Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Mississippi Withdrawing Lawsuit Over Flood Insurance Rates
Apr 17 2014 // Mississippi’s insurance regulator is withdrawing his lawsuit against the federal government after Congress voted to delay changes to the federal flood insurance program. Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney...
Florida Legislators Look to Expand, Regulate Telemedicine
Apr 11 2014 // The calls may come in the middle of the night and from hospitals more than an hour away. Someone is having a stroke and is en route an emergency room in the Florida Keys, but there aren’t any neurologists on...
Security First to Offer Ironshore’s Primary Flood for High-Value Properties in Florida
Apr 9 2014 // Security First Managers, LLC, a Florida-based managing general agent for high value homeowners programs, is expanding the flood coverage it offers utilizing Ironshore insurance capacity. Security First Managers can now...
Carriers Being Selective with Florida’s Citizens Clearinghouse Agency Appointments
Apr 9 2014 // Florida’s state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. says the initial opening of its new web-based clearinghouse designed to make it easier for private insurers to write its policies has been promising, although...
Florida Lawmakers Eye Regulations for Unlicensed Health Clinics
Apr 8 2014 // There is one simple way for a Florida medical clinic to avoid being licensed and undergoing an annual inspection: Don’t accept insurance. A bill moving through the Legislature would close that loophole for so-called...
Anticipating Hurricane Season, Florida Insurer Cancels Policyholders
Apr 7 2014 // A Florida insurer has decided to lessen its exposure in south Florida, cancelling thousands of policyholders in anticipation of the June 1 opening of hurricane season. People’s Trust Insurance Co. reported that it is...
Top 10 States and Cities for Job Growth
Apr 7 2014 // North Dakota, California, Texas and Florida did well in job growth in 2013 while Arkansas and Pennsylvania lagged and West Virginia was the only state to lose jobs. Overall, 12 states showed job growth of at least two...
Florida Senate Passes Parasailing Insurance Bill
Apr 7 2014 // Parasailing in Florida moved closer to becoming a regulated industry lat week, with the Senate approving a bill that would place safety guidelines on companies. The legislation details insurance, equipment and license...
Florida Sees Drop in Auto No-Fault Questionable Claims
Apr 7 2014 // A national study found that Florida has seen its first decrease in questionable automobile claims since state lawmakers rewrote the no-fault law in 2012. The National Crime Insurance Bureau conducted the report that looked...
Florida House Panel Advances Bill Permitting Officials with Guns in Schools
Apr 3 2014 // A House committee has approved a bill that would allow trained officials to carry firearms in schools as a way to improve safety. The bill (HB 753) approved Wednesday is sponsored by Greg Steube, a Republican from...
Photographer Seeks Damages in Florida Suit Against Justin Bieber
Apr 2 2014 // A celebrity photographer sought to boost the potential damages he could win from Justin Bieber in a lawsuit that accuses the singer and a bodyguard of battery in a confrontation outside a recording studio. The...
Florida Lawyer Sentenced to 10 Years for Insurance Fraud
Apr 2 2014 // A South Florida attorney has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for his involvement in an $800 million death benefits insurance fraud scheme. U.S. District Judge Robert Scola imposed the sentence Tuesday on...
Florida Home Foreclosure Rate Falls But Still Triple National Average
Apr 1 2014 // The residential foreclosure rate in Florida, which has the highest percentage of delinquent mortgages in the U.S., declined to 6.2 percent in January, according to a report by CoreLogic Inc. That’s down from 10.1...
Florida Homeowners Insurance ‘Bill of Rights’ Slowed by Fraud Measure
Mar 31 2014 // Florida’s chief financial officer went to the Legislature this spring with a simple request: grant additional protections to customers dealing with property insurance companies. But the push by Jeff Atwater is in...
Florida Senate Passes Measure to Encourage Private Flood Insurance
Mar 28 2014 // The Florida Senate is backing a bill to entice private insurance companies to sell flood policies in the state that’s the most vulnerable to storm surge. The Senate this week unanimously passed the bill (SB 542)...
Legislative Battle Underway Over 2019 Florida High Court Picks
Mar 28 2014 // The future of the Florida Supreme Court is sparking a legislative battle over whether the state’s next governor — or the governor after that — will have a say in who will be on the court. Senate Republicans are...
Florida Lawmaker Targets Cash-Only Medical Clinics
Mar 26 2014 // Cash-only medical clinics are allowed to skirt the licensing and regulation most other clinics are subject to, a loophole that a Florida lawmaker contends allows some of them to dispense drugs illicitly. State Sen. Eleanor...
Florida Legislature Seeks to Entice Private Insurers to Sell Flood Policies
Mar 24 2014 // The Florida Legislature is moving forward on a plan to entice private insurance companies to sell flood policies in the state that’s the most vulnerable to storm surge. It’s not clear, though, that many private...
Biglari Holdings Acquires First Guard Insurance in Florida
Mar 24 2014 // Biglari Holdings in San Antonio, Texas, last week announced its acquisition of Venice, Florida-based First Guard Insurance Co. and its affiliate, 1st Guard Corp. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. First Guard...
Florida Medical Malpractice Caps Ruled Unconstitutional
Mar 24 2014 // The Florida Supreme Court ruled caps placed on how much money people can receive in cases where a doctor’s mistakes led to a patient’s death are declared unconstitutional. The lawsuit limits were part of a law...
