Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Spouse Married After Injury Can Still Seek Damages in Asbestos Claim – Fla. High Court
May 10 2024 // The Florida Supreme Court has opened the door a little wider to wrongful death claims from people who weren’t married to victims at the time of injury, upsetting what defense lawyers said was a decades-old common-law...
Fannie and Freddie Hit Pause on Replacement-Value Requirements for Home Insurance
May 9 2024 // Property insurance groups on Wednesday applauded a decision by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to hold off on an apparent plan to scrutinize mortgages on homes that don’t carry full replacement-value insurance...
Update: Fannie Mae Guidelines Raise Concerns, Could Bar ACV Coverage for Homes
May 7 2024 // An updated guideline from Fannie Mae, if it stands, could throw a wrench into the property-casualty insurance industry’s move toward actual cash value for more homeowners and condo coverage. A Fannie Mae spokesperson...
Berkshire’s ‘Most Important’ Biz Drives Q1 Results; GEICO Still Behind on Tech
May 6 2024 // Berkshire Hathaway continued to deliver eye-popping results for its insurance and reinsurance operations during the first quarter of 2024, with underwriting profits for personal auto insurer GEICO and reinsurance...
Florida Saw Jump in Workers’ Comp Cost per Claim in 2022-23, WCRI Report Shows
May 6 2024 // Call it the effects of wage creep during the pandemic, along with a little bit of creep in the duration of benefits. Employers and insurers in Florida saw a 7% increase in total cost per workers’ compensation claim...
Business Moves
May 6 2024 // National Strategic Risk Solutions, Garnet Captive Insurance Services Strategic Risk Solutions (SRS) reported it has agreed to acquire Garnet Captive Insurance Services, a Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, firm that partners with...
Florida’s Heritage Insurance Sees More Profits in Q1 This Year
May 3 2024 // Heritage Insurance Holdings Inc. (HRTG) on Wednesday reported earnings of $14.2 million in its first quarter of this year, about the same as earnings for Q1 of 2023, but down from the $31 million in net income reported for...
Climate Change Concern About to Removed from Florida Energy Law
May 2 2024 // TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida, perhaps the most vulnerable state to sea-level rise and extreme weather, is on the verge of repealing what’s left of a 16-year-old law that lists climate change as a priority when...
16 Nabbed in Florida Sting Operation for Failing to Get Workers’ Comp Coverage
May 1 2024 // A sting operation in Manatee County, Florida, has led to the arrest of 16 men who were working without a contractor’s license and without securing workers’ compensation insurance on their employees. The sting...
South Florida ‘Butt Lift’ Surgery Clinic Linked to 15 Drug-Resistant Bacteria Infections
May 1 2024 // Florida and federal health officials have determined that 15 infections from drug-resistant bacteria have been linked to a south Florida clinic that performed Brazilian “butt lift” surgeries in 2022 and...
Fla. Regulators’ Effort to Remove Insurer Execs May Not Pass Constitutional Muster
Apr 30 2024 // Current and former leaders with Florida property insurers have had some strong reactions to state regulators’ recent efforts to oust company executives who previously helmed now-insolvent carriers. Some have called...
Florida Governor Signs Wind-Mitigation Funding Bills for Homes, Condos
Apr 29 2024 // Florida’s governor has signed two bills that will provide more matching grants for homeowners and condominium associations to fortify properties against the growing threat of windstorms. Senate Bill 7028 will send an...
Insurers Get Green Light to Pay Less Than Billed Charges in Florida PIP Cases
Apr 29 2024 // The Florida Supreme Court has given auto insurers more flexibility in reducing payments for medical services under the state’s no-fault auto insurance law and may have finally put to rest years of questions about the...
Higginbotham Adds South Florida Benefits Agency to Team
Apr 26 2024 // Texas-headquartered Higginbotham, one of the largest independent insurance and benefits firms, has added Adams Benefits of Boca Raton, Florida, to its team, the company said in a news release. The move marks an expansion...
Employer Can’t Deny Comp Claim in Shooting Then Argue Immunity, Court Says
Apr 26 2024 // An employer cannot deny a workers’ compensation claim on the grounds that a shooting injury was not work-related then turn around and argue it has immunity from a tort lawsuit because the incident happened at work, a...
4,800 Claims Handled by Unlicensed Adjusters in Florida After Irma, Lawsuit Says
Apr 25 2024 // Two south Florida lawsuits against property insurers argue that two major carriers employed a business strategy of hiring inexperienced or even unlicensed claims adjusters after storms, practices that have led to...
FAU Gets Grant to Study Seaweed Harvesting, Just as Blobs Approach South Florida
Apr 24 2024 // Researchers at Florida Atlantic University are using a $1.3 million grant to see if huge blobs of seaweed can be harvested to help mitigate the economic impact on Florida beaches. The FAU Harbor Beach Oceanographic...
Risk Perception Drops After Hurricanes: Study
Apr 23 2024 // As time passes after hurricanes, new analysis by Stanford University researchers shows perception of personal risk, including the likelihood of injury and home damage, decline. The findings suggest that programs and...
Investment Funds File New Suits Over Lighthouse Insurance Collapse in 2022
Apr 23 2024 // Three investment firms connected to some of the best-known names on Wall Street have upped the ante in a legal dispute over now-insolvent Lighthouse Property Insurance Corp., based in Tampa. Fortinbras Enterprises, the...
Arbol Unit Buys Centauri Insurance, Forms Lilypad to Broaden Climate Risk Coverage
Apr 22 2024 // A subsidiary of Arbol Inc., a firm that has specialized in climate risks for businesses, including parametric insurance products, has acquired Sarasota, Florida-based Centauri Insurance from Applied Underwriters. The...
