Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Sex Claim Filing Against Dershowitz a Mistake, Say Florida Lawyers; Defamation Claims Settled
Apr 12 2016 // Prominent U.S. lawyer Alan Dershowitz and two victims’ rights attorneys on Friday withdrew claims from a Florida court that they defamed each other during a legal fight about a woman who said she was trafficked for...
Florida Researchers Find 40% of Retired NFL Players Had Brain Injury
Apr 11 2016 // More than 40 percent of retired National Football League (NFL) players in a recent study had signs of traumatic brain injury, according to medical researchers from Florida. The findings were based on sensitive MRI scans...
Hoverboard Fire Leaves 3 Florida Apartments Damaged
Apr 11 2016 // Officials say three apartments sustained water damage from a sprinkler system after a hoverboard caught fire in an Orlando apartment building. The Orlando Sentinel reports that no one was seriously injured from the fire at...
The Nature Conservancy Looks to Address South Florida Climate, Catastrophe Risks
Apr 11 2016 // The Nature Conservancy has announced plans to work with catastrophe risk modeling firm RMS, as well as with the Global Disaster Preparedness Center and others, in an effort to address climate impacts in South Florida. The...
Florida Business Owner Arrested for $1.8M Workers’ Comp Fraud Scheme
Apr 7 2016 // Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced the arrest of Maira Chirinos, owner of Pompano Beach construction company Tocoa Builders, Inc. Chirinos is alleged to have misrepresented information regarding Tocoa...
Florida Approves Removal of up to 19K Policies from Citizens
Apr 6 2016 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has approved the removal of up to 19,535 personal residential policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens) for the June 21, 2016 take-out period. The...
Florida Approves Anthem Bid to Acquire Cigna’s Florida-based Affiliates
Apr 5 2016 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has issued a Consent Order (see below) approving, with additional requirements, Anthem, Inc.’s (Anthem) application to acquire 100 percent of the issued and...
Florida Arrests 10 in Undercover Workers’ Comp Sting
Apr 4 2016 // The Florida Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud (DIF) announced 10 arrests following a multi-agency undercover workers’ compensation sting in Manatee County. According to a statement...
Florida Governor Shoots Down CFO’s Choice for Insurance Commissioner, Application Reopened
Apr 4 2016 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott made it known that his choice for the next Florida insurance commissioner would not be State Representative Bill Hager. “I won’t second it,” was Scott’s quick response to...
Florida’s Failure to Pass AOB Reforms Will Impact State Insurance Market
Apr 4 2016 // Following the 2016 Florida Legislative Session’s failure to pass essential assignment of benefit (AOB) reforms, the insurance industry and Citizens Property Insurance Corp. are working in tandem with the Florida...
Florida’s Citizens Pushes Policy Changes to Address Rising Water Loss Claims
Apr 4 2016 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s board of governors approved recommendations last month aimed at reducing the impact of what it calls skyrocketing water-loss claims that could reverse progress made in returning...
Arkansas Orders Florida Health Plan to Stop Selling in State
Apr 4 2016 // Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr issued a cease and desist order against Tampa, Fla.-based Health Plan Intermediaries Holdings LLC, dba Health Insurance Innovations (HII), alleging the company is using fraudulent and...
FEMA Denies Individual Assistance to Florida Tornado Victims
Apr 1 2016 // Some residents of the Florida Panhandle who sustained damage during two tornadoes that touched down in February will not receive individual assistance through FEMA. The News Journal reports that the Federal Emergency...
Florida Trailer Park Residents Evacuated by Possible 60-foot Sinkhole
Apr 1 2016 // About 20 residents in six homes at a mobile home park along Florida’s Gulf Coast were evacuated Wednesday after a 60-foot-wide, 35-foot-deep hole opened in the ground. The residents at the Tarpon Shores Mobile Home...
Florida Gov. Rejects CFO’s Pick for Insurance Commissioner, Application Reopened
Mar 29 2016 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott made it known Tuesday that his choice for the next Florida insurance commissioner would not be State Representative Bill Hager. “I won’t second it,” was Scott’s quick...
Arkansas Orders Florida Health Plan to Stop Selling in State
Mar 28 2016 // Insurance Commissioner Allen Kerr has issued a cease and desist order against Health Plan Intermediaries Holdings LLC., dba Health Insurance Innovations (HII), a Tampa, Florida-based company, alleging the company has used...
The Final 2: Bragg, Hager Last Men Standing for Florida Commissioner Job
Mar 25 2016 // For the first time in 13 years, Florida is preparing to appoint a new insurance commissioner. The pool of 55 candidates has been whittled down to just two. Per recommendation of the Florida Cabinet, Jeffrey Bragg and...
Florida Beach City Businesses Say Spring Break Laws Hurting Sales
Mar 24 2016 // Businesses in Panama City Beach, Fla., say new laws aimed at cutting down excessive spring break drinking are also hurting sales and forcing layoffs. Bars, restaurants, scooter shops and other businesses say they’re...
Florida Insurer Launches Company Offering Admitted, Standalone Flood Coverage
Mar 23 2016 // A Florida-based homeowners insurer has beefed up its flood insurance offering with the launch of a new flood-coverage only company called TypTap. The new company, a wholly owned subsidiary of Homeowners Choice Property...
Florida Jury Awards Hulk Hogan $115M in Sex Tape Lawsuit Against Media Company
Mar 21 2016 // A jury in Florida awarded wrestling star Hulk Hogan an eye-popping $115 million on Friday in his sex tape lawsuit against Gawker Media – and the award isn’t Hogan’s final round in the suit. Next up, the jury...
