Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Georgia’s Latest Effort on Plaintiff Demands Aims to Deter Bad-Faith Claims
Apr 3 2024 // Georgia lawmakers have approved two bills that could have a significant impact on windstorm and bad-faith claim losses for property insurers. First, the bad-faith reform legislation. Auto insurers have for years fought for...
Florida Supreme Court Lets Recreational Marijuana Stay on November Ballot
Apr 2 2024 // U.S.-listed shares of pot producers rose premarket on Tuesday after the Florida Supreme Court on Monday allowed voters to decide on the fate of recreational use of marijuana in the state through a referendum on the...
AJG Acquires Florida’s Specialty Risk Management Agency
Apr 2 2024 // The global insurance brokerage Arthur J. Gallagher has acquired Fort Myers-based Specialty Risk Management Services and its affiliate agency, Private Client Insurance Services, the broker announced Monday. Specialty Risk...
NICB Praises Florida’s New Law on Predatory Tow Truck Practices
Apr 2 2024 // The National Insurance Crime Bureau is hailing a new Florida law that aims to deter predatory tow-truck practices and limit the fees that tow companies can charge. House Bill 179 was signed by the governor in March and it...
US Home Insurance Premiums May Hit a Record This Year, Report Warns
Apr 1 2024 // US home insurance rates are expected to reach a record high this year, with the biggest increases occurring in states prone to severe weather events, according to a new analysis. The average premium for homeowners...
FEMA: SW Florida Stripped of Flood Insurance Discounts After ‘Improper Rebuilds’
Apr 1 2024 // After spiking premiums, nonrenewals and complaints about unpaid claims, more than 115,000 property owners in southwest Florida are now facing a new slap in the face after 2022’s Hurricane Ian: 25% higher flood...
Fire Chasing May be Latest Iteration of Unscrupulous Tactics
Apr 1 2024 // Fire chasing may be only the latest example of some public claims adjusters and contractors using aggressive and underhanded tactics to tap into property insurance payouts. In hurricane-prone Florida, a state with more...
Florida High Court Clarifies Things. Ruling Could Cut Damages for Bars Serving Booze to Minors
Apr 1 2024 // Liquor liability insurers in Florida can contemplate potentially lower loss costs on policies, after a recent state Supreme Court ruling that clarified when bars and restaurants can be held partially versus completely...
Creditors Want Court to Force Giuliani to Insure His Florida Condo Until It’s Sold to Pay His Debts
Apr 1 2024 // Full-time Florida residents and snowbirds aren’t the only ones having trouble obtaining insurance on their condominiums. Rudy Giuliani, the former New York Mayor and longtime attorney for Donald Trump, has told a...
Property Restoration Industry: A Culture in Need of Repair?
Apr 1 2024 // Jatiek Smith, a Bloods gang member convicted on extortion and racketeering charges in New York, blamed ruthless competition and a culture of violence in the fire restoration industry for the accusations made against him by...
Disney Ends Fight With Governor DeSantis by Settling Florida Lawsuit
Mar 27 2024 // A board appointed by Ron DeSantis to oversee the municipal authority that governs Walt Disney Co. in Florida has voted to settle a state lawsuit against the company. The board of the Central Florida Tourism Oversight...
Med Mal Trial Must Resume in Mysterious Case of Broken Hips at Florida Hospital
Mar 26 2024 // Call it the mystery of the broken hips. In 2017, 36-year-old Michael Barber attempted to take his own life by swallowing four types of medications. He then had a change of heart and called 9-1-1. He was conscious when...
People: Atlas Elevates Two in Florida, Tennessee’s Assistant Commissioner Retires
Mar 26 2024 // Atlas Insurance has named Jared Hawkins and Michael Howard partners in the Sarasota-based agency. Howard is a third-generation insurance agent at the firm and Hawkins is a second-generation agent who specializes in...
Two Crew Members on Florida-based Cruise Line Die in Ship’s Engineering Space
Mar 25 2024 // FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Two crew members on a Holland America cruise ship died during an “incident” in the ship’s engineering space, the cruise line said. The unidentified crew members died Friday...
Corner Turned? Top Florida Insurers See First Profit in Seven Years, S&P Global Says
Mar 22 2024 // Florida’s beleaguered property insurance market is starting to look normal again, with the top insurers in the state showing a collective profit for the first time in seven years, S&P Global Market Intelligence...
Citizens’ Cerio Pushes Back Against Senator’s Questions About Insurer’s ‘Solvency’
Mar 20 2024 // The CEO of Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has denied that corporation representatives have been unresponsive to Congressional requests for financial information, in the wake of unsettling comments from Gov. Ron DeSantis...
Florida Jewish Center Burned by Arsonist But Police Say It’s Not a Hate Crime
Mar 20 2024 // FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A South Florida Jewish center suffered severe damage in a weekend arson fire that police believe was set by a mentally ill homeless man who previously confronted the rabbi and others. Rabbi...
Florida High Court Ruling Could Cut Damages for Bars Serving Booze to Minors
Mar 20 2024 // Insurers in Florida can can contemplate potentially lower loss costs on liquor liability policies after a recent state Supreme Court ruling that clarified when bars and restaurants can be held partially versus completely...
How to Renew Your Insurance License with a Criminal Background Part 1: Alabama through Georgia
Mar 19 2024 // This post is part of a series sponsored by AgentSync. Insurance licenses can be hard to get and keep, even for those with the most pristine backgrounds. So, what’s an insurance producer to do if they find themselves...
Florida Jury: NICO Did Not Act in Bad Faith in Crash That Killed 4 Women From Spain
Mar 18 2024 // Six months after a federal appeals court upheld a $12 million verdict against a waste-hauling company in a crash that killed four Spanish women in the Florida keys, a jury has found that the firm’s insurer did not...
