Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Federal Government Sues Florida Ambulance Service over $28M in False Claims
Jun 18 2015 // The federal government is suing a Jacksonville ambulance service over alleged false billing and other schemes. The Florida Times-Union reports that the company is accused of submitting false claims to federally subsidized...
Florida Governor Signs State Insurance Licensing, Workforce Development Bill
Jun 18 2015 // The Florida Association of Insurance Agents (FAIA) is celebrating the passage of House Bill 1133, a bill it sponsored in cooperation with the Florida Department of Financial Services. Passed overwhelmingly by Florida...
Florida Man Crushed to Death in Compactor at Recycling Plant
Jun 17 2015 // Officials say a man was crushed to death inside a machine at a central Florida recycling plant. Winter Garden police Lt. Scott Allen says the man was sorting cardboard with a bailing machine Monday morning when he somehow...
Assurex Global Elects President of Florida-Based Celedinas Insurance to Board
Jun 17 2015 // Ray Celedinas President and CEO of nationwide broker Celedinas Insurance Group, Ray Celedinas, has been appointed to the Assurex Global Board of Directors. Assurex Global is a global privately held commercial insurance,...
Vertafore Acquires Florida-Based Agency Technology Provider QQ Solutions
Jun 16 2015 // Insurance software provider Vertafore, has acquired QQ Solutions, Inc., a provider of agency management systems and a comparative rater offering. The move expands Vertafore’s portfolio of agency management systems...
Florida Busts Major Workers’ Comp Fraud Scam Involving Multiple Shell Companies
Jun 16 2015 // Six Central Florida insurance fraud arrests that break down an elaborate Central Florida workers’ compensation insurance fraud scheme were made this week, according to an announcement by Florida Chief Financial...
Florida Commissioner McCarty Warns Against U.S. Adopting ‘Bank-Like’ Regulation for Insurance
Jun 15 2015 // Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty championed flexible state insurance regulation and warned against “one-size-fits-all” bank-like regulation for insurers in recent testimony before the U.S. Senate...
Florida High Court Rules that Sovereign Immunity Applies to University Athletic Program in Death of Football Player
Jun 15 2015 // A private corporation that runs the University of Central Florida’s athletic program won’t have to pay $10 million to the family of a football player who died during practice, the Florida Supreme Court ruled...
Effective Wildfire Prevention Hampered by Liability, Weather, Development
Jun 15 2015 // Forest managers would prefer to use prescribed burns every few years to help prevent costly wildfires and rebuild unhealthy ecosystems, but hurdles like staffing, budget, liability and new development hinder...
UPCIC Enters Penn. Homeowners Market
Jun 15 2015 // Universal Insurance Holdings Inc. in Florida announced on June 1 that the Pennsylvania Insurance Department has approved the homeowners insurance rates and forms of its wholly-owned subsidiary, Universal Property &...
Oklahoma, Texas Assessing Damage from Violent May Weather
Jun 15 2015 // Even though it meant the commencement of hurricane season, weather-beleaguered Texans are likely pleased that May 2015 has come and gone. Both Texas and Oklahoma were pelted during the month of May with all kinds of...
Florida Bail Bondsman Pleads Guilty to Selling 500 People’s Personal Info
Jun 12 2015 // A former Bartow, Fla., bail bondsman pleaded guilty to federal charges of selling the personal information of 500 people with the intent of stealing their income tax refunds. The Ledger of Lakeland reports 59-year-old...
Florida DMV Changes Drivers’ License Process to Prevent Sex Offender Error
Jun 10 2015 // The Florida agency that issues driver’s licenses has changed how clerks enter information into the computer system after two people were given licenses that wrongly labeled them sex offenders or predators. An agency...
Florida Vet, Wife Charged With Forging Pet Health Certificates
Jun 9 2015 // A Lakeland, Fla. veterinarian and his wife have been charged with forging pet health certificates to trick consumers into believing they were buying healthy animals. Dr. Christopher Carrier, owner of Care Animal Clinic in...
Price Declines Slow on June U.S. Reinsurance Renewals: Guy Carpenter
Jun 5 2015 // After two years of price decreases averaging 15 percent on U.S. property catastrophe placements, risk-adjusted pricing moderated at the most recent June renewals. Reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter & Co. reported that...
Florida Governor Vetoes Changes to Citizens Depopulation Program
Jun 4 2015 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott has vetoed legislation that would modify Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s depopulation program enacted to lower the state-created insurer of last resort’s policy count and reduce its...
Florida Division of Insurance Fraud Makes Arrests in Workers’ Comp Fraud Scam
Jun 3 2015 // The Florida Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud (DIF) has arrested Juan C. Garcia, owner of Construction Forever LLC, for his involvement in a workers’ compensation insurance fraud...
Florida Gun Owners Without Permits Get Exemption for Hurricanes
Jun 3 2015 // Florida gun owners who don’t have a concealed weapons permit can now take their firearms with them while fleeing a hurricane. Not that it’s been a big problem in Florida in the past. No one can cite an example...
Texas Pounded by Weather Extremes in May
Jun 2 2015 // Even though it means the commencement of hurricane season, weather-beleaguered Texans are likely pleased that May 2015 has come and gone. Texas was pelted during the month of May with all kinds of violent and deadly...
Lawyer for Defunct Nebraska Insurance Agency Fined $15K
Jun 2 2015 // A Nebraska judge has ordered a lawyer to pay $15,000 for filing frivolous motions in a long-running lawsuit dispute over a defunct insurance company’s assets. The case that dates back to 1998 is far from over because...
