Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Court Allows Californian’s Suit Against Miami Firms Tied to Mexican Resorts
Jun 24 2013 // A divided Florida Supreme Court is letting a lawsuit go ahead against a company that runs a resort in Mexico. The court ruled last Thursday that Shahla Cortez can proceed with her lawsuit against three Miami companies...
Rate Hikes on Agenda for Florida’s Citizens Insurance
Jun 24 2013 // Florida’s largest property insurer, already under fire for everything from recent business deals to how much it pays its executives, is readying another round of rate hikes for homeowners. The board of Citizens...
Florida Now Among States Allowing Electronic Proof of Insurance for Drivers
Jun 20 2013 // Florida recently joined a growing list of states that allow electronic proof of insurance via smartphones for motorists at traffic stops. Among Southeastern states, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Kentucky now...
Florida Taxpayers Owe Binnun a Debt of Gratitude
Jun 19 2013 // Florida’s state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. announced earlier this week that Chief Financial Officer Sharron Binnun has resigned to take a job in the private sector. Her departure from Citizens is...
Florida Gov. Scott, CFO Atwater Were Told About Heritage Deal with Citizens
Jun 17 2013 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott — and other top state officials — quickly distanced themselves last month from a controversial deal approved by Citizens Property Insurance Corp. to shift thousands of homeowner policies to a...
Homeowners Struggle with Rising Insurance Costs
Jun 17 2013 // When Stan Virden moved into his 2,400-square-foot house overlooking a rock-lined canal in 1996, he paid less than $1,000 a year for homeowners insurance. Now, as he seeks to move to Atlanta to be near family, Virden says...
Insured Property Values in Coastal States Top $10 Trillion; Florida Has Most at Risk; Miami Ranks 2nd Among Metros
Jun 17 2013 // In separate reports AIR Worldwide and CoreLogic estimated insured property values in coastal areas of the United States reaching into the trillions of dollars. CoreLogic, focusing on residential properties exposed to storm...
Southeast States Battle Prescription Drug Abuse
Jun 17 2013 // Deaths from prescription drug overdoses jumped 360 percent in the last decade in the Appalachian region, according to the Center for Clinical and Translation Science. As a result of this epidemic, states in the Southeast...
Republican Hill, Insurance Agent, Wins Florida House Seat
Jun 13 2013 // Republican Mike Hill has defeated Democrat Jeremy Lau for the vacant state House District 2 seat. The Miami Herald reported that Hill carried about 58 percent of the vote in the Northwest Florida district, which includes...
Fired Florida State Trooper Deserves Job Back: Hearing Officer
Jun 12 2013 // A state hearing officer is recommending that a fired Florida Highway Patrol trooper be given his job back. The recommended order states that Trooper Charles Swindle should have been suspended without pay instead of losing...
Walgreen Agrees to Record $80M Settlement Over Distribution of Painkillers
Jun 12 2013 // Walgreen Co., the largest U.S. drugstore chain, has agreed to pay $80 million in civil penalties to resolve allegations that it violated federal rules governing the distribution of prescription painkillers. The U.S. Drug...
Tropical Storm Andrea Weakens Over Florida After Fueling Tornadoes
Jun 6 2013 // Tropical Storm Andrea lost strength as it passed over northern Florida on Thursday evening and is forecast to drench much of the U.S. Southeast with heavy rain as it cuts across Georgia and swing up the Atlantic Coast, the...
Groups Warn N.Y. Assembly’s Insurance Reform Bills Have Potential to Backfire
Jun 6 2013 // Industry groups are warning that the New York State Assembly’s recent approval of the post-Sandy insurance reform package has the potential to backfire and are urging the state Senate not to take up this...
Florida Governor Vetoes Immigrant Driver License Bill
Jun 6 2013 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott is vetoing a bill that would have allowed some young immigrants who are living in the U.S. illegally to apply for a temporary driver’s license in the state. The Republican-controlled...
Tropical Storm Andrea Hits Florida; Warnings Posted for Eastern U.S.
Jun 6 2013 // Tropical Storm Andrea pelted Florida’s northern Gulf Coast on Thursday and was forecast to drench much of the U.S. Southeast as it cuts across Georgia and up the Atlantic coast, the National Hurricane Center...
As Hurricane Season Opens, Florida’s Citizens Touts Depopulation Deals
Jun 4 2013 // Officials at Florida’s property insurer of last resort say that it is entering the 2013 hurricane season in improved financial condition thanks in part to various private insurer policy takeouts. Those takeouts have...
Coastal Homeowners Upset with Insurers, Regulators Over Surge in Insurance Costs
Jun 4 2013 // When Stan Virden moved into his 2,400-square-foot house overlooking a rock-lined canal in 1996, he paid less than $1,000 a year for homeowners insurance. Now, as he seeks to move to Atlanta to be near family, Virden says...
Fired Florida Trooper Says Speeding Lawmakers Get Break
Jun 4 2013 // A fired state trooper, as well as some current and former troopers, testified last week that the Florida Highway Patrol had an informal policy of giving breaks to legislators caught speeding. The highway patrol maintains...
Florida Gov. Scott Signs Bill Limiting State Review of Health Insurance Rates
Jun 4 2013 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott has signed a bill that removes the ability of state regulators to challenge health insurance rates for a two-year period. U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson had called for the bill to be vetoed, saying the...
East, Gulf Coast Insured Properties Top $10 Trillion: AIR
Jun 3 2013 // The estimated insured value of residential and commercial properties in just the coastal counties of the U.S. East and Gulf Coast states now exceeds $10 trillion. The estimated value of these properties in the coastal...
