Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Florida Bills on Litigation Financing, Wind-Mit Program Moving Along
Feb 9 2024 // Two pieces of legislation that could help reduce losses and litigation costs for insurance carriers are moving in the Florida Legislature: Litigation funding restrictions and changes to the state’s home-hardening...
4.0 Earthquake Felt off Florida’s East Coast
Feb 9 2024 // Along with hurricanes and litigation, Floridians and their insurers can now add another potential concern: earthquakes. The National Weather Service reported that a 4.0 magnitude temblor, one of the largest recorded in the...
Florida Specialty Insurer Fortegra Shelves IPO Plans at the Last Hour
Feb 7 2024 // Jacksonville-based specialty insurer Fortegra Group has withdrawn its plans for an initial public offering in the United States, just hours before the IPO and nearly three years after the company scrapped its earlier...
‘My Safe Florida Condo,’ Pet Insurance Bills Passed by Senate Committee
Feb 7 2024 // First came the My Safe Florida Home program, providing matching grants to homeowners who fortify their homes against wind damage in exchange for premium discounts. Seeing the popularity and effectiveness of that program,...
Safepoint’s Florida Startup, Manatee Insurance Exchange, Gets COA, Financial Ratings
Feb 7 2024 // Florida regulators have approved another reciprocal property insurance company and it has received ratings from two financial rating firms. Manatee Insurance Exchange, a spinoff from Tampa-based Safepoint Insurance Co.,...
Gallagher Targets Florida Condo Market with Acquisition of John Galt Agency
Feb 6 2024 // Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. has acquired Fort Lauderdale-based John Galt Insurance Agency, expanding Gallagher’s presence in the beleaguered condominium and association market in Florida, the global insurance...
Miami Man Charged with Selling Fake Policies to South Florida Car Buyers, Drivers
Feb 6 2024 // A Miami man posing as an insurance agent reportedly swindled at least eight people out of $29,000 by selling them fake auto insurance policies. That man, William Diehl, was arrested recently and charged with fraud and...
Cone of Uncertainty to Include Inland Areas, Where Storm Damage can Be Heavy
Feb 5 2024 // ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — The “cone of uncertainty” produced by the National Hurricane Center to forecast the location and ferocity of a tropical storm is getting an update this year to include predictions...
Florida House Votes to Loosen Child Labor Laws a Year After Tougher Immigrant Statute
Feb 5 2024 // TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A year after Florida enacted a law making it more difficult for employers to hire immigrants illegally, a move that has reportedly exacerbated a labor shortage and has added to property insurance...
Business Moves
Feb 5 2024 // East Arthur J. Gallagher, Hughes Insurance Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. acquired the Queensbury, New York-based independent insurance agency, Hughes Insurance Agency Inc. From its headquarters in Queensbury and an office...
What’s to Come in 2024: Hard Market, AI Expansion, More Catastrophes, Network Consolidation
Feb 5 2024 // No one can predict the future, but insurance professionals are likely the best qualified when it comes to predicting risk. For this special report, Insurance Journal asked industry thought leaders their predictions for the...
South Carolina Liquor Liability Market ‘Extremely Unprofitable,’ DOI Report Says
Feb 5 2024 // A report from the South Carolina Department of Insurance confirms what insurers and bars and restaurants have said for the past few years: Liquor liability coverage in the state is “extremely unprofitable” for...
Online News Site in Florida Shuts Down After Less Than a Year
Feb 2 2024 // WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Messenger, an ambitious online news site that billed itself as a nonpartisan digital outlet and spent some $50 million ratcheting up its business effort, abruptly shut down Wednesday...
Ken Griffin Wants to Stop ‘Toxic Waste’ Casinos in South Florida
Feb 2 2024 // (Bloomberg) — Ken Griffin wants to exert more influence in Florida politics. One of his top priorities: stopping new casinos in his backyard. The state’s second-richest person is opposing a bill that would...
Florida High Court Says Appraisals Can Be Compelled Before Coverage Decided
Feb 2 2024 // The Florida Supreme Court has resolved a conflict between differing appeals court decisions, deciding that property insurers can be compelled to submit to the appraisal process long before causation, coverage and...
Disney Lawsuit Against DeSantis Dismissed by Federal Judge
Feb 1 2024 // (Bloomberg) — Walt Disney Co.’s lawsuit accusing Florida Governor Ron DeSantis of politically retaliating against the company was dismissed by a federal judge. US District Judge Allen Winsor in Tallahassee,...
Florida Bills Would Let Surplus Lines Do Takeouts and Require More Data Reporting
Jan 31 2024 // A key Florida Senate committee this week advanced a bill that would allow surplus lines carriers to take over coverage of second homes from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Reaction by agents and brokers was mixed. The...
Three in Miami Charged with Workers’ Comp Payroll Fraud
Jan 30 2024 // Three Miami-area construction labor suppliers have been charged with underreporting payroll and shorting their workers’ compensation insurers more than $220,000 in premiums. Juana Ledezma and Luis Ledezma, associated...
Family of Florida Woman Killed by Alligator Sues Housing Complex for Negligence
Jan 29 2024 // WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The family of a Florida woman killed by an alligator last year as she walked her dog in her backyard is suing the housing complex’s owner, alleging its employees fed the gator and...
Are Some Florida Workers’ Comp Judges Bending to the Political Winds on Fees?
Jan 29 2024 // Attorney fees in Florida workers’ compensation cases seem to be part of a story that will never end, and a state appeals court has added new life to the story with decisions that give support to both sides of the...
