Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Opinion: Is Florida’s Flood Insurance Industry Really Prepared?
Jun 26 2018 // The clock is ticking: The National Flood Insurance Program expires on July 31, 2018; so what happens next? It is well documented that the NFIP is broken and has been in disarray for a long time. The NFIP’s primary...
Florida Man Sentenced to Five Years’ Probation for Workers’ Comp Fraud
Jun 25 2018 // A Trinity, Fla., man has been sentenced to five years’ probation, with the first six months to be served on home detention, for making a false statement in connection with his workers’ compensation benefits. As...
Florida Utility Contractor Faces Nearly $19K in Fines for Safety Hazards
Jun 25 2018 // South Florida utility contractor Douglas N. Higgins is facing $18,659 in proposed penalties after the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) cited the contractor for exposing...
Florida Court Puts Hold On Smokable Medical Marijuana
Jun 22 2018 // A Florida circuit court has reinstated a stay on smoking medical marijuana. The state’s 1st District Court of Appeal has ruled that the hold will remain in effect “pending final disposition of the merits of (a...
Hurricane Irma Blamed for Worst Florida Citrus Crop Since 1940s
Jun 22 2018 // Florida’s citrus growers are blaming Hurricane Irma for one of their worst seasons in decades. In a Naples Daily News report, U.S. agriculture officials said Florida’s orange production dropped nearly 35...
Sea Level Rise Puts $117.5B at Risk from Chronic Flooding
Jun 21 2018 // Those interested in risk management are starting to take climate change a bit more seriously. The evidence is anecdotal, but for that proof one can just ask Phil Renaud, executive director for the Risk Institute at Ohio...
Florida’s Citizens Delays Decision on Proposed 2019 Rate Increases
Jun 21 2018 // Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. will wait until December to determine its 2019 insurance rates and whether it will approve a proposed 7.9 percent statewide increase for homeowners policies. The decision...
Survey: Floridians Still Not Adequately Prepared for Hurricane Season
Jun 20 2018 // Just six months after the punishing 2017 season battered the Sunshine State, most Floridians are still not prepared for the potential assault of another hurricane season, according to a survey by the FAIR Foundation. The...
Investigation of Derailed Florida Roller Coaster that Injured 9 Underway
Jun 20 2018 // Some passengers who were riding a Florida roller coaster when it derailed last week could have lifelong injuries, an attorney for three of the nine riders who were hospitalized said Monday. The riders suffered broken...
Citizens to Implement New Lobbyist Registration System Aug. 1
Jun 19 2018 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the Florida state-run insurer of last resort, has devised a new policy requiring lobbyists seeking to lobby the insurer to register via a new online registration system. The new corporate...
6 Injured After Florida Roller Coaster Derails, Plunges Riders 34 Feet
Jun 18 2018 // A roller coaster that derailed in Florida had been put out of service by state inspectors twice in the past year and a half because of problems with the ride. Two riders fell 34 feet (10 meters) when their car derailed...
Florida Restoration Contractor Arrested Over $140K AOB Fraud Scheme
Jun 13 2018 // A restoration contractor company owner has been arrested over an alleged assignment of benefits (AOB) fraud scheme that impacted 19 homeowners in eight Florida counties and one Texas county, according to a statement from...
Florida-Based SUNZ Holdings Acquires Ascential Care Partners
Jun 12 2018 // SUNZ Holdings, headquartered in Bradenton, Fla., has acquired Ascential Care Partners, LLC, a national URAC accredited case management and utilization review company. The purchase and associated capital contribution...
Report: Florida Led Nation in Boating Accidents, Deaths in 2017
Jun 8 2018 // Officials say the number of boating accidents in Florida is rising. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission last month released its annual boating accident report that showed that there was a nearly 14...
Florida Judge Lifts Stay on Smokable Medical Marijuana
Jun 8 2018 // Floridians allowed to use medical marijuana are one step closer to being able to smoke it. Leon County circuit court Judge Karen Gievers on Tuesday lifted a stay on her May 25 ruling that the Florida Legislature’s...
Former Florida Insurance Chief McCarty Joins Assured Risk Cover Board of Advisors
Jun 7 2018 // Assured Risk Cover, provider of StormPeace residential parametric insurance, has announced that former Florida Insurance Commissioner Kevin McCarty has joined its board of advisors. McCarty served as Florida’s first...
Commentary: Reforms Needed to Protect Florida Policyholders
Jun 7 2018 // Like thousands of other Floridians, I recently received my homeowner’s insurance renewal statement only to learn that my premium was increasing by a double-digit percentage – nearly $600 annually. But like most...
Negligence or Medical Negligence? Florida Supreme Court Offers Clarity
Jun 6 2018 // Whether a claim arises out of medical negligence and is subject to the presuit screening requirements of Chapter 766 of the Florida Statutes is a question legal practitioners and courts alike have struggled with for...
Florida Man Gets 20 Years, Ordered to Pay $1.9M in Restitution for Arson Scheme
Jun 5 2018 // A Florida man has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in an arson insurance fraud scheme that spanned multiple Florida counties and was ordered to pay $1.9 million towards restitution to the more than 14...
Florida Officials Enact Few Changes for 2018 Hurricane Season
Jun 4 2018 // Florida’s governor and Legislature promised a dizzying array of fixes following the devastation of last year’s hurricanes. But heading into a new storm season, the state has enacted only a few changes – the...
