Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Appeals Court Rules Florida Dairy OK to Label Skim Milk as ‘Skim Milk’
Mar 24 2017 // A small, all-natural dairy isn’t being deceptive when it calls its skim milk “skim milk,” a federal appeals court has ruled – a victory for a Florida creamery that fought the state’s demand to...
Florida Man Arrested for Setting Car on Fire to Collect Insurance Payout
Mar 23 2017 // A resident in Orange County, Florida, is alleged to have committed an insurance scheme that included having his car stolen and destroyed to collect an insurance payout. Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced the...
Disney to Pay $3.8M in Back Wages to Florida Workers
Mar 21 2017 // The Walt Disney Co. has agreed to pay $3.8 million in back wages to Florida workers for violating minimum wage and overtime rules as part of an agreement with the U.S. Department of Labor. The federal agency said Friday...
Florida Property Insurers Largely Avoid Downgrades, For Now: Demotech
Mar 17 2017 // Ratings company Demotech is holding off on issuing large-scale ratings downgrades of Florida property insurers for now, after a number of insurers heeded its warning of last month about the effects of assignment of...
Lighthouse Property President White Acquires Equity Stake in Prepared Holdings
Mar 17 2017 // Current Chairman and President of Lighthouse Property Insurance Corp., Patrick L. White, has acquired an 89 percent ownership stake in Prepared Holdings, LLC and its wholly-owned subsidiaries including Prepared Insurance...
Florida Resident Sues Mining Company Over Contaminated Land Under Homes
Mar 16 2017 // A central Florida man is suing a mining company that he says built homes over former phosphate mines and didn’t warn homeowners about health hazards. Lakeland homeowner John Jerue filed the lawsuit last week against...
Florida Insurance Agency Employee Accused of Stealing $1M From Employer
Mar 15 2017 // A Florida insurance agency employee was arrested following an alleged scheme that officials claim bilked her Ft. Lauderdale-based employer out of more than $1 million, according to a statement from Chief Financial Officer...
Keenan & Associates Enters Agreement with Florida-Based AssuredPartners
Mar 10 2017 // Keenan & Associates, a Torrance, Calif.-based insurance consulting and brokerage firm, has entered into an agreement to join Lake Mary, Fla.-based brokerage AssuredPartners Inc. Following the agreement, Keenan’s...
RPA Insurance Services Hires Two to New Florida Office
Mar 9 2017 // RPA Insurance Services, a Parsippany, N.J.-based insurance agency focused on providing business insurance products and services to specialized market segments throughout the U.S., has hired Rick and Jennifer Gross to the...
Florida’s New ‘Hurricane Hunter’ Base on Schedule for Storm Season
Mar 9 2017 // Officials say they’re on schedule to open the new home base for the U.S. government’s “hurricane hunter” aircraft before the Atlantic hurricane season begins. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric...
Florida’s Avatar Partners Agrees to Acquire Elements Property Insurance Holdings
Mar 7 2017 // Avatar Partners LP, the parent company of Tampa, Fla.-based Avatar Property & Casualty Insurance Company (Avatar), has agreed to acquire Tallahassee, Fla.-based Elements Property Insurance Holdings LLC and its...
Florida Officer, Chief Charged Over Citizens Academy Fatality
Mar 7 2017 // Prosecutors in southwest Florida have filed charges against an officer who accidentally shot a woman to death during a citizens academy “shoot/don’t shoot” exercise, as well as the officer’s...
People
Mar 6 2017 // Bruce Carnegie-Brown will become the chairman of Lloyd’s following a meeting of the Council of Lloyd’s where his appointment as successor to John Nelson was approved unanimously. His appointment also was...
Florida Launches Online Workers’ Comp Insurer Database for Employers
Mar 6 2017 // The Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation has formed an online insurance company database to assist Florida business owners with obtaining workers’ compensation coverage. According to a statement from the...
Florida CFO Atwater to Step Down After 2017 Legislative Session
Mar 6 2017 // In a move sure to shake up Florida’s political landscape, Jeff Atwater, the state’s chief financial officer, resigned Feb. 10 to take a job at Florida Atlantic University. Atwater, a Republican from Palm Beach...
Heat is on Florida Lawmakers to Tackle Assignment of Benefits Abuse
Mar 6 2017 // Florida’s insurance industry will apply significant pressure on lawmakers to pass assignments of benefit (AOB) reform in the upcoming legislative session as consumers face rate increases and a looming coverage...
2017 Florida Insurance Legislation to Watch
Mar 3 2017 // The Florida insurance market has been a hotbed of controversy over the last year, and many are looking at the Florida State Legislature to alleviate some of the concerns coming from consumers, businesses and the industry...
Baldwin Risk Partners Partners with Affordable Home Insurance of Florida
Mar 2 2017 // Baldwin Risk Partners (BRP), a Tampa, Fla.-based insurance distribution holding company, has partenred with Affordable Home Insurance Inc. (AHI) a Miramar Beach, Fla.-based insurance agency. AHI offers insurance products...
Commentary: Challenge to NCCI Rating Process Could be Significant for Florida
Mar 2 2017 // A Florida court’s review of workers’ compensation rating procedures by the National Council of Compensation Insurance (NCCI) could have a substantial impact on the State. The case, Fee v. Florida Office of...
Florida Starts Issuing Medical Marijuana ID Cards
Mar 1 2017 // Florida health officials who oversee the medical marijuana program have started processing identification card applications for patients and caregivers. The cards, which are issued through the Office of Compassionate Use,...
