Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Fire Causes Explosion on Florida Ship, 9 Firefighters Sent to Hospital
Jun 9 2020 // Nine firefighters responding to a fire aboard a ship in Florida have been hospitalized after the ship exploded, injuring eight and sending one to a hospital for heat exhaustion, authorities said. The explosion occurred...
Tropical Storm Cristobal Brings Rain, Flooding to South
Jun 8 2020 // Rain pounded the U.S. Gulf Coast on Sunday ahead of the arrival of Tropical Storm Cristobal, which had already spawned a tornado in Florida. Roads flooded in coastal Louisiana and Mississippi, and thousands were without...
Insurance Office Of America of Florida Names Thompson SVP Of Enterprise Initiatives
Jun 8 2020 // Insurance Office of America (IOA) has promoted Steve Thompson to the newly created position of senior vice president of enterprise initiatives. Thompson joined IOA in 2017 as a managing partner over its program...
Phase 2 of Reopening Begins for Florida with Theme Parks, Bars
Jun 5 2020 // Florida bars, bowling alleys and theme parks will be part of the next phase of reopening the state in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Wednesday. DeSantis made his announcement...
Florida Traffic Crashes Down by Half Amid Quarantine
Jun 4 2020 // The number of traffic crashes in Florida dropped by 50% in April compared to the same time last year, according to highway officials. With residents holed up at home, working remotely and running fewer errands, rush hour...
Florida Rethinks Hurricane Plans in Midst of Coronavirus
Jun 4 2020 // Florida’s emergency manager is expressing complete confidence that the state is prepared for a hurricane during the unprecedented coronavirus pandemic, but some local directors aren’t sharing the same level of...
How Florida’s Strained Insurance Market is Facing COVID-19, Hurricane Season
Jun 3 2020 // From the threat of insurer ratings downgrades to mounting carrier losses because of excessive litigation to increasing insurance rates, Florida’s insurance market got off to a rocky start in 2020. Then came the...
Florida Cat Fund Foregoes Private Reinsurance for 2020 Hurricane Season
Jun 2 2020 // Reinsurance coverage for the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund will not be purchased for the upcoming hurricane season after overseers of the fund evaluated the market and found a lack of private capital availability. In...
Pandemic-Hit Re/insurers Expect a Costly Hurricane Season – and Rates Are Rising
Jun 1 2020 // The official start of the Atlantic hurricane season on Monday could signal more steep losses for insurers and reinsurers, already battered by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on their underwriting and investment...
AssuredPartners Acquires Cypress Insurance Group of Florida
May 29 2020 // AssuredPartners, Inc. has acquired Cypress Insurance Group, Inc. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. The team of 20 will remain under the operational leadership of Terry Bond and Debbie Arciola. The agency currently reports $3...
Farm Workers Getting Sick, Spreading Coronavirus As Peak Produce Season Begins
May 29 2020 // All of the roughly 200 employees on a produce farm in Tennessee tested positive for Covid-19 this month. In New Jersey, more than 50 workers had the virus at a farm in Gloucester County, adding to nearly 60 who fell ill in...
Survey: Florida Residents More Concerned for Hurricane Season Amid Pandemic
May 29 2020 // As Florida gets ready to officially start hurricane season, 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...
Heavy Rains Cause Flooded Streets in South Florida
May 28 2020 // South Florida streets flooded Tuesday following several days of heavy rains and thunderstorms. The National Weather Service in Miami issued flash flood warnings in parts of Miami-Dade and Broward counties that were set to...
Florida CFO to Focus On Pandemic Business Liability Protections in 2021 Session
May 27 2020 // Florida CFO Jimmy Patronis said he will pursue legislation that establishes liability protections for businesses in the next legislative session slated to start in March 2021. The Florida Department of Financial Services...
Florida Unemployment System Hit by Data Breach
May 26 2020 // Some Florida residents who have made unemployment claims may have had personal data stolen, officials said Thursday. The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity has notified 98 people who were part of a data breach...
SUNZ Insurance Solutions in Florida Names Leonard as President
May 22 2020 // Rick Leonard, former director of Sales and executive vice president with SUNZ Insurance Solutions, has been appointed president of the company. Rick Leonard Leonard has been with SUNZ, a national provider of workers’...
Many Florida Business Owners Take Slow Approach to Reopening
May 21 2020 // Despite reopenings throughout Florida, some cities and businesses are hesitant about welcoming the public, saying they want to take things slow due to lingering safety concerns. It’s a delicate balance, especially...
Florida Keys to Reopen to Visitors June 1
May 21 2020 // The Florida Keys will reopen to tourists on June 1, more than two months after the island chain closed to visitors to minimize the spread of the coronavirus. Checkpoints that barred visitors from coming into the Florida...
For Third Point Re, COVID-19 Crisis Hurts, but It Celebrates 1st Underwriting Profit
May 20 2020 // Third Point Re reported a net loss of $183.6 million for the first quarter of 2020 due to COVID-19-related investment volatility – but the company still had big reasons to celebrate. For the first time since its...
Nearly 9K Acre Brush Fire in Southwest Florida Destroys At Least 7 Homes
May 19 2020 // At least seven homes were lost in a brush fire in southwest Florida, and many of the victims say they escaped with nothing more than the clothes on their backs. The 8,663-acre wildfire fire in Collier County continued to...
