Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Storms Leave Trail of Damage Across Southeast
Mar 22 2018 // With violent weather plowing through the Southeast, the kitchen windows exploded at Richard Brasher’s home in eastern Alabama. Using couch cushions for protection, Brasher hid in the bathtub with his wife, daughter...
More School Districts Buying Active Shooter Insurance
Mar 21 2018 // Insurance broker Paul Marshall can count on his phone ringing in the aftermath of a school shooting. Since the Feb. 14 shooting at a Florida high school, where 17 people were killed and more than a dozen injured, seven...
Scott Signs Bill to Combat Florida Prescription Opioid Abuse
Mar 21 2018 // Gov. Rick Scott on Monday signed Florida’s opioid legislation into law, a move seen by many as a good first step in combating a crisis that has claimed at least 16 lives a day in the Sunshine State. “What it...
Cirque du Soleil Performer Dies After Fall at Florida Show
Mar 21 2018 // A Cirque du Soleil performer died after his hand slipped off the double rings and he fell 20 feet during a performance in Florida, police and the entertainment company said Sunday. The theatrical company announced on...
Why Storm-Prone States Continue to Balk at Tough Building Codes
Mar 19 2018 // The showdown in the Florida statehouse last year had all the drama of a knock-down political brawl: Powerful industries clashing. Warnings of death and destruction. And a surprise last-minute vote, delivering a sweeping...
Florida DOT Missed Voicemail About Miami Bridge Crack Before Collapse
Mar 19 2018 // An engineer left a voicemail two days before a catastrophic bridge failure in Miami to say some cracking had been found at one end of the concrete span, but the voicemail wasn’t picked up until after the collapse,...
Rescue Efforts Continue After Florida University Pedestrian Bridge Collapse
Mar 16 2018 // A new pedestrian bridge collapsed onto a highway at a Miami-area college Thursday, crushing at least five vehicles under massive slabs. Several people were seen being loaded into ambulances and authorities launched search...
House Approves School Safety Bill
Mar 15 2018 // The House overwhelmingly approved a bill to improve school safety Wednesday, the first gun-related action by Congress since the shooting that left 17 dead at a Florida high school. The bill authorizes $500 million over 10...
Fire at Florida High Rise Leaves 1 Dead, 100 Displaced
Mar 15 2018 // A deadly fire in a high-rise Florida condominium had firefighters pulling people off balconies as smoke quickly spread early Tuesday. One man was killed, seven other residents were hospitalized and about 100 people have...
National Hurricane Center Updates Hurricane Irma Death Toll
Mar 14 2018 // The death toll from Hurricane Irma’s catastrophic rampage across the Caribbean and the southeastern U.S. has risen to 44 fatalities directly caused by its strong winds and heavy rains, plus 85 fatalities indirectly...
Maximum Taps Smid to Lead Florida Professional Lines Practice Expansion
Mar 13 2018 // Maximum, an independent, Chicago-based excess and surplus lines wholesaler, is expanding its professional lines practice with the addition of a Tampa, Fla. office. Gary Smid Gary Smid has been hired to fill a production...
Fraud, Lawsuit Abuse Earns Florida No. 1 Spot on ‘Judicial Hellhole’ List
Mar 13 2018 // Florida’s number one Judicial Hellhole ranking for 2017 from the American Tort Reform Foundation (ATRF) is unlikely to be an achievement the state will celebrate any time soon. Quite the opposite, according to...
Trump Gun Safety Plan Includes Arming Teachers But Not Higher Buying Age
Mar 12 2018 // The White House is forging ahead with a plan to give firearms training to teachers while pulling back from moves opposed by gun lobbyists such as raising the age limit for purchasing some weapons. U.S. President Donald...
Florida Legislature Passes Bill Targeting State Opioid Epidemic
Mar 12 2018 // Florida will institute prescription limits on opioids and increase funding for treatment under a bill passed by the state Legislature on Friday. The legislation to combat the state’s opioids crisis – which...
FEMA to End Short-Term Shelter Program for Florida Irma Victims
Mar 9 2018 // Federal disaster officials are ending a program that paid for hotel rooms for more than 27,000 Florida households in the wake of Hurricane Irma. FEMA officials announced Tuesday that the short-term emergency sheltering...
More Than $8.4M Recovered for Florida Insurance Consumers After Hurricane Irma
Mar 8 2018 // The Florida Division of Consumer Services helped recover nearly $23.4 million for Florida consumers since last summer, with $8.4 million of those dollars directly related to Hurricane Irma, according to a statement from...
Residents in Florida Retirement Community Still Evacuated by 6 Sinkholes
Mar 6 2018 // Six apparent sinkholes in Florida have made at least two homes unsafe to occupy. The Ocala Star-Banner reports that the houses in The Villages were evacuated and condemned Feb. 15 after multiple holes emerged between them,...
Managing Time Expectation for Claims Key to Keeping Homeowners Happy
Mar 6 2018 // Overall customer satisfaction among homeowners filing property insurance claims has reached a new all-time high, despite record-high property losses following a spate of hurricanes, earthquakes and fires in North America....
Florida Workers’ Comp Legislative Update: First Responder Benefits In, Attorney Fees Out
Mar 6 2018 // After two high-profile Florida Supreme Court cases threatened to significantly impact workers’ compensation rates in Florida in 2016, many insurance industry experts anticipated quick legislative action in 2017. But,...
Authorities Catch Arsonist Setting Fire to Florida Churches
Mar 2 2018 // Authorities say a man who’s responsible for starting fires at several Florida churches has been arrested. A Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office news release says 33-year-old Brody Allen Seiger was arrested on two...
