Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Cruise Line’s Appeal Backfires: Appellate Court Overturns Limit on Medical Damages
Aug 24 2020 // A federal appellate court has affirmed a $1.2 million jury award to a woman who broke her arm after tripping over a bucket on a cruise ship. That may have been the least significant part of the ruling in Higgs v. Costa...
Claims for Business Income Loss Due to Construction Dust Denied in Pre-COVID Case
Aug 21 2020 // In an opinion that could inform coronavirus business interruption claims now before various courts, a federal appeals court has ruled that a Florida restaurant is unable to collect on its insurance for business...
Florida Mayor, City Attorney Charged in $5M Hurricane Michael Fraud Scheme
Aug 21 2020 // The mayor and city attorney of a Florida Panhandle city are the latest to be charged in the theft of $5 million in Hurricane Michael debris removal funds, prosecutors announced Wednesday. Lynn Haven Mayor Margo Anderson...
Insurance Office Of America Adds Mongold to Employee Benefits Team in Florida
Aug 20 2020 // Insurance Office of America (IOA) is has added Jared Mongold to its expanding team. Mongold joins the Melbourne, Fla., branch office as an employee benefits specialist. Jared Mongold Before joining IOA, Mongold was a...
Florida Unveils $10M Loan Program to Aid Hurricane Michael-Ravaged Panhandle
Aug 19 2020 // Gov. Ron DeSantis announced a $10 million housing loan program that could benefit hundreds of home buyers in the Florida Panhandle, which was devastated two years ago by Hurricane Michael. DeSantis traveled to Panama City...
Former Florida Rep Diaz Appointed to Citizens Board of Governors
Aug 18 2020 // Former Florida State Representative Jose Felix Diaz Florida has been appointed to the Citizens Board of Governors for a three-year term beginning August 1. Diaz was appointed by House Speaker Jose Oliva, R-Miami. Jose...
Coalition Expands Admitted Cyber Insurance Offering into Florida
Aug 17 2020 // Coalition, an online cyber insurance and security company, has expanded its admitted cyber insurance offering into Florida following approval from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Businesses and organizations...
Appeals Court: Florida Public School Can’t Punish Student for Gender Nonconformity
Aug 14 2020 // xA Florida school district was wrong when it forced a transgender high school student to either use the girls bathroom or a single-stall gender neutral bathroom, a federal appeals court ruled. The ruling issued Aug. 7...
Baker Promoted to Partner of Florida-Based BKS Partners
Aug 14 2020 // BKS Partners, a Tampa-headquartered insurance brokerage and risk management firm has appointed Frank Baker to partner. Baker joined the firm as a founding member in 2006. He came aboard with experience in Tampa’s...
BKS Partners of Florida Promotes Berry to Partner
Aug 12 2020 // BKS Partners, a national insurance brokerage and risk management firm headquartered in Tampa, Fla., has appointed Jennifer Berry to partner. Berry joined BKS in 2006 as a founding colleague. She currently works with...
COVID-19 a Growing Share of Shrinking Work Comp Claims in 2 States
Aug 11 2020 // COVID-19 has become a large chunk of a dwindling number of workers’ compensation claims in Florida and California, limited data shows. The number of COVID-19 workers’ compensation claims reported in California...
Mistakes, Drama, Lawsuits: The Story of Fort Lauderdale’s Water Shutdown Crisis
Aug 11 2020 // It was supposed to be an easy job – not one that would shut down an entire city. But a series of major goofs and errors turned an underground drilling project into a nightmarish tale where the water pipes ran dry,...
Gridiron Insurance Underwriters of Florida Hires Murphy to Lead Property Division
Aug 10 2020 // Gridiron Insurance Underwriters, Inc., a program manager specializing in program business on a regional and national basis through select retail and wholesale producers, has hired Ben Murphy as its new head of...
Business Moves
Aug 10 2020 // East NFP, Team Scotti Insurance broker NFP has acquired LFG Inc., which does business as Team Scotti. The transaction closed effective Dec. 1. Team Scotti, based in Pittsburgh, Penn., and founded in 1987, is a national...
COVID Business Interruption Suits Top 700 with More to Come
Aug 10 2020 // When insurance coverage lawsuits brought by businesses seeking coverage for COVID-related interruptions surpassed the 700 mark last month, the natural question to ask was: Is that a lot? That’s exactly the question...
Florida’s Citizens Moratorium on Policy Cancellations Extended to 2021
Aug 10 2020 // Florida’s state-run insurer Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has extended its moratorium on cancellations and nonrenewals until the end of 2020 despite previously announcing it would resume processing them on Aug....
World Insurance Associates Acquires Novak Agency Insurors of Florida
Aug 7 2020 // World Insurance Associates LLC (WIA) acquired Novak Agency Insurors of Largo, Fla., on June 1, 2020. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Novak Agency Insurors will be managed out of WIA’s Saint Petersburg...
Urban Flooding Is On The Rise, So What Can Be Done?
Aug 6 2020 // As hurricane season heats up, a growing number of properties located outside of FEMA-designated high-risk flood zones are already flooding. The problem is especially bad in the urban areas of America’s cities. A...
Worldwide Facilities Acquires Clearwater Underwriters of Florida
Aug 5 2020 // Worldwide Facilities, LLC, a national wholesale insurance broker, managing general agent and program underwriter, has acquired Clearwater Underwriters, Inc., a surplus lines MGA based in Clearwater, Fla. Clearwater...
McGriff to Consolidate South Florida Operations, Open Additional Branches
Aug 4 2020 // Insurance broker McGriff will expand its southeastern Florida operations with a new headquarters office in Coral Gables and the opening of branch locations in Fort Lauderdale and Weston later this year. The move to a...
