Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Vermont Jury Awards $5.25M to Florida Woman Impregnated by Own Fertility Doctor
Apr 1 2022 // A federal court jury in Vermont on Wednesday awarded a Florida woman $5.25 million from a doctor who used his own sperm to impregnate her during an artificial insemination procedure in 1977. The federal court jury in...
Florida Reaches $878M Opioid Settlements With CVS, Teva, Others
Mar 31 2022 // Florida has reached more than $878 million in settlements with CVS Health Corp and three drug companies to resolve claims and avert a trial next month over their roles in fueling an opioid epidemic in the third most...
After Suspending New Business in Florida, Lighthouse Loses Financial Rating
Mar 31 2022 // The Demotech rating firm has withdrawn the financial stability rating for another Florida-admitted insurer, Lighthouse Property Insurance. It’s an ominous sign for the company and for Florida’s deteriorating...
No Florida Special Session for Months, but OIR Moves to Allow Roof Deductibles
Mar 30 2022 // A special insurance-reform session of the Florida Legislature probably won’t happen before November, when a new House speaker takes office. But the state’s insurance regulators are taking steps on their own to...
Lexington Insurance Pulling Out of Florida, Other Markets for High-End Homes
Mar 29 2022 // Lexington Insurance, an AIG company, is pulling out of the Florida homeowners market, leaving an estimated 8,000 affluent customers looking for coverage. And those homeowners likely won’t be able to turn to Citizens...
Demotech Joins Call for Florida Special Session; AM Best Downgrades Farm Bureau
Mar 28 2022 // The Demotech rating agency has joined the relatively small number of voices calling for a special session of the Florida Legislature to enact changes that insurers hope will help curtail fraudulent roof claims, deter...
Investigators, Family Looking for Answers After Teen Fell from Florida Thrill Ride
Mar 28 2022 // State officials and the amusement ride company are investigating how a 14-year-old fell to his death from a free-fall amusement park ride that is 430-feet high, taller than the Statue of Liberty, in the heart of...
Hearing on Florida Citizens’ Near-Max Rate Increases Set for March 31
Mar 25 2022 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation will hold a hearing on Thursday, March 31, to examine a request by Citizens Property Insurance Corp. for a near-maximum rate increase for most of its policies. Citizens, limited...
Florida Man Mauled by Tiger at Airboat Attraction
Mar 25 2022 // A tiger mauled a worker Tuesday afternoon at a Florida airboat attraction, officials said. The attack occurred at Wooten’s Everglades Airboat Tours in Ochopee, according to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office....
Water Drain: Florida Court Rulings Show Importance of Exclusion Wording
Mar 25 2022 // Editor’s note: Insurers report that an increasing share of claims and claims litigation is the result of non-weather water damage. Jacksonville attorney Joseph Mackey, formerly of the Marshall Dennehey law firm and...
Two South Florida Construction Workers Crushed by Concrete Wall
Mar 23 2022 // Two construction workers in Boynton Beach were killed Tuesday when a concrete wall they were installing fell and crushed them. One local TV news station said the fatalities happened when a construction crane collapsed at...
Florida Governor Open to Lawmakers Calling Special Session on Insurance Changes
Mar 22 2022 // Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has not called a special session of the Legislature to tackle festering property insurance problems, but he said he welcomes the idea of legislative leaders convening lawmakers on their...
TypTap CEO: Pause in Florida Writing was Planned; Growth Continues
Mar 22 2022 // The February news that five Florida-admitted property insurers had stopped writing new business in the state painted a picture of impending doom for the insurance market in the state. But officials with one of those...
New Florida Litigation Fell 11% in February, but NOIs Keep Rising
Mar 21 2022 // After a sharp increase in January, the number of new litigated claims in Florida dropped 11% in February for Florida’s largest property insurers, according to CaseGlide, makers of claims litigation management...
Avatar Policyholders Have Until April 13 to Find New Coverage, Florida Regulators Say
Mar 21 2022 // Avatar Property & Casualty Insurance Co. has officially entered into liquidation, and insured homeowners in Florida have less than three weeks to find new carriers. The insolvent company, the second this year and the...
Florida Insurers Cry Foul Over Slide’s ‘Favored’ Treatment in St. Johns Insolvency
Mar 21 2022 // The news that a startup Florida insurance company will assume $400 million in policies from the now-insolvent St. Johns Insurance Co. – without input from other carriers – has set tongues wagging and emails...
Florida Bridgetender Arrested After Woman Fell to Her Death from Drawbridge
Mar 18 2022 // The operator of a drawbridge where a woman fell to her death last month was arrested Thursday, five weeks after the incident, according to South Florida news reports. Artissua Lafay Paulk, 43, of Greenacres, was charged...
NSI Acquires Florida-based HoneyQuote.com
Mar 18 2022 // NSI Insurance Group, one of the largest privately owned brokerage firms, announced it has acquired Florida-based HoneyQuote.com, a startup insurtech company that matches users with property insurers carriers in real...
Florida DFS Charges Two Roof Contractors in ‘Free Roof’ Scheme
Mar 17 2022 // The recent arrest of two men associated with a large Florida roofing company, on charges of offering “free roofs” and rebates to cover homeowners’ insurance deductibles, has met with strong reactions...
After Insurance, Condo Bills Fail, Florida Lawmakers Talking Special Session
Mar 14 2022 // The death knell sounded for the 2022 Florida Legislative session Friday with no major property insurance reform bills passed. But the ghosts of rising premiums and failing insurers will continue to haunt the state, and...
