Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida House Committee Approves Home Hardening Tax Breaks
Feb 16 2022 // Florida’s chief financial officer is applauding lawmakers for approving a home-hardening measure that could affect homeowners insurance rates in years to come. “Since last year, we’ve been pushing hard on...
Relatively Weak Hurricane Elsa Caused $1B in Damage Last Year
Feb 15 2022 // Hurricane Elsa, which made landfall on July 7, 2021, with winds of 86 mph, caused about $1 billion in damage to the southern United States and multiple Caribbean countries, the National Hurricane Center reported. New data...
St. Johns, Lighthouse Insurance Suspend New Writing in Florida
Feb 15 2022 // Two more property insurers, including one of the largest insurers in Florida, have stopped writing new policies in the state, marking the fifth and sixth carriers this year to pull back from the turbulent Florida...
Man Loses Arm and Leg after Explosion at South Florida Scrap Yard
Feb 14 2022 // An explosion at a scrap-metal yard in South Florida left a man with such serious injuries that his arm and part of his leg had to be amputated Monday. News outlets reported that the man was unloading a large medical oxygen...
Florida OIR to Hold Workshop on Claims Litigation Data Call
Feb 14 2022 // Florida insurance carriers will be able to find out what claims litigation data they should be collecting and how it should be reported, thanks to a Feb. 24 workshop held by the state Office of Insurance Regulation. Senate...
Florida Teacher Dies Day After Being Hit by SUV Outside High School
Feb 14 2022 // A Florida teacher died Friday, a day after being struck by an SUV and trapped underneath it in the back parking lot of a Tampa Bay area high school, officials said. The Pasco County School District announced the death of...
S&P Report Sheds Light on Florida Farm Bureau’s Losses
Feb 11 2022 // Recently posted data provides new insight on the dire financial situation for Florida Farm Bureau, one of four carriers that announced it would stop writing or non-renew thousands of homeowner policies in Florida this...
Higher Fees Don’t Disqualify a Comp Treating Physician, Florida Appeals Court Finds
Feb 11 2022 // A workers’ compensation judge may not disqualify a treating physician simply because the doctor’s prices exceed the Florida workers’ comp fee schedule, a state appeals court decided this week. “In...
FTC Files Suit Against Auto Warranty Firm, Charging Deceptive Practices
Feb 10 2022 // The Federal Trade Commission has filed a federal lawsuit against a Florida-based vehicle warranty firm and related companies, charging that the firms’ telemarketers illegally said they represented car manufacturers...
Florida Senate Takes No Action on Bill to Repeal Malpractice Shield
Feb 10 2022 // The Florida Senate appears to have put an end to a bill that would have allowed parents of adult children to sue for damages in medical malpractice cases. The Senate Judiciary Committee last week effectively shelved...
Risk Strategies Buys Gehring Group in Florida
Feb 10 2022 // Risk Strategies, a national brokerage and risk management firm, announced it has acquired the Gehring Group, an employee benefits and risk consulting firm. Based in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, Gehring provides risk...
Investigation Launched after Cyclist Falls From Florida Drawbridge
Feb 9 2022 // Authorities are investigating after a bicyclist fell to her death when a drawbridge connecting Palm Beach to the Florida mainland began rising before she could reach the other side. A bystander tried to pull her to safety...
Another Big Insurer Stops Writing Homeowners Policies in Florida
Feb 8 2022 // The Florida property insurance market is showing more signs of trouble, with one of the state’s largest carriers deciding to stop writing new homeowner business in the state – while also asking for a rate increase...
Florida House Panel Adds PTSD Benefits for Prison Guards, Not Dispatchers
Feb 8 2022 // Florida corrections officers and probation officers moved a step closer to becoming eligible for workers’ compensation benefits for mental stress disorders Monday, but the bill would not extend those benefits to...
Business Moves
Feb 7 2022 // National Marsh McLennan, Affinity Agency Association Member Benefits Advisors, a national affinity-based membership and marketing insurance agency, has agreed to acquire the associations business of Mercer, a business of...
People & Places
Feb 7 2022 // National Patrick Sterling will lead RIMS, the risk management society, as president for the 2022 term. Sterling is vice president at the steakhouse restaurant chain Texas Roadhouse in Louisville, Kentucky, and is a 34-year...
World’s First Crypto Mortgage? Homeowners’ Insurers Don’t Hate It
Feb 7 2022 // If homeowners’ insurance carriers weren’t facing enough issues this year, here’s one more to think about: A Miami company is now offering cryptocurrency-based mortgages. Some insurance representatives are...
Florida Senate Pushing Ahead with No-Fault Auto Repeal, Despite Last Year’s Veto
Feb 4 2022 // The Florida Senate is trying again to repeal the state’s no-fault auto insurance requirement with a bill that major insurers oppose and which the governor vetoed last year. Sen. Burgess By a vote of 10-1, the Senate...
NASA: Earth’s Temperature in 2021 Was 1.5 Degrees F Above Baseline
Feb 3 2022 // Earth’s global average surface temperatures in 2021 were 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit (0.85 degrees Celsius) above the average for NASA’s baseline period, a new report shows. The average tied with 2018 as the sixth...
Allied Asks Court to Bar Coverage for Florida Law Firm in Condo Collapse
Feb 3 2022 // The insurer for a South Florida law firm that represented the collapsed Surfside condominium – lawyers known for fighting off attempts to reform condo safety laws – has asked a judge to absolve the carrier of coverage...
