Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Leak at Wastewater Pond Prompts Evacuations in Florida
Apr 5 2021 // Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency Saturday after a significant leak at a large pond of wastewater threatened to flood roads and burst a system that stores polluted waters. Officials in Florida...
Florida School District Hit with ‘Bizarre’ $40M Ransomware Demand
Apr 5 2021 // The computer system of one of the nation’s largest school districts was hacked by a criminal gang that encrypted district data and demanded $40 million in ransom or it would erase the files and post students’...
What The Telecommuting Trend Could Mean for Florida Workers’ Comp Claims
Apr 1 2021 // As companies continue to adapt to COVID-19, it is evident that one of the long-lasting effects of the novel coronavirus will be the increased number of permanent work from home accommodations. According to a recent Gallup...
COVID-19 Liability Bill for Florida Businesses, Healthcare Providers Signed by Gov
Mar 31 2021 // Florida businesses, governments and healthcare providers will be protected from coronavirus lawsuits if they made a good effort to follow guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19 under a bill signed by Republican Gov....
Florida’s Centauri Insurance Keeps ‘A’ Rating, Plans Expansion After Applied Acquisition
Mar 30 2021 // Centauri insurance companies (Centauri Specialty Insurance Co. and Centauri National Insurance Co.) have sustained their financial stability rating of “A” (Exceptional) from Demotech, after being strengthened...
Florida School District to Pay $2M Over Chicken Nugget Choking Death of Student
Mar 30 2021 // The family of a 19-year-old student with autism will receive a $2 million settlement from a Florida school district a year and a half after he choked on a chicken nugget and died. The settlement approved by the Palm Beach...
Fire Destroys Historic Black Church in Northeast Florida
Mar 29 2021 // Officials are trying to determine what caused a fire early Friday that destroyed a historic Black church in northeast Florida. Clay County Fire Rescue tweeted that no one was injured in the fire that started around 11 p.m....
Florida Lawmakers Send COVID-19 Liability Protection Bill to Governor
Mar 29 2021 // Florida businesses, governments and healthcare providers will be protected from coronavirus lawsuits if they made a good effort to follow guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19 under a bill the House sent to...
Fate of Florida Insurance Reforms Uncertain as Lawmakers Weigh Industry-Backed Bills
Mar 26 2021 // Two bills designed to deal with Florida’s crumbling property insurance market have embarked on divergent paths in the state legislature as lawmakers approach the final weeks of the 2021 session. Senate Bill 76 and...
Alera Group Acquires E3 Outsource of Florida, Launches National Employee Benefits Helpline
Mar 25 2021 // Alera Group, an employee benefits, financial services and risk management company, has acquired E3 Outsource, an employee benefits management and technology firm. The acquisition became effective March 1, 2021. The E3...
Data: Florida’s Texting-While-Driving Law Rarely Enforced
Mar 24 2021 // A Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputy was heading east on Interstate 4 in his red Dodge Charger on a brilliantly sunny afternoon in Florida when he saw him: A young driver behind the wheel of a Jeep texting on his...
Century Risk Advisors of Florida Names Lo Director of Marketing
Mar 24 2021 // Independent insurance and risk management agency Century Risk Advisors (CRA) has named Ramon Lo as director of Marketing. In this role, Lo will spearhead CRA’s branding and marketing initiatives. Ramon Lo Prior to...
Florida Man Sentenced to 3 Years for Lying About Hurricane Irma Damage
Mar 22 2021 // A Florida man has been sentenced to three years in federal prison for lying about damage caused by Hurricane Irma. Steven Rembert, 49, of Orange County, was sentenced Monday in Orlando federal court, according to court...
Florida to Hold Hearing on Proposed National Specialty 24.9% Rate Increase
Mar 22 2021 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation will conduct a virtual rate hearing this week on a proposed 24.9% rate increase filed by National Specialty Insurance Co. for its homeowners multi-peril lines of...
Insurance Agents on the Front Line of Florida’s Mounting Property Market Problems
Mar 22 2021 // While carriers face growing financial losses in Florida’s distressed property insurance market, insurance agents are on the front lines trying to help their clients who are being hit with double-digit rate increases,...
Citizens’ CEO: Florida Property Insurance Market is Shutting Down
Mar 19 2021 // Florida’s insurer of last resort, Citizens Property Insurance Corp., has become the insurer of first resort as thousands of new policies flood into it each week and the private homeowners insurance market continues...
Applied Underwriters Acquires Florida Casualty Insurance Co.
Mar 18 2021 // Florida Casualty Insurance Co. (FCIC), formerly Ashmere Insurance Co., has been acquired by Applied Underwriters and will become part of Applied’s national and international development plan. The newly re-branded,...
Bills Regulating Social Media Advance in Florida Legislature
Mar 17 2021 // Florida lawmakers plunged deeper Monday into the politically fraught task of attempting to regulate social media and other Big Tech companies, which some Republicans accuse of bias against conservatives. The House...
Florida Insurers Sustain ‘A’ Ratings, For Now, As 2020 Industry Losses Top $1.5B
Mar 17 2021 // Ratings agency Demotech has affirmed the ‘A’ ratings of the Florida homeowners carriers it rates, which account for approximately 66% of the state’s market, after review of 2020 year-end and projected Q1...
Florida Sheriff Accused of Violating Civil Rights through Intel Program
Mar 16 2021 // A federal lawsuit contends that a Florida sheriff is violating people’s rights through an intelligence-based policing program that improperly targets and harasses them. The sheriff rejects those claims. The lawsuit...
