Grand Lagoon and then pretended the vehicle had been stolen. The News Herald of Panama City reported Saturday that 65-year-old Debra Jenkins was charged with...
Florida City Settles Wrongful Death Suit at Zombicon Festival for $40K
Nov 1 2017 // A Florida city has agreed to pay $40,000 to settle a wrongful death lawsuit for a mass-shooting at a Zombie-themed festival. The News-Press reports that the Fort Myers City Council passed the settlement for 20-year-old...
Paragon Insurance Holdings Adds Schmidt as Pest Control Program Underwriter in Florida
Nov 1 2017 // Paragon Insurance Holdings, LLC, a national multi-line specialty program manager, has added Justin Schmidt to the Paragon team as Program underwriter. He will be based in Orlando, Fla. According to Ron Ganiats, Paragon...
Investors in Litigation Financing Target Commercial Auto
Oct 31 2017 // Investor-funded litigation is not new but it is expanding its reach in commercial auto cases, according to experts in the field. Panelists at the 2017 Risk Management Summit in Las Vegas, Nev., addressed the growing trend...
Florida Hurricane Fund Irma Payouts Could Exceed $5B
Oct 30 2017 // Hurricane Irma’s damaging rampage through Florida may require the state fund that provides backing to private insurers to pay up to $5.1 billion in claims. Anne Bert, chief operating officer for the Florida Hurricane...
Court Sides with Florida Nursing Homes in Emergency Generator Battle With Gov
Oct 30 2017 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott’s push to force nursing homes to add generators in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma could be blocked after a judge ruled there was no pressing danger that justifies the order. Scott called for...
Florida Reports More Than $9 Million Recovered for Insurance Consumers in Q3
Oct 27 2017 // Assistance provided to Floridians by from Florida’s insurance consumer helpline led to the recovery of nearly $9.3 million in the third quarter of 2017, according to a statement from Florida’s Chief Financial...
Florida’s Hurricane Irma Recovery Tab Tops $650M
Oct 27 2017 // The tab for Hurricane Irma keeps rising, and Florida legislators are warning that it could require some tough budget choices for next year. Gov. Rick Scott’s budget director told a Senate panel on Wednesday that the...
U.S. Cities Ranked Most Vulnerable to Coastal Floods Due to Climate Change
Oct 26 2017 // This week is the anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, which developed in late October and moved over the East Coast starting on Oct. 29, 2012, causing more than $70 billion in damage and killing 280 people. To mark that...
Florida Insurance Agents Recount Hurricane Irma’s Personal Impact
Oct 26 2017 // It’s been just over a month since Hurricane Irma hit Florida, and it won’t be forgotten in Florida by anyone anytime soon, especially not by those in the insurance industry. The powerful storm made landfall...
Senate Joins House in Passing $36.5B Disaster Aid with Flood Insurance Funds
Oct 25 2017 // The Senate sent President Donald Trump a $36.5 billion hurricane relief bill Tuesday that gives Puerto Rico access to $4.9 billion in low-interest Treasury loans, amid concerns that recovery efforts from the recent...
Florida CFO Voices Concerns to FEMA Over Policy Management Vendor Transition
Oct 25 2017 // Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis is urging the Federal Emergency Management Agency to reconsider an upcoming vendor transition that he says could delay the processing of federal flood claims in...
Senate Expected to Pass $36.5B Disaster Aid Bill Including Flood Insurance Funds
Oct 24 2017 // The Senate is pushing ahead on a $36.5 billion hurricane relief package that would give Puerto Rico a much-needed infusion of cash. The measure also would replenish rapidly dwindling emergency disaster accounts and provide...
Unlicensed Contractor Arrested by Florida Disaster Fraud Strike Team
Oct 24 2017 // An unlicensed contractor from Fort Myers, Fla., has been arrested after he was found to be conducting subpar roof repairs and operating without insurance in the wake of Hurricane Irma. Chief Financial Officer Jimmy...
Court Sides with Florida Gov in Battle Over Nursing Home Generators
Oct 23 2017 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott has won the first round in a legal tug-of-war over his mandate that nursing homes and assisted living facilities install generators. The 1st District Court of Appeal on Thursday rejected a legal...
