Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
$9,000 an Hour for Comp Attorney Fee Has Tongues Wagging in Florida
Dec 28 2021 // Few things in Florida workers’ compensation have been a bigger issue over the last decade than claimants’ attorneys’ fees. Despite two landmark appeals court rulings barring limits on fees, employers and...
People Moving: Reagan, Grosso Join Alliant; Mesadieu to Villages in Florida
Dec 22 2021 // Alliant Insurance Services, a distributor, announced it has expanded its Florida team with the addition of William “Jib” Reagan as vice president over the employee benefits group, and Stephanie Grosso as...
Comma-tose: Florida Coverage Case Hinged on Punctuation Question
Dec 22 2021 // Coverage disputes often hinge on the exact wording of an insurance policy. In a case in federal court in South Florida, the issue came down to not only the wording, but the punctuation – namely, a question about a single...
Title Insurer Stewart Acquires Midwest, Florida Title Firms
Dec 21 2021 // Stewart Information Services Corp. reported it has acquired firms in the Midwest and Florida as it continues to gain scale. Stewart has acquired Greater Illinois Title Co., which is headquartered in Chicago, and operates...
Florida Man Sentenced for Starting Fires Behind Tampa Publix
Dec 21 2021 // A Florida man has been sentenced to five years in prison for setting fires behind the same Tampa Bay-area grocery store three days in a row starting on Christmas last year. Robert Timon Lovett, 50, of Bradenton, was...
New Kid on Block Will Use Tech, Rapid Repair Networks to Survive Florida Market
Dec 21 2021 // When the Florida insurance world heard that a newly formed homeowners’ insurance carrier was stepping into the troubled Florida waters, reactions ranged from cynical to apoplectic. Vyrd President David Howard Few...
Insurer Can Keep Using its Own Repair Contractor, Florida Appeals Court Finds
Dec 21 2021 // For the fourth time this year, a Florida appeals court has decided in favor of People’s Trust Insurance Co., requiring homeowners to let the carrier’s chosen contractor make the needed repairs. Josh...
Citizens’ Board Requests Larger Than Expected Rate Hike for Florida Homeowners
Dec 16 2021 // The board of governors for Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida’s state-backed insurer of last resort, wants the maximum allowed rate increase – 11% for next year and 12% for 2023 – in an effort to stem the...
400 Adjuster Firms Licensed Under Florida’s New Law
Dec 14 2021 // More than 400 claims-adjusting firms have been licensed in Florida in the last month, in keeping with a state law that requires that firms, not just adjusters, go through the licensing process, the state’s chief...
Brown & Brown Acquires Florida’s Corporate Insurance Advisors
Dec 13 2021 // Insurance agency Brown & Brown of Florida, Inc. has acquired substantially all of the assets of Corporate Insurance Advisors. J. Scott Penny, chief acquisitions officer of Brown & Brown, Inc., and Mark R. Schwartz,...
In Big Florida Ponzi Scheme Fallout, Security National Sues Firm’s Lawyers
Dec 13 2021 // Finger-pointing in one of the largest Ponzi schemes to hit Florida has spilled over into the legal and insurance industries. Security National Insurance Co. has filed suit against a Miami law firm, alleging the lawyers...
Florida Supreme Court Suspends Plaintiffs’ Lawyer for Second Time
Dec 10 2021 // The Florida Supreme Court has suspended a Tampa plaintiffs’ lawyer for the second time in three years after judges and the Florida Bar charged that he had wrongly accused courts and other lawyers of racial bias, then...
Auto Insurers Can Use ‘Hybrid’ Model on Med Reimbursement, Florida High Court Rules
Dec 9 2021 // Automobile insurance carriers in Florida may limit reimbursement to health providers in keeping with a fee schedule in a personal injury protection policy, the Florida Supreme Court decided in a decision posted...
New Insurer Sets Sail in Florida’s Stormy Waters, Credits Legislative Reforms
Dec 9 2021 // For the first time in almost a decade, a new insurance carrier is wading into the troubled Florida waters, and is expected to make take-out offers to more than 42,000 Citizens Property Insurance policyholders. David...
Florida Jury Awards $100 Million in Bitcoin Trial; Defense Calls it a Big Win
Dec 8 2021 // Craig Wright, a computer scientist who claims to be the inventor of Bitcoin, prevailed in a civil trial verdict Monday against the family of a deceased business partner, which claimed it was owed half of a cryptocurrency...
Rates for Florida’s Citizens Insurance to Start Climbing Feb. 1
Dec 7 2021 // Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is reminding agents and policyholders that rates for most commercial and residential policies will rise a bit each year, starting Feb. 1, 2022. The change to the...
Renaissance Adds Another Florida Insurance Agency
Dec 7 2021 // Hillcrest Insurance Agency in Mount Dora, Florida, is now part of the Renaissance Alliance, a network of independent agencies. Hillcrest offers coverage for construction, homeowners’ associations, restaurants, houses...
Florida City Braces for Lawsuits Over Repeated Sewage Spills
Dec 6 2021 // The city of Bradenton, Florida, could soon find itself in the same spot as other local governments that have been accused of breaking federal law with repeated sewage spills. Led by Suncoast Waterkeeper, several...
Florida DFS Adds More Property Insurance Fraud Investigators
Dec 6 2021 // Florida’s Department of Financial Services has added 13 employees, 10 of whom are sworn law enforcement officers, to investigate property insurance fraud in the state, Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis...
Florida Growth Will Mean More Cat Losses; Premiums Must Rise – Summit
Dec 6 2021 // With good news comes bad, and vice-versa in Florida’s growing but rapidly deteriorating property insurance market, industry analysts said at a two-day Florida Chamber of Commerce Insurance Summit last week. First,...
