Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Foreclosure Filings Spiked in July
Sep 7 2015 // After almost a year of month-to-month declines, new foreclosure starts in Florida rose in July. The research firm Realty Trac reported that foreclosure starts increased 16 percent in July from the previous July. Florida...
Business Moves
Sep 7 2015 // Distinguished, Fulcrum Distinguished Programs Holdings LLC announced the pending acquisition of Bellevue, Wash.-based Fulcrum Insurance Programs. The businesses will be combined and rebranded as Distinguished Specialty....
Stamping Offices Report Moderate Growth in U.S. Premium
Sep 7 2015 // Collectively, the 14 U.S. surplus lines stamping offices have reported moderate growth in surplus line premiums during the first half of 2015. Approximately 60 percent of all surplus lines insurance is processed by...
California Supreme Court and the Coming Assignment-of-Benefits Gold Rush
Sep 3 2015 // The California Supreme Court recently decided to break with its own precedent and declare that insurers can’t stop policyholders from assigning the benefits of their policies before a claim is settled. Like many...
Florida High Court to Decide on $3.3 Million Award to Man Mistaken for Bank Robber
Sep 3 2015 // Rodolfo Valladares wore the wrong hat to the wrong Miami bank while trying to cash a $100 check in a case of mistaken identity that’s led to a court battle over $3.3 million. A bank teller mistook Valladares for a...
Miami Agent Arrested for Operating With Expired License, Stealing Premium Funds
Sep 2 2015 // The Florida Division of Insurance Fraud announced the arrest of Tania Michel, 41, for failing to notify the Department of Financial Services of a federal fraud conviction, continuing to work in the insurance industry after...
Florida-Based Psychic Network Sues General Mills Over ‘Miss Cleo’ Image
Sep 2 2015 // The South Florida company that owns the rights to the popular TV psychic “Miss Cleo” is suing General Mills alleging copyright infringement for hiring the psychic to promote its breakfast cereal. According to a...
Doctors Ask Federal Appeals Court to Reconsider Florida ‘Docs vs. Glocks’ Law
Sep 1 2015 // Physician groups are asking a federal appeals court to reconsider a ruling upholding a Florida law restricting what doctors can ask patients about guns. Organizations representing some 11,000 medical providers want the...
Tropical Storm Erika Fades Before Florida After 20 Deaths in Caribbean Island
Aug 31 2015 // Tropical Storm Erika, which killed at least 20 people on the small Caribbean island of Dominica, broke up in the waters off Cuba, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said on Saturday. All tropical storm warnings and watches...
Ross Joins Florida’s SUNZ Insurance as In-House Counsel
Aug 31 2015 // SUNZ Insurance Co. has hired Donna Ross to join the Sarasota, Fla.-based company’s in-house legal counsel. According to Steve Herrig, CEO of SUNZ, said, Ross is joining the company as it expands its legal department...
U.S. Risk to Acquire Florida-Based Strategic Program Managers
Aug 31 2015 // U.S. Risk Insurance Group, Inc. has entered into an agreement involving the acquisition by U.S. Risk of an undisclosed ownership interest in Florida-based Strategic Program Managers, a specialist trucking MGA and broker....
Florida Nightclub Reaches $5M Settlement with Patron Attacked by Bouncer
Aug 28 2015 // Attorneys say a young man who was attacked by a bouncer at a South Beach nightclub has received a $5 million settlement. The lawyers representing 22-year-old Youness Adlan announced the settlement August 26. The Miami...
Florida-Based Advanced E&S Group Opens Dallas Office
Aug 28 2015 // Advanced E&S Group, a Florida-based managing general agency, has hired April Moeser, branch manager, and Lisa Sherman, underwriting, to facilitate the opening of the firm’s new branch office operations in Dallas,...
Deadly Erika May Weaken Before Reaching Florida on Monday
Aug 28 2015 // Deadly Tropical Storm Erika may weaken as it passes over the mountains of the Dominican Republic Friday before continuing on a path that may bring it to Florida on Monday. Erika was 90 miles (144 kilometers) east-southeast...
Florida Prepares for Possible Hurricane Erika on Monday
Aug 27 2015 // Florida advised residents and tourists to check disaster kits and escape plans as chances rise the state will face its first hurricane strike in 10 years. Tropical Storm Erika, which has triggered storm watches and...
Unmanned Work Zone Trucks Promise Road Safety, Savings
Aug 27 2015 // Roving construction crews — the kind you see blacktopping a road, painting lines, inspecting a bridge or installing a traffic signal — are often protected from oncoming traffic by a specialized truck outfitted with a...
Florida Governor Orders Random Audits of 100-Plus Hospitals
Aug 27 2015 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott is ordering state health officials to audit more than 100 hospitals as part of his ongoing battle with hospitals, which he says are driving up Medicaid costs. The state had asked hospitals and...
Citizens: Water Losses the Reason for Rate Increases in South Florida
Aug 26 2015 // In a nearly three-hour rate hearing on August 25, representatives from Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. delved into and defended their recent rate filing, which included significant increases in many...
Tropical Storm Erika Could Reach Florida by Monday
Aug 26 2015 // A “Hurricane Hunter” airplane has found that Tropical Storm Erika strengthened slightly as it approached the Leeward Islands in the Caribbean Sea, where warnings and watches have been posted, the U.S. National...
Two-Year Florida Insurance Fraud Investigation Leads to Multiple Arrests
Aug 26 2015 // The Florida Department of Financial Services’ Division of Insurance Fraud (DIF) has made multiple arrests related to a large-scale personal injury protection (PIP) fraud scheme spanning across Central Florida. Five...
