Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
7 Florida Homes Struck by Lightning During Severe Thunderstorm
Jul 31 2017 // Lightning struck seven homes in Florida, causing extensive damage to at least two of them during a severe thunderstorm. Niceville Fire Chief Tommy Mayville tells the News Herald firefighters were kept busy Thursday night...
Police Video: Florida Officer Told Venus Williams She Caused Fatal Crash
Jul 31 2017 // A police officer told tennis star Venus Williams she likely caused a crash in Florida that fatally injured an elderly man last month but didn’t cite her, saying it appeared the actions of a third driver left her in a...
Florida CFO: Consumer Helpline Recovered $16.6M During First Half of 2017
Jul 28 2017 // Assistance provided by insurance experts working Florida’s Insurance Consumer Helpline led to the recovery of more than $16.6 million during the first half of 2017, according to a statement by Chief Financial Officer...
U.S. Risk Acquires Strategic Insurance Underwriters of Florida
Jul 28 2017 // U.S. Risk Insurance Group, LLC, a property and casualty wholesaler, has acquired Strategic Insurance Underwriters, a specialist trucking MGA and broker headquartered in Sarasota, Fla. Strategic Insurance Underwriters has a...
Private Insurers Cautiously Dip Toes Into Florida Flood Market Waters
Jul 27 2017 // Florida’s efforts in establishing a private flood insurance market have been hailed as a model by many other states looking to buff up their flood insurance offerings, as well as the National Flood Insurance Program...
Surplus Lines Insurance Premium Up Nationwide
Jul 26 2017 // A mid-year compilation of excess and surplus (E&S) insurance premium amounts by the Surplus Lines Stamping Office of Texas (SLTX) shows a 6.6 percent increase in premium nationally compared with the same period last...
Scientists: Sea Level Rise Accelerating Along Florida Coast
Jul 26 2017 // Clay Henderson has lived on the same block along the Indian River in New Smyrna Beach for 34 years. Living in a storm-prone state like Florida, you expect to see a river top its bank on occasion, but only in the past two...
XS Brokers Expands Into Southeast; Hires Ault to Lead New Florida Office
Jul 25 2017 // XS Brokers, an independent insurance brokerage in New England, has expanded the company into the Southeast, opening a new office in Orlando and hiring Lori Ault as executive vice president and territorial manager. The firm...
5th Person Dies From Injuries Caused by Florida Power Plant Accident
Jul 24 2017 // An accident at a Florida power plant last month has claimed a fifth life. BRACE Industrial Group said its employee, 56-year-old Armando Perez, died Thursday of injuries he sustained in the June 29 accident at the Tampa...
Report: The Southeast’s Storm Surge Risk and Florida’s Hurricane Wake-Up Call
Jul 24 2017 // The Southeast has seen its fair share of natural disasters and flooding in the last several years, including two hurricanes in Florida last year – the first hurricanes to hit the state in more than a decade. But none...
Arkansas Welcomes New Private Flood Insurer
Jul 24 2017 // Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr has granted a Certificate of Authority to Florida-based Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company (HCPC) to offer private flood insurance in...
Study: Reforms Targeting Physician-Dispensed Drugs Have Mixed Results
Jul 24 2017 // A new study has found that state reforms to control the costs of prescription drugs by targeting reimbursements for physicians dispensing them are having some effect but that physician-dispensing still accounts for a large...
Milliman: Florida, Louisiana and Texas Would Benefit from Private Flood Insurance
Jul 24 2017 // The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) expires on Sept. 30 and Congress is currently considering legislation to reauthorize and reform the government-backed program through which the majority of U.S. property owners...
Additional Homes at Risk as Florida Sinkhole Widens
Jul 21 2017 // Florida sinkhole that swallowed two homes last week isn’t getting any deeper, but it’s getting wider, officials said Wednesday –and one resident who’s back home after being evacuated is vowing to stay...
O.J. Simpson Faces $58 Million Wrongful Death Damages After Release from Jail
Jul 21 2017 // O.J. Simpson will walk out of prison in October after nine years behind bars, but he is far from free of his financial woes. The 70-year-old football star, who won his release from a Nevada parole board on Thursday after...
Cleanup Begins for Florida Neighborhood Hit by Sinkhole
Jul 19 2017 // In this aerial photo, debris is strewn about after a sinkhole damaged two homes in Land O’ Lakes, Fla. on Friday, July 14, 2017. A sinkhole that started out the size of a small swimming pool and continued to grow has...
Florida Insurers Place All Options on Table to Address AOB Abuse
Jul 19 2017 // Florida’s home insurers hope the public doesn’t blame them as they implement rate increases, initiate coverage changes and nonrenew policies. They say they have no choice after the Florida Legislature for the...
Sinkhole Swallows 2 Houses in Florida
Jul 17 2017 // In this aerial photo, debris is strewn about after a sinkhole damaged two homes in Land O’ Lakes, Fla. on Friday, July 14, 2017. The sinkhole started out the size of a small swimming pool and continued to grow,...
Florida County Bans Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Through 2017
Jul 14 2017 // Medicinal marijuana dispensaries will be banned from Collier County, Florida, until at least the end of the year. Commissioners voted 4-1 on Tuesday to keep the dispensaries from opening in Collier until Dec. 31 to give...
Florida-Based Centauri Insurance Hires Gaul as Assistant VP of Claims
Jul 14 2017 // Centauri Insurance has hired Cindy Gaul as assistant vice president of Claims. Gaul will be responsible for contributing to the company’s focus on customer service orientation, accuracy, innovation and oversight in...
