Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Tropical Weather System Approaches Southeast States
Aug 31 2016 // Crowds thinned Tuesday on the beaches of North Carolina’s Outer Banks ahead of a tropical weather system that threatened to bring strong winds and heavy rains that could flood low-lying areas. Elsewhere, a powerful...
How Florida Insurers Can Prepare for Claims from a Major Hurricane
Aug 31 2016 // After eight hurricanes in two years between 2004 and 2005, we haven’t seen a hurricane in Florida for over 10 years. Has the state learned from those storms? Are the insurance companies ready? What about the...
More Than 1K Bee Hives Stolen From Florida Bee Farmers
Aug 30 2016 // Southwest Florida bee farmers are having a difficult summer because thieves have been stealing their hives, lots of them, to the tune of $150,000 or more. So far, none of the hundreds of stolen hives have been recovered,...
A.M. Best Downgrades Ratings of Florida-Based American Capital Assurance
Aug 30 2016 // A.M. Best has downgraded the financial strength rating to A- (Excellent) from A (Excellent) and the issuer credit rating to “a-” from “a+” for American Capital Assurance Corp (ACAC) of St....
Florida Woman Caught Faking Injury in Attempt to Collect Workers’ Comp Payments
Aug 26 2016 // The Department of Financial Services’ Division of Investigative and Forensic Services (DIFS) announced the arrest of a Fort Lauderdale woman after she attempted to fraudulently collect workers’ compensation...
Opioid Overdoses in Florida County Jump 75% in 2016
Aug 25 2016 // Firefighters in Palm Beach County, Fla., have been responding to an average of five opioid-related overdoses every day this year. The Palm Beach Post reports that county firefighters are handling 75 percent more...
Brown & Brown Florida Office Denies EEOC Allegations of Pregnancy Discrimination
Aug 25 2016 // The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has filed suit against national insurance brokerage firm Brown & Brown, based in Daytona Beach, Fla., over allegations it violated the Civil Rights Act by...
Zika Case Found in Florida County Hundreds of Miles From Miami
Aug 23 2016 // Florida officials on Tuesday announced the first case of Zika acquired by local mosquitoes in Pinellas County, located some 265 miles (425 km) from Miami, where the first locally transmitted U.S. cases were...
Officials: No Long-Term Impact on Florida Tourism Expected Despite Zika Spread
Aug 23 2016 // The discovery of Zika-carrying mosquitoes in South Florida certainly isn’t ideal for tourism, but local officials and business leaders are confident the long-term impact on the tourism industry will be...
Business Moves
Aug 22 2016 // U.S. Risk, Kohlberg & Co. Dallas-based international specialty lines underwriting manager and wholesale broker U.S. Risk Insurance Group Inc. has agreed to partner with the private equity firm Kohlberg & Co....
<em>Source: Locally Transmitted Zika Virus Found in Miami Beach</em>
Aug 19 2016 // Florida health officials have found evidence of local Zika virus transmission in Miami Beach, one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations, opening a new front in the fight against the mosquito-borne virus,...
American Integrity Insurance Launches Umbrella Coverage for Florida Homeowners
Aug 19 2016 // Tampa-based American Integrity Insurance Co., a Florida property insurance company, has launched a new umbrella policy for Florida consumers and property insurance policyholders. The new coverage offers up to $5 million in...
Florida Insurers UPC Insurance, American Coastal Insurance Enter Merger Agreement
Aug 18 2016 // United Insurance Holdings Corp. (UPC Insurance), a property and casualty insurance holding company, has entered into a merger agreement with RDX Holding, LLC, the parent of American Coastal Insurance Co. (ACIC or American...
Litigation Insurance Reimburses Plaintiff Lawyers Losing Cases on Contingency
Aug 17 2016 // When David Brill lost a trial for a client who fell off his neighbor’s ladder, it was a rare failure for his three-member Florida law firm. It also cost him $30,000 in expenses since he’d taken the case on...
Trial Underway in Trump vs. Florida Golf Course Members $6M Lawsuit
Aug 17 2016 // Donald Trump says he transformed a Florida golf club that he bought from the Ritz-Carlton and that most members like the changes – despite a $6 million federal lawsuit brought by disaffected members. “I can say...
Security First Insurance in Florida Forms Regulatory Compliance Department
Aug 16 2016 // Security First Insurance Company has expanded and added new positions to its Ormond Beach, Fla.-based headquarters. According to Werner Kruck, chief operating officer, the company has formed a new Regulatory Compliance...
Florida-Based UPC Insurance Appoints St. John as Chief Claims Officer
Aug 16 2016 // United Insurance Holdings Corp. (UPC Insurance), a property and casualty insurance holding company, appointed Scott St. John as its chief claims officer effective August 22, 2016. St. John will be responsible for directing...
Back-to-School Brings New Challenges in Florida’s Zika Fight
Aug 15 2016 // Florida’s caseload of Zika spread by Miami mosquitoes had risen to 25 as of August 11, and U.S. health officials continue to warn pregnant women to avoid the infection zone despite the governor’s assurances...
Florida Homeowners Insurer Olympus Adds Newby as VP of Claims
Aug 15 2016 // Olympus Insurance Co., a Florida homeowners insurer, has appointed Martin Newby as vice president of Claims. Newby will serve as Olympus’ senior claims executive responsible for the development, implementation,...
Florida Woman Killed by Officer During Citizens Academy
Aug 12 2016 // A police “shoot/don’t shoot” demonstration in Florida went shockingly awry when an officer shot and killed a 73-year-old former librarian with what police said was real ammunition used by mistake at an...
