Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Ken Griffin Wants to Stop ‘Toxic Waste’ Casinos in South Florida
Feb 2 2024 // (Bloomberg) — Ken Griffin wants to exert more influence in Florida politics. One of his top priorities: stopping new casinos in his backyard. The state’s second-richest person is opposing a bill that would...
Florida High Court Says Appraisals Can Be Compelled Before Coverage Decided
Feb 2 2024 // The Florida Supreme Court has resolved a conflict between differing appeals court decisions, deciding that property insurers can be compelled to submit to the appraisal process long before causation, coverage and...
Disney Lawsuit Against DeSantis Dismissed by Federal Judge
Feb 1 2024 // (Bloomberg) — Walt Disney Co.’s lawsuit accusing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis of politically retaliating against the company was dismissed by a federal judge. US District Judge Allen Winsor in Tallahassee,...
Florida Bills Would Let Surplus Lines Do Takeouts and Require More Data Reporting
Jan 31 2024 // A key Florida Senate committee this week advanced a bill that would allow surplus lines carriers to take over coverage of second homes from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Reaction by agents and brokers was mixed. The...
Three in Miami Charged with Workers’ Comp Payroll Fraud
Jan 30 2024 // Three Miami-area construction labor suppliers have been charged with underreporting payroll and shorting their workers’ compensation insurers more than $220,000 in premiums. Juana Ledezma and Luis Ledezma, associated...
Family of Florida Woman Killed by Alligator Sues Housing Complex for Negligence
Jan 29 2024 // WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The family of a Florida woman killed by an alligator last year as she walked her dog in her backyard is suing the housing complex’s owner, alleging its employees fed the gator and...
Are Some Florida Workers’ Comp Judges Bending to the Political Winds on Fees?
Jan 29 2024 // Attorney fees in Florida workers’ compensation cases seem to be part of a story that will never end, and a state appeals court has added new life to the story with decisions that give support to both sides of the...
Small Plane Crash in Florida Everglades Kills 2
Jan 26 2024 // FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A small plane crashed in the Florida Everglades, killing the two people on board, authorities said. Their bodies were found Wednesday in the wreckage. The single-engine Cessna Skyhawk took...
Elderly Man Fatally Shoots Wife, Self at Florida Assisted Living Facility
Jan 25 2024 // ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — An elderly man fatally shot his wife and then himself at an assisted living facility in Florida, police said Tuesday. Staff at the Addington Place at College Harbor facility found the couple...
Disney Asks for Delay in Board’s Lawsuit Due to ‘Distracted District’
Jan 25 2024 // ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Disney this week requested a second delay in a state court case involving its legal battle with Gov. Ron DeSantis’ appointees over who controls Walt Disney World’s governing district, as...
Florida Condos Say They Can’t Get Coverage. House Bill Would Let Citizens Step In
Jan 24 2024 // When a Florida Senate committee last week approved a bill that would raise the policy limit on homes that can be written by the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp., state Sen. Doug Broxson said the change was...
Florida to Borrow Billions to Backstop Insurers After Hurricanes
Jan 23 2024 // The state corporation that oversees the Florida Cat Fund is planning to borrow as much as $3.8 billion to ensure the fund has plenty of money on hand to reimburse property insurers for losses when homes are damaged or...
Florida Senate Committee Adopts Litigation Funding Rules; Expands Wrongful Death
Jan 23 2024 // Litigation financing could soon become more transparent and less influential in Florida, but a 34-year-old restriction on who can file medical malpractice wrongful death claims would be expanded under bills approved Monday...
Are Florida Insurance Premiums Hurting the Real Estate Market? Sales Down, Prices Up
Jan 22 2024 // State and national news reports have raised questions about the impact that high property insurance premiums in Florida have had on the real estate market and if the costs are prompting some residents to consider moving...
Declarations
Jan 22 2024 // Auto Severity “Workplace patterns have changed post-pandemic with work-from-home arrangements, reducing the number of vehicles on the road. However, driver inattentiveness and riskier driving habits have become more...
Do Regulators, Insureds and Agents Understand How Reciprocal Carriers and Some New MGAs Work?
Jan 22 2024 // I recently read an article regarding how the U.S. Senate wants to investigate how well reserved Florida Citizens is because of their expressed concern that if a large hurricane destroys enough property insured by Florida...
Judge Slams Florida’s Universal P&C for ‘Stonewalling’ Court Orders, Demands Answers
Jan 22 2024 // Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co. officials have downplayed the significance of recent Florida judges’ rulings that have slammed the company for violating court orders, have forced Universal to default...
A Deep Dive into the Diligent Effort (Search) Requirement
Jan 22 2024 // The excess and surplus lines insurance market is a rapidly-growing avenue for the placement of insurance policies in the United States. Many alien (non-U.S.) insurance carriers write surplus lines insurance coverage via...
State Farm Owes $2.6M to Florida, Court Says in Reading of ‘Dense’ Tax Code
Jan 18 2024 // State Farm Insurance and its subsidiaries owe the state of Florida more than $2.6 million in back taxes and interest after a state appeals court ruled against the insurer on an interpretation of state and federal tax...
Fla. Senate Panel Votes to Raise Citizens’ Policy Cap to $1M, End Glidepath for Some
Jan 17 2024 // The Florida Senate’s Banking and Insurance Committee on Tuesday approved a bill that would make the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. more like an insurer of last resort, unrestricted by premium caps –...
