Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Bar Charges ‘Mobile Claim Center’ Deceived Hurricane Victims
Nov 21 2022 // The Florida Bar is seeking sanctions against a partner with a prominent New Orleans area law firm, alleging that she used deceptive tactics to solicit clients after Hurricane Ian. The bar on Thursday filed a petition with...
Florida Judge Dismisses NFL Kicker Josh Lambo’s Lawsuit Against Jaguars, For Now
Nov 18 2022 // A judge has dismissed NFL kicker Josh Lambo’s lawsuit against the Jacksonville Jaguars in which Lambo sought back pay and damages for emotional distress caused by former head coach Urban Meyer. Judge Gilbert Feltel...
Florida Appeals Court Upholds Dismissal of 16 Auto-Glass AOB Suits vs. Progressive
Nov 18 2022 // A Florida appeals court has upheld the dismissal of no fewer than 16 auto glass assignment-of-benefits lawsuits against Progressive Insurance companies, perhaps putting an exclamation point on the enforceability of...
Florida Citizens Expects 5,000 claims and $63 Million in Losses from Nicole
Nov 17 2022 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has released its first estimate on losses from Hurricane Nicole, a category 1 storm that hit Florida’s east coast Nov. 10. Modeled losses plus loss adjustment expenses – but not...
One County in Florida Took the Brunt of Hurricane Nicole with $522M in Damage
Nov 16 2022 // Damages are estimated at more than $522 million in a central Florida coastal county where homes collapsed into the Atlantic Ocean following Hurricane Nicole last week. The damages from the category 1 storm in Volusia...
Directors of Florida’s Largest Homeowners Association Charged with Millions in Theft
Nov 16 2022 // Current and former Board members at Florida’s largest homeowners’ association were arrested Tuesday, charged with taking millions of dollars from the association over several years. It’s the latest...
Florida Citizens Revises Ian Loss Estimate to $3.8B, Including Litigation Expenses
Nov 15 2022 // Direct losses, litigation and other expenses from Hurricane Ian will reach $3.8 billion for Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp., but that’s still below the threshold that would trigger an assessment on...
Nicole’s Insured Losses Less Than $1B, but Some Florida Homes Washed Into the Sea
Nov 14 2022 // Insured losses from Hurricane Nicole, a category 1 storm that came ashore on Florida’s east coast last week, will be no more than $750 million, a fraction of the level of losses caused by Hurricane Ian six weeks...
Tropical Storm Nicole Weakened Over Florida But Emergency Orders Remained in Effect
Nov 10 2022 // Tropical Storm Nicole was over west central Florida to the northeast of Tampa at 10 a.m., having weakened from being a Category 1 hurricane when it made landfall earlier in the morning on the coast. Nicole’s maximum...
Rare but Not Unprecedented: Nicole Threatens Florida as a November Hurricane
Nov 9 2022 // With just over three weeks to go until the official end of the 2022 North Atlantic Hurricane season, Subtropical Storm Nicole – the fourteenth named storm of the year, could be a rarely seen event – a hurricane in...
Florida Approves 8.4% Decrease in Workers’ Comp Rates Without Asking for More
Nov 8 2022 // The Florida insurance commissioner has approved a decrease in overall workers’ compensation rates for 2023, and he did not demand a sharper decrease from actuaries. The National Council on Compensation Insurance in...
Florida Insurance Agent Charged with Absconding with $41,000 in Premiums
Nov 8 2022 // When a big property owner in Naples, Florida, recently tried to refinance some loans, the owner was surprised to discover that 31 properties had no insurance – despite having paid thousands of dollars in premiums. Late...
Ahem, Florida Lawmakers: State Insurance Market Badly Needs an Oil Change
Nov 7 2022 // As the Florida Legislature prepares for its 2nd Special Session on property insurance in 2022, it’s time we examine why our market sputtered out of control and discuss the necessary solutions to fix it. Many...
Florida Workers’ Comp Agency Sets Workshop for Rules on Exempt Officers
Nov 7 2022 // The Florida Division of Workers Compensation will hold a workshop Nov. 16 on proposed changes to rules that govern when and how corporate officers can exempt themselves from workers’ compensation coverage. Current...
Hurricane Ian Wrecked Man-Made Reefs, Brings Algae Bloom to Florida
Nov 4 2022 // Hurricane Ian not only ravaged southwest Florida on land but was destructive underwater as well. It destroyed man-made reefs and brought along red tide, the harmful algae blooms that kill fish and birds, according to...
As Special Session Nears, Florida Chamber Urges More Property Insurance Reforms
Nov 2 2022 // Florida is in the midst of a swirling storm with a property insurance market that has been described as in free fall. In late August, we marked the 30th anniversary of Category 5 Hurricane Andrew making landfall in South...
Exclusion Wording Not Clear, Florida Appeals Court Says in Air Quality Case
Nov 1 2022 // Despite repeated references to “water damage,” the ambiguous wording of a policy exclusion by Southern-Owners Insurance Co. does not necessarily bar those types of claims, a Florida appeals court found in a...
Lawyer Who Fought Florida Helmet Laws Died in Crash Without Helmet
Oct 31 2022 // In the late 1990s, when Florida bikers were still required to wear helmets, Pinellas lawyer Ron Smith was an aggressive advocate for overturning the law. Smith was a member of ABATE — A Brotherhood Against...
Florida Cat Fund May Borrow Billions Next Year, Even Without Another Storm
Oct 28 2022 // The Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund is well equipped to handle losses from Hurricane Ian, which are now estimated to cost the fund about $10 billion, but it could mean the fund will have to borrow billions next year –...
Fagan to Replace Koscielny at Florida Peninsula Insurance
Oct 26 2022 // The Florida Peninsula Insurance group of companies announced that Joe Fagan will replace Michael Koscielny as vice president of underwriting for Peninsula and its subsidiary, Edison Insurance Co. Fagan Fagan has spent 16...
