Latest Florida Headlines
All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.
Doctors, Insurers Clash on Florida Workers’ Comp Physician Dispensing Rules
Jan 17 2023 // Physician dispensing of medications has long been a flash point in workers’ compensation insurance, with at least 22 states regulating or restricting the practice. Florida is no exception to the controversy, and...
Florida OIR: Litigation Cost Data Due March 1
Jan 13 2023 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation is reminding property/casualty carriers that litigation cost data for 2022 is due March 1. The data call was required by Senate Bill 76 in 2021 as a way to determine the amount of...
Florida Rodeo Rider Dies After Being Thrown From Horse
Jan 10 2023 // A woman died after she was thrown from a horse at a rodeo in the Florida panhandle, authorities said Sunday. The 56-year-old woman had just finished competing in a barrel race at the Baker Rodeo on Saturday when she was...
Former Florida Insurance Adjuster Pleads Guilty in Scheme that Robbed Drug Dealers
Jan 9 2023 // A former Florida claims adjuster for State Farm Insurance and Berkshire Hathaway Group has pleaded guilty to participating in a brazen plan in which suspects posed as law officers and robbed alleged drug dealers in the...
Florida High Court Upholds Slashing of Punitive Damage Award in Tobacco Case
Jan 8 2023 // The Florida Supreme Court has struck down $16 million in punitive damages against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. as “excessive,” a decision that could bode well for insurers and businesses relying on courts to...
Insurer vs. Insurer: Appeals Court Affirms Bad Faith Verdict in Florida Work Injury Case
Jan 6 2023 // After a job-site injury left independent contractor Ernest Guthrie paralyzed below the waist, two insurers for the contractor that hired him agreed to pay the full policy limits — $1 million each — only one month after...
New Florida Law Makes Joint Settlement Offers ‘Legit’ But May Not Go Far Enough
Jan 6 2023 // In the celebration over the Florida Legislature’s sweeping insurance reforms approved last month, one statutory change has slipped under the radar a bit – one that insurance attorneys said will streamline the...
Florida Workers’ Comp Division Busy with Panel Review, Hearings, Rule Changes
Jan 5 2023 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s Division of Workers’ Compensation is having a busy January. Starting today, Jan. 5, the Division of Workers’ Compensation will hold meetings on key medical...
Emergency Berm Said to Have Helped Florida Beaches During Ian, Nicole
Jan 3 2023 // While crews finish final details of a widespread St. Johns County beach repair project, county officials are considering work next year to correct erosion from Tropical Storms Ian and Nicole. “In five to six months,...
Appeals Court Rules Against Transgender Man in Florida Bathroom Suit
Jan 2 2023 // A federal appeals court has ruled that a Florida school district’s policy of separating school bathrooms based on biological sex is constitutional. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced its 7-4 decision on...
First Florida Joins Forces with King Insurance
Dec 29 2022 // First Florida Insurance Network, headquartered in Palm Coast, is now a part of the King Insurance Partners team. King, a fast-growing insurance brokerage, announced the agreement in a news release. First Florida is a...
Florida Crops Appear to Have Escaped Serious Damage From Unusually Cold Weather
Dec 29 2022 // Florida’s citrus, fruit and vegetable crops appear to have escaped any widespread damage from some of the coldest weather in years, officials with state growers associations said Tuesday. A cloud cover helped protect...
Extreme Heat in Florida: Miami-Dade Has a Plan
Dec 28 2022 // You’re not imagining it: Miami-Dade County has gotten hotter in the last fifty years, a trend that’s set to continue if climate change remains unchecked. That’s more than a discomfort for residents in...
Florida Attorney Strems Disbarred; Public Adjuster’s License Could be Revoked
Dec 27 2022 // Florida officials have taken strong action against two of the insurance industry’s most-detested adversaries, disbarring a notorious plaintiffs’ attorney who filed thousands of frivolous claims lawsuits, and...
Florida Citizens’ CEO Gilway Announces Retirement
Dec 22 2022 // He waited until the Florida Legislature had passed long-sought reforms, but now Citizens Property Insurance Corp. CEO Barry Gilway is ready to retire after almost 11 years at the helm. Gilway announced at the Citizens...
Florida’s Ascendant Names Three to Marketing Positions
Dec 20 2022 // Ascendant Names Three Marketing Reps Ascendant Insurance Solutions, based in Coral Gables, Florida, has named three new marketing representatives. Cook Jackie Cook, with more than 30 years of experience in commercial and...
Risk Strategies Buys Florida Condominium Insurance Agency
Dec 19 2022 // Boston-based broker Risk Strategies announced it has acquired Statewide Condominium Insurance, a Vero Beach, Florida, retail broker focused on the condominium and apartment complex sectors. Founded in 1996, Statewide...
Florida Gov. DeSantis Signs Bill Seeking to Stabilize Insurance Market
Dec 19 2022 // Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a sweeping property insurance bill on Friday. How much and when it will work to stabilize the stormy market are among the questions being asked. One of the key goals of the legislation is...
Florida Insurance Commissioner Resigns, Gives No Reasons or Future Plans
Dec 15 2022 // Florida’s insurance commissioner on Thursday announced his resignation, effective Dec. 28, surprising some in the industry despite rumors that have swirled for the past few days. David Altmaier, who has been in the...
Florida House Approves Historic Insurance Reforms, Sending Bill to Governor
Dec 15 2022 // One day after the Florida Senate approved a landmark revision to Florida’s property insurance rules, the House followed suit, perhaps bringing to a close an era of surging claims litigation, insurer insolvencies and...
