Latest Florida Headlines

All the headlines from our Florida Topic Page, ordered by recency.

Couple Staged Half Million Dollar Fraud Against Theater Nonprofit, Insurer Claims

May 21 2024 // Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. is suing a Connecticut couple the insurer alleges defrauded its insured, a Florida theater nonprofit, by using the organization’s checking and credit card accounts for more than a...

Florida’s 125% Surge in Property-Insurance Bills Sows Havoc

May 20 2024 // For Filicia Porter, the insurance bills were the final straw. They’d been climbing steeply for her assisted-living business as Florida was battered with ever more-powerful storms, and eventually, the numbers stopped...

After Two Years in the Eye of the Storm, Neal Steps Down From FIGA. Brown Up Next

May 20 2024 // Corey Neal took over as executive director of the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association in early 2022, at the height of what many would say were some of the darkest days for the Florida property/casualty market. Two...

Declarations

May 20 2024 // “As far as we can see, the momentum for the liability lines continues to be as strong as ever. … To the extent you’re seeing any slowing in the momentum of E&S, it’s likely to be property...

Business Moves

May 20 2024 // Lancashire InsuranceLancashire Insurance, a subsidiary of Lancashire Group, has been launched as an excess and surplus insurer in the United States. Lancashire Insurance US (LUS) operates under a delegated underwriting...

Security First Touts 5% Rate Decrease for HO-3, Renters Policies in Florida

May 17 2024 // Citing the stabilizing impact that legislative reforms have had on the Florida market, Security First Insurance Co. executives this week announced two residential property rate reductions of more than 5%.“For the...

Driver Says He Smoked Pot Oil, Took Meds Before Florida Crash That Killed 8 Workers

May 17 2024 // OCALA, Fla. (AP) — A man with a long record of dangerous driving told investigators he smoked marijuana oil and took prescription drugs hours before he sideswiped a bus, killing eight Mexican farmworkers and injuring...

DeSantis, Amid Criticism, Signs Bill Making Climate Change Less of a Priority

May 17 2024 // TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Climate change will be a lesser priority in Florida and largely disappear from state statutes under legislation signed Wednesday by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that also bans power-generating wind...

Greater Chance of Major Hurricane on East Coast This Year, Less in Gulf, Scientist Says

May 17 2024 // Multiple computer models from forecasting organizations across the globe have predicted a very active hurricane season starting next month, spelling trouble for Florida and much of the Eastern United States.The models...

Driver of Pickup Charged with DUI After Crash with Bus that Killed 8 Farmworkers

May 16 2024 // OCALA, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Highway Patrol has arrested the driver of a pickup truck that crashed into a farmworker bus early Tuesday, killing eight, on charges of driving under the influence-manslaughter.Bryan...

Four in Florida Charged with Faking Auto Accident Injuries to Gain PIP Payouts

May 15 2024 // Florida authorities this week charged four people with falsifying injuries from an auto accident and attempting to defraud three insurance companies out of personal injury protection payments.Maria Campos, Isabella Mendez,...

Kansas Schools Turn to AI to Spot Guns

May 14 2024 // TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas could soon offer up to $5 million in grants for schools to outfit surveillance cameras with artificial intelligence systems that can spot people carrying guns. But the governor needs to approve...

Experts Say Gun Alone Doesn’t Justify Deadly Force in Fatal Shooting of Florida Airman

May 14 2024 // On the afternoon of May 3, Roger Fortson opened the door of his Florida apartment with a gun in his hand and was immediately shot six times by a sheriff’s deputy responding to a complaint about an...

American Coastal to Sell Interboro to Forza Holdings, Completing Personal Lines Exit

May 13 2024 // American Coastal Insurance Corp. (ACIC) has agreed to sell its subsidiary Interboro Insurance Co., a New York domiciled insurer, to Forza Insurance Holdings, a Houston-based firm that funds insurance organizations serving...

It’s a Matter of When, Not if, a Hurricane Will Hit Florida, Forecasters Say

May 13 2024 // SANFORD, Fla. (AP) — With the start of hurricane season less than a month away, U.S. officials who predict, prepare for and respond to natural disasters had a message for Floridians on Friday: It’s not a matter of...

Two Tornadoes Down Trees on Homes, Kill One Person in Tallahassee

May 13 2024 // Two confirmed tornadoes and storms packing hurricane-force winds killed at least one woman Friday in Florida as a week of deadly severe weather continued in the South, where uprooted trees crashed onto homes and knocked...

Florida OIR Fines Heritage P&C $1M for Ian Claims Issues

May 13 2024 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation in recent weeks has fined five property and casualty insurers, including Heritage Property & Casualty Insurance Co., which was hit with a $1 million penalty for failing to...

Florida’s HCI Group Reports Another Healthy Quarter

May 10 2024 // TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — HCI Group Inc. (HCI) on Wednesday reported first-quarter profit of $47.6 million, which follows a $38 million profit for Q4 2023. The Tampa-based company said it had profit of $3.81 per share....

Spouse Married After Injury Can Still Seek Damages in Asbestos Claim – Fla. High Court

May 10 2024 // The Florida Supreme Court has opened the door a little wider to wrongful death claims from people who weren’t married to victims at the time of injury, upsetting what defense lawyers said was a decades-old common-law...

Fannie and Freddie Hit Pause on Replacement-Value Requirements for Home Insurance

May 9 2024 // Property insurance groups on Wednesday applauded a decision by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to hold off on an apparent plan to scrutinize mortgages on homes that don’t carry full replacement-value insurance...