Latest Florida Headlines

All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Renaissance Alliance Insurance Services Adds 6 Agency Members in Florida

Jun 30 2020 // Renaissance Alliance Insurance Services, a membership alliance for independent insurance agencies, has added six independent insurance agencies to its Florida network. The new members include: AFG Insurance (American...

Florida Restaurant Fined More Than $314K for Stealing Tips, Wages

Jun 30 2020 // Federal officials say a Florida restaurant chain with six locations has been fined more than $314,500 for taking employee tips and wages. The U.S. Department of Labor reported Friday that the Vietnamese chain Pho 79...

As Florida Virus Cases Spike, Officials Shut Down Bars

Jun 29 2020 // The state of Florida set on Saturday another record in daily confirmed coronavirus cases. Florida health officials reported more than 9,500 new COVID-19 cases, surpassing the previous day’s total by more than 600...

Actors Union Asks Disney to Delay Reopening Florida Parks

Jun 26 2020 // A day after Disney said it would delay reopening its California theme parks, the union representing actors at Walt Disney World said Thursday that the company should also postpone welcoming back guests at its Florida parks...

Florida Counties to Crack Down on Businesses as Virus Cases Surge

Jun 25 2020 // This story has been updated from an earlier version: Floridians traveling to the New York City area will be required to quarantine as Florida’s new confirmed coronavirus cases skyrocketed by 5,500 Wednesday, a 25%...

United Insurance Holdings of Florida Appoints Peed as Chairman, CEO

Jun 25 2020 // The Board of Directors of United Insurance Holdings Corp., a property and casualty insurance holding company based in Florida, has appointed R. Daniel Peed as chairman of the board of directors and chief executive officer,...

Florida Farmers Offer Reward After Watermelon Crop is Destroyed

Jun 24 2020 // A family of farmers in North Florida is seeking answers after a field of watermelons was sprayed with damaging chemicals. Hugh Martin told the Gainesville Sun his family is offering a $10,000 reward for information that...

The Plexus Groupe Acquires Florida’s Community Insurance Group

Jun 24 2020 // The Plexus Groupe, a privately held broker, has acquired Community Insurance Group (CIG) of Brandon, Fla. This is the first entrance into the Florida market for Plexus, which has locations in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Los...

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Acquires Florida’s Barrett, Liner & Buss

Jun 24 2020 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Ocala, Fla.-based Barrett, Liner & Buss LLC. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Founded in 1981, Barrett, Liner & Buss offers a range of employee benefit...

North Carolina Electric Distributor Cited for Safety Hazards at Florida Worksite

Jun 23 2020 // The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Florida Progress LLC, operating as Duke Energy Florida LLC, for exposing employees to excavation hazards at a Zephyrhills,...

Florida’s Citizens Accuses Embattled Law Firm, Others of Sham Lawsuits, Racketeering

Jun 22 2020 // Florida’s state-run Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has joined a chorus of insurance companies accusing the Strems Law Firm of lawsuit abuse. Citizens says it has lost millions of dollars due to an alleged scheme...

Florida Congresswoman Requests Longer Hurricane Season

Jun 22 2020 // Even though the six-month Atlantic hurricane season lasts as long as a typical Major League Baseball season, a Florida congresswoman thinks it needs to be longer. Democratic U.S. Rep. Stephanie Murphy sent a letter to the...

Florida Residual Workers’ Comp Plan Issues $27.6M in Premium Refunds

Jun 18 2020 // Nearly 13,000 policyholders of the Florida Workers’ Compensation Joint Underwriting Association (FWCJUA) will receive workforce premium refunds totaling $27.6 million over the next few months. According to the...

Lighthouse Completes Merger with Florida’s Prepared Insurance Co.

Jun 17 2020 // Lighthouse Property Insurance Corp. has completed its previously announced merger plans with sister carrier, Prepared Insurance Co. Lighthouse will assume the Prepared portfolio and write directly in the state of Florida,...

Some Florida Bars, Restaurants Temporarily Close as Virus Cases Rise

Jun 16 2020 // Some Florida bars and restaurants are temporarily closing their doors after being back open for just a few weeks because workers or patrons have tested positive for the new coronavirus. The closures come as the number of...

Florida City Hit with $2.1M Fine Over Sewage Spills

Jun 15 2020 // The city of Fort Lauderdale has been slapped with $2.1 million in fines by the state for a series of sewage spills. The South Florida SunSentinel reports that the state Department of Environmental Protection originally...

Centauri Insurance of Florida Taps Moore as VP of Sales, Agency Relations

Jun 15 2020 // Centauri Specialty Insurance Holdings and its subsidiaries have hired Rick Moore as vice president of Sales and Agency Relations. As a part of the leadership team, Moore is responsible for the growth and management of...

Survey: Florida Residents More Concerned for Hurricane Season Amid Pandemic

Jun 15 2020 // Florida has officially started hurricane season and a new survey shows a majority of residents are more concerned for this year’s potential storms than in previous years, given the simultaneous continuing issues...

Florida Cat Fund Foregoes Private Reinsurance for 2020 Hurricane Season

Jun 15 2020 // Reinsurance coverage for the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund was not purchased for this year’s hurricane season after overseers of the fund evaluated the market and found a lack of private capital availability. In...

Coronavirus Spreading Among U.S. Fruit, Vegetable Packers Raising Concern

Jun 11 2020 // From apple packing houses in Washington state to farm workers in Florida and a California county known as “the world’s salad bowl,” outbreaks of the novel coronavirus are emerging at U.S. fruit and...