Latest Florida Headlines

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

Customer Sues Dunkin Donuts Over ‘Exploding’ Toilet in Florida

Jan 8 2024 // ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A customer has filed a negligence lawsuit against Dunkin`, claiming he was injured by an exploding toilet at one of the coffee chain`s locations in central Florida.Paul Kerouac is seeking more...

Florida Bills Would Provide Millions in Flood Mitigation, Elevation Grants

Jan 8 2024 // Florida’s wind-mitigation grant program for homeowners has proven to be so popular that the governor has proposed another $107 million for it this year, and some experts have called home fortification the only way to...

Mortgage Value Limit for Homeowners? That Sounds Like a Bad Idea

Jan 5 2024 // For context, I suggest that you read this Insurance Journal story that provides some details related to the bill that I want to discuss. Here’s the link:...

FDA Allows Florida to Import Cheaper Drugs From Canada

Jan 5 2024 // (Reuters) – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Friday it had authorized Florida to directly import prescription drugs from Canada, where prices of medicines are cheaper.The regulator said it was...

Florida Bad-Faith Suit Survives Even Though Policy Limits Paid and Sinkhole Excluded

Jan 5 2024 // Just because an insurer paid the full policy limits on a claim, and argues that the damages weren’t even covered, doesn’t mean it can escape a bad-faith lawsuit. It’s the type of court decision that has...

Gallatin Point Buys Majority Stake in American Family’s Florida Unit, Has National Plans

Jan 4 2024 // If you can make it in Florida, you can make it anywhere—especially if you have a billion dollars in capital.That may be the thinking behind a plan by Gallatin Point Capital to purchase a majority stake in Trusted...

Florida Labor Supplier Sentenced to 12 Months for Tax, WC Insurance Fraud

Jan 4 2024 // The head of a Tampa-area labor supplier has been sentenced to 12 months in prison after she pleaded guilty to defrauding the IRS and workers’ compensation insurers out of millions of dollars.A federal judge in Tampa...

Florida Bill Would Require Option of Policies That Cover Only Unpaid Mortgage Amount

Jan 4 2024 // Ahead of Florida’s 2024 legislative session that begins Jan. 9, at least a dozen bills have been filed that could have an impact on the state’s insureds and insurers. It’s a sign that lawmakers are under...

Army Corps Approves Massive Beach Renourishment for Jacksonville Area

Jan 3 2024 // The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has given approval to a $32 million plan to renourish much of the critically eroded beaches near Jacksonville, a project that could throw a lifeline to tourism and insured properties in the...

Brown & Brown Adds Caton-Hosey Agency in Florida

Jan 2 2024 // Florida-based Brown & Brown Insurance, ranked as the sixth-largest independent brokerage in the country, has acquired Caton-Hosey Insurance, a personal and business-lines agency in Port Orange, Florida. The agency was...

Allstate Sues Florida Pain Clinics, Alleging Millions in Fraudulent Billings

Jan 2 2024 // After an Allstate Insurance investigation alleged that a well-known Florida pain clinic had conspired with an injury law firm and had fraudulently billed the auto insurer for unnecessary surgeries and risky procedures,...

Top Insurance Journal Florida Stories of 2023

Jan 2 2024 // Weather, windshields and reform were the most-read Insurance Journal stories for Florida readers in 2023, continuing a trend seen in recent years as insureds, insurers and lawmakers continued to manage the property...

Florida Countertop Firm Owner Killed in Helicopter Crash

Dec 29 2023 // MIAMI (AP) — Emergency workers in south Florida this week tried to rescue a 71-year-old pilot of a helicopter that crashed into a canal. The man’s daughter swam to safety but the pilot could not be saved,...

Top Southeast Insurance Journal Stories of 2023

Dec 29 2023 // Outside of the turbulent state of Florida, the Southeastern U.S. saw its share of insurance issues, from carriers pulling out of Georgia to roof-matching requirements in Kentucky to liquor liability problems in South...

En Route to Grandma’s House, 6-year-old Put on Wrong Flight to Florida

Dec 28 2023 // FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) — A 6-year-old boy who left on a flight to visit his grandmother in southwest Florida instead was put on the wrong plane and ended up 160 miles away in Orlando, Florida.When the grandmother,...

Florida Suit Over Charged Lemonade Death Puts New Focus on Energy Drink Safety

Dec 28 2023 // Panera Bread Co. must face a lawsuit over a death allegedly linked to its new line of “charged” lemonades, which have thrust the company into the spotlight and brought a renewed focus on the safety of...

NC Appeals Court Says Injured Off-Duty Law Officers are Joint Employees

Dec 27 2023 // The question has arisen many times around the country: Is an injured, off-duty law officer, moonlighting on security or traffic control, considered an employee of the law enforcement division or a private company?The North...

Police Searching for Suspect in Deadly Florida Mall Shooting

Dec 26 2023 // OCALA, Fla. (AP) — Authorities in central Florida issued an arrest warrant Sunday for a 39-year-old man accused of fatally shooting another man at a shopping mall two days before Christmas in which police say the...

Viewpoint: Florida High Court Tapped Brakes On Dangerous Instrumentality Liability

Dec 26 2023 // Floridians concerned about liability when sharing their automobiles with children or friends can relax a bit after the Florida Supreme Court’s recent ruling on the state’s long-standing dangerous...

Risk Strategies Buys Florida-based Setnor Byer Brokerage

Dec 22 2023 // Risk Strategies, a specialty insurance brokerage, has acquired Setnor, Byer, Boganoff Inc., which does business as Setnor Byer Insurance & Risk, a Fort Lauderdale-area brokerage and risk management firm. Terms of the...