Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Appeals Court Upholds $12M Verdict in Fatal Keys Crash; Insurer Facing Bad-Faith Claim
Oct 27 2023 // A federal appeals court this week upheld a $12 million jury award against a gravel and waste-hauling company in a horrific highway accident that killed four Spanish women who were on vacation in the Florida Keys in...
FEMA Raises Federal Cost Share to 90% of Eligible Hurricane Ian Recovery in Florida
Oct 26 2023 // The Federal Emergency Management Agency has raised the federal cost share for funding assistance, potentially making millions more dollars available to Florida authorities for Hurricane Ian recovery efforts in Florida, the...
Florida-based Brown & Brown Beats Expectations with Earnings, Dividends
Oct 25 2023 // Brown & Brown Inc. (BRO on NYSE) this week reported third-quarter earnings of $175.9 million. The Daytona Beach, Florida-based brokerage said it had net income of 62 cents per share. Earnings, adjusted for...
Six Years After They Began, Strems’ Massive Litigation Actions Detailed in Book
Oct 25 2023 // The story of disbarred Florida plaintiffs’ attorney Scot Strems has been told, in bits and pieces, in this publication and others over the last six years. But the saga and Strems’ alleged actions and the havoc...
Kentucky Clarifies Matching Law While Florida Insurers Get Limits on Replacement
Oct 24 2023 // Matching requirements for roofs and interior furnishings have been a tough issue in the property insurance industry for years. Recent developments show how insurers and regulators in different Southeast states are managing...
Florida Special Session Called to Punish Iran…and Help Floridians with Wind Mitigation
Oct 23 2023 // Florida lawmakers have agreed to convene in another special session – the sixth in three years – this time to sanction the country of Iran but with a little indirect Florida property insurance relief also on the...
Ameris Bank Agrees to Invest $9M in Jacksonville, Settling DOJ Redlining Charges
Oct 19 2023 // Ameris Bank, an Atlanta-based corporation with operations in seven Southeastern states, has agreed to invest $9 million in minority neighborhoods in Jacksonville, part of a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice...
Authorities Still Digging After Brazen Heist of $1.6M in Liquor From Florida Warehouse
Oct 18 2023 // The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating after burglary that swiped more than $1.6 million worth of liquor from a Tampa-area warehouse. The theft happened in July at the Republic National...
17 Florida Sheriff’s Deputies Charged with Stealing $500,000 in Pandemic Relief Funds
Oct 17 2023 // FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Seventeen Florida sheriff`s deputies appeared in court on charges that they stole about half a million dollars in pandemic relief funds. The Broward County deputies, who are charged...
1 Global Capital CEO Pleads to Using Investor $ for Cars, Artwork Insurance
Oct 17 2023 // MIAMI (AP) — A Florida executive whose family business once owned Playgirl magazine is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud for misleading investors in another of his...
NFP Acquires Florida Broker
Oct 17 2023 // Global insurance broker NFP announced it has acquired Benefits & Co., the Florida benefits business of Clearscope, a benefits services and software firm with offices in New York and New Jersey. Based in Sunrise,...
Florida Citrus Forecast Improves Over Last Year When Hurricanes Hit State
Oct 16 2023 // The forecast for Florida citrus, the state’s signature crop, is expected to improve in the upcoming season compared to last year when twin hurricanes battered the state at the start of the citrus season, according to...
Catastrophe Bond Market Defies Global Selloff With Record Returns
Oct 16 2023 // As bond markets everywhere get battered by a cocktail of higher interest rates, deficit angst and hawkish central bankers, one class of debt instrument is handing creditors double-digit returns: catastrophe...
Slide Assumes 86,000 Farmers Policies in Florida, Offers Appointments to Agents
Oct 16 2023 // Tampa-based Slide Insurance, which has made a practice of assuming Florida policies from other insurers in the last two years, said it has acquired renewal rights to 86,000 homeowner policies from Farmers...
AM Best Tweaks State Farm Outlook to Negative After Weather, Regulatory Issues
Oct 16 2023 // The AM Best financial rating firm has downgraded its outlook for multiple State Farm insurance companies due to weather losses and regulations that the rating firm said hinder the insurance giant’s ability to...
Homeowners Face Rising Insurance Rates as Climate Change Makes Wildfires, Storms More Common
Oct 16 2023 // A growing number of Americans are finding it difficult to afford insurance on their homes, a problem only expected to worsen because insurers and lawmakers have underestimated the impact of climate change, a new report...
Multifamily in Peril: The Perfect Storm
Oct 16 2023 // The multifamily and rental property industries have faced quite an upheaval over the past few years, the impacts of which are certainly being felt by landlords and property managers. More than one national multifamily...
Florida Supreme Court Declines to Rehear Med Mal Case that Changed Rule on Experts
Oct 13 2023 // The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday declined to rehear a medical malpractice case that has made it easier for insurers and health care providers to challenge a plaintiff’s expert. In University of Florida Board of...
Possible Tornadoes Cause Damage in Parts of Florida
Oct 13 2023 // CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — A storm system that moved across parts of Florida early Thursday left a path of damage to cars, houses and businesses, authorities said. The storms moved north into Citrus County, where...
Integris Expands out of New England, Acquires MedMal Direct in Florida
Oct 13 2023 // Integris Group, a member-owned professional liability insurer based in Connecticut, has agreed to purchase MedMal Direct Insurance Co. and its agency, CorePRO, from Physicians Trust Inc., the firms announced this...
