Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Man Jailed on Insurance Fraud After ‘Theft’ of Motorcycle
Nov 1 2021 // Cameras are everywhere these days, a Florida man learned after authorities say he faked the theft of a pricey motorcycle in order to gain an insurance payout. Jeffrey Stephens, 27, was arrested Friday on fraud charges, the...
Get-A-Quote Expanding Online Tool in Florida
Nov 1 2021 // An online shopping tool, GetAQuote.com, is expanding its service to include more homeowners’ insurance offerings in Florida, the company announced. The firm began in Boca Raton, focused on upper-end homes and country...
Some Florida Agents Caught Off-Guard by Boom in Solar Power
Nov 1 2021 // Florida may be known as the Sunshine State, but some insurance agents say they’ve been unprepared for the recent boom in rooftop solar power installations across the state, installations that can affect coverage,...
Florida’s Boyd Promises New Roof Cost and Solicitation Bills
Oct 29 2021 // Despite recent signals that another round of significant property insurance reforms may be put on the back burner in the upcoming Florida legislative session, a leading committee chair said this week that more needs to be...
Florida Supreme Court Disbars Plaintiffs’ Lawyer After Deceptions
Oct 28 2021 // The Florida Supreme Court has disbarred an Orlando plaintiffs’ lawyer after the court said he intentionally deceived a trial court and his former wife about his income. Karl Koepke, a practicing attorney since 1965,...
Florida Posts New Workers’ Comp Doctor Reimbursement, But Lawmakers Must Review
Oct 28 2021 // The Florida Division of Workers’ Compensation has adopted a new reimbursement manual, governing fee schedules and payments to doctors and other health care providers. The 2020 Health Care Provider Reimbursement...
Florida DFS Mum After it Drops Public Adjuster Investigation
Oct 25 2021 // Florida property insurers may remember the strange case of Contender Claims Consultants and its associate, now-suspended Miami attorney Scot Strems. Back in 2019, it was the height of concerns about abuses of the...
Florida Lawmakers May Hold Off on More Insurance Reforms, Despite Warnings
Oct 25 2021 // Despite hearing warnings of more rate hikes and more red ink from property insurers in coming months, Florida lawmakers may little appetite for further, significant changes to the state’s insurance laws. Instead, the...
Florida Litigated Claims Dropped 9% in September
Oct 22 2021 // The Florida Legislature’s recent efforts to curtail assignments-of-benefits abuse and excessive claims litigation may be having an impact, according to a new report from a lawsuit-tracking firm. CaseGlide, a...
Florida Suit Claims 2-Year-old Found Used Condom in Posh Hotel Room
Oct 21 2021 // A New Jersey couple is suing Miami’s famous Biltmore Hotel, alleging negligence over dirty conditions in a room after they said their 2-year-old daughter was found with a used condom in her mouth. The hotel room also...
AM Best Drops Florida Farm Bureau Outlook to Negative After Surplus Declines
Oct 21 2021 // Credit-rating agency AM Best has downgraded its outlook for Florida Farm Bureau Casualty Co., from stable to negative, due to the company’s declining surplus in a disaster-prone state. “The revised outlooks...
No App for That: Florida Court Bans Lawyer-Finding Service, But More to Come
Oct 21 2021 // A Florida Supreme Court decision banning an app-based service from connecting ticketed drivers with lawyers may be a win for the law profession, but it is another impediment to average citizens gaining access to the court...
Citizens’ CEO: Florida Insurers Swimming in a Sea of Red Ink; Capital Drying Up
Oct 19 2021 // It’s not just a few Florida property insurance companies that are running into financial trouble. Almost every carrier is losing money in 2021 and the future does not look any better, the CEO of Citizens Property...
Insurers’ Payments to Expert Witnesses Are Discoverable, Florida Supreme Court Says
Oct 18 2021 // Florida insurance companies and their lawyers must disclose their financial arrangements with expert witnesses when asked to do so in litigation, the state Supreme Court has decided. In two decisions last week, the high...
Florida Law Officers Want Change to Workers’ Comp PTSD Law
Oct 18 2021 // Three years after first responders in Florida won a hard-fought victory to make mental stress a compensable condition, officers now hope lawmakers can tweak the law to correct some problems. The Florida Police Chiefs...
Judge Dismisses Air Ambulance Attempt to Block Florida Reimbursement Law
Oct 15 2021 // Florida officials are applauding a federal court’s decision to dismiss an air ambulance company’s challenge to a 2020 law that limits insurance reimbursements for pricey helicopter and fixed-wing medical...
Florida Insurers Upheld in Three More AOB Court Rulings
Oct 14 2021 // Three more appeals in assignment-of-benefits cases have gone in favor of Florida property insurers. Florida’s 3rd and 4th District Courts of Appeal handed down opinions Wednesday that upheld lower courts and found...
Despite Collapse Fears, Condo Sales in South Florida Are Soaring
Oct 12 2021 // Despite the collapse of a condominium building in June and the growing threat of rising sea levels, condo sales in South Florida have only accelerated, new data suggest. “The flow of capital to South Florida shows...
AIA Expands to Florida Workers’ Comp Market
Oct 11 2021 // While some property and casualty insurers have pulled out of the troubled Florida market, Associated Insurance Administrators sees strong potential in the workers’ compensation and commercial specialty sectors. AIA,...
The Cable Guy Is Not a Construction Worker, Florida Court Says
Oct 8 2021 // The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday handed down no insurance-related opinions in its regular weekly posting and did not report a long-awaited decision on an insurance defense attorney charged with coaching a witness...
