Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Court Nixes Florida Award for Injury Before Policy Purchase
May 29 2012 // A Florida appellate court has reversed a $6.25 million judgment against an insurance company because it was for an injury that occurred four days before coverage was obtained. A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court...
Florida Readies Storm Plan for Republican Convention
May 24 2012 // Florida Gov. Rick Scott will have the final say whether to cancel the Republican National Convention in the event of a hurricane. The convention where Mitt Romney is expected to be formally nominated as the Republican...
Weather Channel’s Knabb Named Chief of National Hurricane Center
May 21 2012 // Richard Knabb, the tropical weather expert at The Weather Channel, will be the next chief of the U.S. government’s hurricane forecasting hub in Florida, federal officials said Friday. The promotion to director of the...
Florida Revises Workers’ Comp Certificates, Audit Laws
May 21 2012 // Florida’s governor has signed legislation streamlining the workers’ compensation certificate process, eliminating mandatory premium audits, and discontinuing refunds for insurers with excess profits. Gov. Rick...
Florida’s Citizens Defends Plan to Consider Higher Rates on New Business
May 18 2012 // Facing protests from consumers and state officials, Florida’s state-run homeowners insurer has found itself defending a proposal to increase rates for new customers above a legislative cap placed on current...
OSHA Probes Florida Postal Worker’s Mysterious Illness
May 18 2012 // The federal agency that monitors worker safety has opened an investigation into the illness of a U.S. postal worker who became sick after coming into contact with a mysterious package from Yemen. A spokesman for the...
Forecasters Examine Hurricane Andrew’s Legacy
May 18 2012 // The ability to predict how bad a storm will be has eluded forecasters since Hurricane Andrew made a catastrophic landfall in South Florida two decades ago and it will remain a challenge for the next chief at the National...
Misuse of BP Oil Spill Funds Prompts Changes by Florida County
May 17 2012 // Amid a criminal investigation into the alleged misuse of funds paid by BP after the 2010 Gulf oil spill, a Panhandle county made big changes this week in the way it oversees spending for promotion of the area’s...
Florida Blood Bank Sued Over HIV Infection Says Supply Is Safe
May 17 2012 // A Florida blood bank being sued by a patient who claims he was infected with HIV after a transfusion says its blood supply is safe. Gainesville, Fla.-based LifeSouth Community Blood Centers said in a release that every...
Alabama Man Sues Florida Blood Bank Over HIV Infection
May 16 2012 // An Alabama man has filed a lawsuit against a Florida blood bank, charging that a transfusion during a coronary bypass surgery infected him with HIV. The lawsuit alleges that the contaminated blood given to Howard Midkiff...
Allstate Looks to Grow Florida Agency Force Again
May 15 2012 // Allstate’s Florida says it wants to add dozens of new agencies along with support staff jobs across the state, mostly in north and central Florida. Allstate said its 2012 agency strategy should create approximately...
Glisson Named to Board of Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance
May 15 2012 // Don Glisson, Jr., chairman and CEO of Triad Financial Services, Jacksonville, Florida, has been appointed to serve as a member of the board of governors of the state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Florida Chief...
Ayala Joins MarketScout in Florida
May 15 2012 // Marsha Ayala has joined MarketScout’s Florida office as an underwriter. Ayala’s hire is part of the company’s expanding activities in south Florida, where it is focusing on insurance for individuals with...
Florida Hurricane Fund May Come Up Short If Big Storm Hits: Panel
May 14 2012 // Florida may not have enough money to pay off hurricane insurance claims if a big storm hits this year. An advisory panel last Thursday concluded that the state may fall nearly $2 billion short of the total needed to cover...
Florida Supreme Court Hears Class Action Arbitration Argument
May 11 2012 // A pay day loan company’s lawyer argued this week that the Florida Supreme Court must uphold a contract provision prohibiting customers from banding together in class action arbitration cases against the firm because...
Gallagher Joins Reliance Global Group in Florida
May 11 2012 // Kevin Gallagher recently joined Reliance Global Group, Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, in the position of executive vice president of sales and marketing. Gallagher will be introducing UniSurance, a specialty product for...
Miami Boat Captain Charged with Insurance Fraud Over Sinking of $1.8M Yacht
May 10 2012 // A Miami boat captain has been arrested on a first-degree grand theft charge for allegedly sinking a $1.86 million yacht in 2009 off the Bahamas. Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced the arrest of Robert...
Florida Approves Hurricane Shelter Plan
May 10 2012 // The construction of new public schools across Florida has contributed to a significant increase in the number of hurricane shelter spaces, according to a plan approved this week by Gov. Rick Scott and the Florida...
Florida Looks to Fix Loophole in PIP Reform Law
May 9 2012 // Florida regulators are scrambling to fix a loophole in the state’s new auto no-fault insurance law that could affect medical payments to health care providers and trigger a spate of lawsuits against the law. Florida...
Florida Revises Workers’ Comp Certificates, Excess Profits, Premium Audit Laws
May 7 2012 // Florida’s governor has signed workers’ compensation legislation streamlining the workers’ compensation certificate process, eliminating mandatory premium audits, and discontinuing refunds for insurers...
