Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Companies Face Class Action Suit Over Sugar Field Burns Plaguing Poor Florida Towns
Dec 5 2019 // For residents of the Glades, a string of poor, predominantly African American rural towns dotting the southern shore of Florida’s Lake Okeechobee, the beginning of the annual sugar cane harvest in October means the...
Sitte Appointed Government Affairs Director for Florida Office of Insurance Regulation
Dec 5 2019 // Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier has appointed Allison Hess Sitte as Government Affairs director for the Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR), effective Monday, Dec. 2, 2019. Allison Sitte Sitte most recently...
New Higher-Speed Florida Train has Highest U.S. Death Rate
Dec 4 2019 // After Richard Branson announced his Virgin Group would partner with Brightline, Florida’s new higher-speed passenger rail service, a train whisked the British billionaire, VIPs and journalists from Miami to West Palm...
Florida-Based JAG Insurance Group Hires Portes as Chief Insurance Officer
Dec 4 2019 // JAG Insurance Group – a South Florida-based commercial insurance agency with offices in Coral Gables, Delray Beach and Charlotte, N.C. – has added Leo Portes to the firm as chief insurance officer. Portes joins JAG...
Insurers Pay $4.1M in Claims During Recent Hurricane Michael Claims Villages
Dec 3 2019 // Claims villages hosted by the Florida Department of Financial Services since August 2019 have led to the resolution of $4.1 million in insurance claims for nearly 750 residents impacted by Hurricane Michael, according to a...
Boat Explosion at Florida Marina Injures 1
Dec 3 2019 // Authorities say one person was injured when a boat exploded at a Florida marina. Citing the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, news outlets report 50-year-old David Weil fueled up his fiberglass boat Sunday at a Largo...
Patriot Growth Insurance Services Acquires Shapiro Insurance Group of Florida
Dec 2 2019 // Patriot Growth Insurance Services, LLC, a national insurance agency, has added Shapiro Insurance Group (SIG) to its platform. The partnership with SIG marks Patriot’s entry into the Florida marketplace and...
Brightway Insurance Franchise Owners Pojero, Jones Open Second Store in Florida
Nov 27 2019 // Veteran Brightway Insurance Franchise Owners David Pojero and David Jones have expanded their business enterprise with a second Brightway store in Central Florida. The business partners opened their first Brightway office...
Florida Investigating Attorney Charged with Lawsuit Fraud
Nov 26 2019 // The Florida Bar has opened an investigation of a New York lawyer who it says may have been practicing in Florida without a license. The Bar’s investigation of Stuart Finkelstein stems from federal charges this week...
E-Cigarette Maker Juul Pulled Into Tobacco Product Liability Case
Nov 26 2019 // A Florida state court judge ordered the co-founder of the e-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc. to answer questions under oath in a case involving a woman suing the cigarette-maker Philip Morris USA. While Juul has challenged...
Authorities Say Amtrak Train Hits Vehicle in Florida, Three Dead
Nov 25 2019 // Authorities say three people in Florida were killed in a vehicle that collided with an Amtrak passenger train, but no passengers aboard the train were hurt. Palm Beach County Fire Rescue told news outlets the crash...
Florida Woman Found Guilty of Hurricane Irma Relief Fraud
Nov 25 2019 // A Florida woman has been convicted of fraudulently obtaining Hurricane Irma disaster relief money. Court records show that 37-year-old Karen Latrice Houston was convicted by a jury in Tampa federal court this week of three...
Feds Say Florida Officials Bilked FEMA Out of Hurricane Money
Nov 22 2019 // Two former officials of a Florida city are charged with conspiring with two businesses to bilk the federal government out of $5 million in Hurricane Michael cleanup money, the U.S. attorney’s office announced...
Statewide Overall Decrease of 7.5% Approved for Florida Workers’ Comp Rates
Nov 21 2019 // Florida Insurance Commissioner David Altmaier has issued a final order granting approval to the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI) for a statewide overall decrease of 7.5% for Florida workers’...
Florida Officials Unveil Website to Monitor Water Quality
Nov 20 2019 // Florida officials are rolling out a new online dashboard that allows the public to get a snapshot of water quality in the state’s major lakes and waterways. Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the new website,...
Citizens CEO Notes Impact of AOB Reforms as New Rates to Take Effect in Florida
Nov 20 2019 // The head of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. says it is already seeing a difference in assignment of benefits (AOB) litigation since reforms passed by the Florida Legislature took effect in July. Meanwhile, many Citizens...
Florida’s New Consumer Advocate Tackles Open Hurricane Michael Claims
Nov 19 2019 // Florida’s new Insurance Consumer Advocate Tasha Carter has been busy since taking office August 1. With more than 12,000 Hurricane Michael claims still open, according to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation,...
Two Large Yachts Destroyed in Predawn Fire at Florida Marina
Nov 18 2019 // Authorities say a huge fire has destroyed two large yachts in South Florida, sending flames skyward and leaving millions of dollars in losses. No injuries were reported in Saturday’s pre-dawn fire. Fort Lauderdale...
Florida Expands Access to Insurtech Services and Devices
Nov 18 2019 // On June 28, 2019, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed House Bill 301 into law and, in doing so, loosened regulatory restrictions and allowed insurers and their agents to utilize innovative technologies to reduce perils to...
Elementary School Bus Crash in Florida Injures 6 Students
Nov 13 2019 // Fire rescue officials say a half dozen elementary school students in Florida suffered minor injuries when the school bus they were in was involved in a crash with a car. Orange County Fire Rescue tweeted Monday morning...
