Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
King Insurance Buys Up Two More Florida Agencies: DMI and Insurance Den
Jan 12 2022 // King Insurance announced it has added two more Florida insurance agencies to its rapidly growing stable of firms in the Southeast. Don Martin Insurance, known as DMI agency, has offices in Orlando, Fanning Springs and...
No Need for Experts in Claims Litigation: Just Use Google Earth, Florida Bill Says
Jan 12 2022 // Insurers would no longer need to hire expensive expert witnesses in some claims disputes, but could rely on Google maps and images to show the age of property damage, if a Florida Senate bill becomes law and is endorsed by...
Citizens Starts Massive Florida Property Inspection Program This Month
Jan 11 2022 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp. is reminding agents that it is greatly expanding the number of property inspections, starting this month, in an effort to reduce its exposure. The inspections will come at no cost to the...
Florida OIR Says Claims Info Data Call Coming Early Next Year
Jan 11 2022 // Florida’s insurance commissioner announced that his office had begun a rulemaking process to draft a form insurers should use to report a wide range of data on claims, as required by legislation passed in...
Florida Passenger Train Line Kills 5th Person in a Month
Jan 10 2022 // A Brightline higher-speed train fatally struck a pedestrian who walked into its path Tuesday, the fifth death involving the railroad since it recently resumed operations after being shutdown because of the...
As Condos Age, More Owners Sell in Hot South Florida Market
Jan 10 2022 // For some South Florida condo dwellers, that tap on the shoulder could lead to the deal of a lifetime. The tri-county’s white-hot real estate market is prompting developers to take stock of the region’s older...
In Bad-Faith Claims, Florida Appeals Court Scores One for Insurer, One Against
Jan 10 2022 // Remember George Costanza’s trick in “Seinfeld,” the 1990s TV sitcom? When he couldn’t (or didn’t want to) pay his rent or other expense he would conveniently “forget” to sign the...
Patriot Growth Insurance Adds Six Agencies in Florida
Jan 7 2022 // Patriot Growth Insurance Services, a national agency, has acquired six Florida agencies, greatly expanding Patriot’s footprint in the Southeast. Pennsylvania-headquartered Patriot said in a news release that it had...
Florida Moving Company Owner Must Pay $13 Million for Using Reputable Competitor’s Name
Jan 7 2022 // A federal judge has ordered a South Florida moving company to pay more than $13 million for deceiving customers and using the name and trademark of an international competitor. Ohad Guzi and his King David Van Lines were...
People: Florida-based Vyrd Names Sales and Marketing Director
Jan 7 2022 // Vyrd Insurance Co., one of the few new insurers to brave the distressed Florida property insurance market in recent years, announced that industry veteran Elizabeth Bevelacqua has been named director of sales and...
Florida Condo Collapse Trial Now Set for 2023
Jan 6 2022 // A major lawsuit in the collapse of a Florida beachfront condominium building that killed 98 people will go to trial in March 2023, a judge said Wednesday. That’s about six months later than Miami-Dade Circuit Judge...
COVID Spike Forcing Florida Hospital’s Maternity Ward to Close, For Now
Jan 5 2022 // A South Florida hospital has temporarily closed its maternity ward due to staff-shortages related to recent outbreaks of COVID-19. Mothers-to-be who had planned on giving birth at Holy Cross Health in Fort Lauderdale will...
Could New Florida Appeals Court Help on Insurance Litigation?
Jan 4 2022 // The Florida Supreme Court’s call for an additional appellate court and six – now seven – new judges in the state has met with mixed reviews, with some attorneys welcoming the idea, while others, including a few...
Patient Info Exposed After Data Breach at South Florida Hospital System
Jan 4 2022 // Hackers broke into a South Florida hospital system’s computer network in October, potentially exposing patients’ pesonal information, including medical treatments, driver’s license numbers, phone numbers...
FAIA Posts Infographics to Help Explain Florida’s Ailing Insurance Market
Jan 3 2022 // In an effort to increase awareness of the need for further reforms that could improve the state’s distressed property insurance market, an independent agents’ organization has released a set of infographics for...
2022 Means More Claims Data From Florida Insurers, Notification on Surplus Lines
Jan 3 2022 // New Florida laws and regulations that govern insurance matters took effect Sunday. Some are minor changes to existing laws, but others could affect insurers and agents for years to come. Here’s a look at some of the...
Judge Holds Skanska Negligent for Barge Damage During Florida Hurricane
Dec 30 2021 // A federal judge has found that Skanksa USA, part of one of the largest construction companies in the world, failed to secure its barges before a 2020 Florida hurricane hit. The ruling opens the door to hundreds of lawsuits...
$1 Million in Hermes Handbags Stolen from Florida Store
Dec 29 2021 // More than a dozen one-of-a-kind Hermes handbags with an estimated value of about $1 million were stolen in a smash-and-grab burglary from a boutique store in South Florida, the store owner said. The unique luxury bags were...
Florida Woman Who Lost Leg After Pedicure Settles for $1.75M
Dec 29 2021 // A Florida woman whose leg had to be amputated because of an infection after a pedicure has reached a $1.75 million settlement with the nail salon, her attorney said. An employee at Tammy’s Nails 2 in Tampa cut Clara...
Florida Ringleader Sentenced After Security First Audit Uncovers Fraud
Dec 28 2021 // A Florida claims adjuster that authorities called the mastermind behind an extensive property insurance fraud scheme has been sentenced to three years in prison. Walter Malet, 32, of Orlando, was convicted of pilfering...
