Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
New Flood Insurance Company Approved in Arkansas
Jul 13 2017 // Arkansas Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr has granted a Certificate of Authority to Florida-based Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Company (HCPC) to offer private flood insurance in Arkansas. In a press...
3 Killed in Florida Power Plant Accident
Jul 13 2017 // A third man died from injuries suffered in a Florida power plant accident that happened when molten material poured onto workers as they tried to unplug a blocked tank. Hillsborough County Sheriff’s officials told...
States See Mixed Results from Reforms Targeting Physician-Dispensed Drugs: WCRI
Jul 12 2017 // A new study has found that state reforms to control the costs of prescription drugs by targeting reimbursements for physicians dispensing them are having some effect but that physician-dispensing still accounts for a large...
EEOC Sues Florida Strip Club for Refusing to Hire Male Bartender
Jul 12 2017 // A Florida strip club accused of hiring only women bartenders and refusing to hire a man is facing a federal lawsuit. A lawsuit filed June 28 by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission says Sammy’s...
Alabama, Mississippi, Florida Declared Drought Free
Jul 12 2017 // Alabama and Mississippi are completely free from drought for the first time in more than a year. A federal assessment released at the end of June showed rains eliminated a dry spell that began in April 2016, the last time...
Report: The Southeast’s Storm Surge Risk and Florida’s Hurricane Wake-Up Call
Jul 11 2017 // The Southeast has seen its fair share of natural disasters and flooding in the last several years, including two hurricanes in Florida last year – the first hurricanes to hit the state in more than a decade. But none of...
Florida Police Rescind Determination of Fault in Venus Williams Crash
Jul 10 2017 // Tennis star Venus Williams legally entered an intersection but was cut off by another car, setting off a chain of events that seconds later resulted in a fatal crash with a third car, police say video released Friday...
Court: Insurer Off the Hook for $500K Settlement to Florida Spa Guest
Jul 10 2017 // A federal appeals court ruled that Evanston Insurance Co. doesn’t owe a $500,000 settlement that a Florida spa owner agreed to pay to a woman who suffered a stroke during a massage. The decision, issued last month in...
Public Service Commissioner Patronis Picked as Next Florida CFO
Jul 10 2017 // Gov. Rick Scott tapped Jimmy Patronis, a member of the Florida Public Service Commission and a former Florida State Representative, as Florida’s next chief financial officer, according to a statement from the...
People
Jul 10 2017 // The Main Street America Group has promoted Dan Gaynor to senior vice president and chief underwriting officer. Gaynor, who has been the super-regional property/casualty insurance company’s vice president of...
Florida’s Citizens Requests Rate Increases, Policy Changes for 2018
Jul 10 2017 // Homeowners in South Florida, as well as in many other parts of the state, can expect another rate increase next year from the state-run insurer of last resort. Citizens Board of Governors approved recommended rates and...
Florida’s Citizens CEO Gilway Responds to Claims About Managed Repair Program
Jul 7 2017 // The following letter to the editor was written by Citizens Property Insurance Corp. President, CEO and Executive Director Barry Gilway in response to an opinion piece from the Florida Association of Public Insurance...
New Florida CFO Patronis Officially Takes Over
Jul 7 2017 // Florida’s new chief financial officer is officially on the job. Flanked by family and friends, Jimmy Patronis was sworn in June 30 during a brief ceremony held in the office of Gov. Rick Scott. The Republican...
Opinion: Floridians Will Pay More For Less Under Citizens Managed Repair Program
Jul 6 2017 // Florida is famous for its catastrophic hurricanes, however, we also have our fair share of daily claims such as fire, vandalism and water losses. Florida is now becoming known for what is referred to as the...
Florida Police Chief Not Guilty of Negligence in Fatal Citizens Academy Exercise
Jul 6 2017 // Jurors have found a Florida police chief not guilty of culpable negligence in the death of a woman who was accidentally shot during a citizens academy “shoot/don’t shoot” exercise. News outlets report...
Tennis Star Venus Williams Sued by Family of Florida Man Over Fatal Car Accident
Jul 5 2017 // Tennis star Venus Williams is being sued by the estate of a Florida man who died after a car crash police say she caused. An attorney representing the family of Jerome Barson, 78, filed the lawsuit Friday in Palm Beach...
The Villages Insurance in Florida Adds Sardisco to Commercial Division
Jul 5 2017 // The Villages Insurance Partners (TVIP) has added Lisa Sardisco to their Commercial Risk Management Division in The Villages, Fla. The Villages Insurance Commercial Risk Management Team specializes in protecting business...
SUNZ in Florida Promotes Bolinder to COO, Appoints Distefano Chief Technology Officer
Jun 30 2017 // SUNZ Insurance Company, a large deductible workers’ compensation carrier, has promoted Karen Bolinder from director of Financial Operations to chief operating officer. In her new position, Bolinder will be...
84-Year-Old Florida Doc Accused of Illegally Distributing $10M in Pain Pills
Jun 29 2017 // Authorities say an 84-year-old Florida doctor is accused of illegally distributing $10 million worth of pain pill prescriptions. Dr. Williem Ouw was arrested June 15 and held in a Fort Lauderdale jail until his release...
New Flood Insurance Product For Florida Homeowners Available from American Integrity
Jun 29 2017 // American Integrity Insurance Group (AI), a Florida-based insurance provider, has unveiled a private flood insurance option for homeowners. AI is one of nine Florida-based insurers to offer its own flood program that...
