Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Police Chief Fired Over Fatal Accidental Shooting at Citizens Academy
Sep 6 2017 // A Florida police chief has been fired just more than a year after one of his officers accidentally shot and killed a woman during a citizens academy exercise. Punta Gorda City Manager Howard Kunik announced Tom...
Florida Insurers’ Shares Tumble as Irma Threatens
Sep 6 2017 // Shares of Florida home insurers, including Heritage Insurance Holdings, tumbled on Tuesday and many extended losses later in the day as Hurricane Irma appeared set to hit Florida on Saturday, causing investors to brace for...
Powerful Hurricane Irma, on Path to Slam Caribbean Then Florida, Could Surpass Katrina
Sep 5 2017 // Hurricane Irma, the most powerful storm to form in the open Atlantic Ocean, made landfall in the Caribbean early Wednesday and barreled toward Puerto Rico on a path that may bring it ashore in Florida and destroy so much...
Florida in State of Emergency as Category 5 Hurricane Irma Threatens
Sep 5 2017 // Florida declared a state of emergency before a possible hurricane strike after Irma strengthened to become a Category 5 storm on its approach to the Caribbean. Irma’s maximum winds rose as high as 175 miles an hour...
Florida Apartment Fire Caused by Lightning Strike Displaces 38 People
Sep 5 2017 // A lightning strike set a Florida apartment building on fire, forcing 38 people to evacuate. Fire officials said the fire started Friday in Tampa and left 24 apartment units without electricity. Hillsborough County Fire and...
Levine Tapped as SVP of Underwriting for SUNZ Insurance in Florida
Sep 5 2017 // SUNZ Insurance Company, a large deductible workers’ compensation carrier based in Florida, has appointed Gene R. Levine to the position of senior vice president – underwriting. Levine will report directly to...
Southern U.S., Caribbean Islands Brace for Hurricane Irma
Sep 4 2017 // Hurricane Irma, barreling toward the Caribbean and the southern United States, was upgraded to a powerful Category 4 storm on Monday as islands in its path braced for a possible onslaught. Hurricane advisories were issued...
Florida Domestic Insurer Sawgrass Mutual to ‘Wind Down’ Operations
Sep 4 2017 // Just after being downgraded by ratings agency Demotech, Florida-based insurer Sawgrass Mutual Insurance Company revealed it was placed under administrative supervision by the Florida Office of Insurance...
25 Years Later: How Florida’s Insurance Industry Has Changed Since Hurricane Andrew
Sep 4 2017 // Aug. 24, 1992 was anything but a typical Monday for Robert Reynolds as he drove through debris-filled roads and devastation on the way to his family-run agency then located just north of Homestead, Fla. Hurricane Andrew...
Florida Workers’ Comp Premiums Going Down? NCCI Files for 9.6% Decrease
Aug 31 2017 // Just under a year since Florida workers’ compensation rates shot up by 14.5 percent, Florida businesses may get some relief in their workers’ comp premiums. The National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI)...
Second Florida Highway Patrol Official Resigns Over Ticket Quota Uproar
Aug 31 2017 // Florida is confronting an uproar over whether the state’s highway patrol is requiring troopers to meet ticket quotas for drivers, including millions of tourists each year who crowd its interstate highways. Top state...
Tornado in Florida Causes Damage to Several Buildings
Aug 29 2017 // A tornado damaged buildings and cars and toppled trees in Florida but no one was hurt. The Bradenton Herald reports that the tornado struck Saturday night in Manatee County with winds of 70 mph (112 kph). The newspaper...
25 Years Later…What If an Andrew-Type Storm Hit Florida Today?
Aug 28 2017 // Though Florida hasn’t suffered a category 5 storm since Hurricane Andrew hit the north Miami area on Aug. 24 1992, the risk of such a storm has not gone away or even declined. In fact, the state’s risk of...
Suspect in Florida Auto Theft Arrested After Stopping to Watch Eclipse
Aug 25 2017 // Authorities in Florida say an auto theft suspect who wanted to watch the moon blot out the sun instead has a blot on his record. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said on its Facebook page that Jocsan Rosado was...
25 Years Later: How Florida’s Insurance Industry Has Changed Since Hurricane Andrew
Aug 24 2017 // Aug. 24, 1992 was anything but a typical Monday for Robert Reynolds as he drove through debris-filled roads and devastation on the way to his family-run agency then located just north of Homestead, Fla. Hurricane Andrew...
Florida Domestic Insurer Sawgrass Mutual to ‘Wind Down’ Operations
Aug 23 2017 // Just a day after being downgraded by ratings agency Demotech, Florida-based insurer Sawgrass Mutual Insurance Company has revealed it is under administrative supervision by the Florida Office of Insurance...
Miami Insurance Agent Arrested Over Assisted Living Facility Fraud Scheme
Aug 22 2017 // An investigation led by the Florida Department of Financial Services (DFS) Bureau of Insurance Fraud has led to the arrest of a Miami insurance agent for attempting to evade a higher insurance premium for his assisted...
Swiss Re: Miami Is More Vulnerable to Hurricanes Like Andrew
Aug 21 2017 // Almost 25 years have passed since a Category 5 hurricane struck south of Miami, and the city’s vulnerability to catastrophic storm damage has grown exponentially, according to a new insurance underwriters’...
Florida Official Pushes Back On Reports of Highway Patrol Ticket Quotas
Aug 18 2017 // The head of the Florida agency that oversees state’s highway patrol insists troopers don’t have ticket quotas. Terry Rhodes on Tuesday told Gov. Rick Scott and members of the state Cabinet that her agency is...
Florida Police: Tiger Woods Had Marijuana, Painkillers in System When Arrested for DUI
Aug 17 2017 // Tiger Woods had the active ingredient for marijuana, two painkillers and two sleep drugs in his system when he was arrested on a DUI charge earlier this year, a report released Tuesday by police said. Police in Jupiter,...
