Latest Florida Headlines

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

Uber Driver Arrested in Florida City for Violating Ordinance

Jul 17 2015 // Police in Key West, Fla., have arrested an Uber driver following a crackdown on unlicensed vehicle-for-hire drivers.Spokeswoman Alyson Crean told the Miami Herald that 51-year-old Martin Maness was arrested July 10 on two...

Signed, Sealed, Delivered: Florida’s 2015 Insurance Legislation Takes Effect

Jul 17 2015 // Below is a list of insurance-related Florida legislation passed by lawmakers in the 2015 regular session. All legislation has been approved by Governor Rick Scott and became effective as of July 1, 2015.HB1133 –...

U.S. Issues Tougher Rules for South Florida Check-Cashing Facilities

Jul 16 2015 // Federal authorities have issued tough new rules on check-cashing businesses in South Florida as part of the ongoing fight against rampant identity theft and tax fraud.The Treasury Department’s order applies to...

Regions Insurance Enters Agreement with Florida’s Ronald F. Holehouse Agency

Jul 16 2015 // Regions Insurance, Inc., an affiliate of Regions Bank, has entered into an agreement with the Ronald F. Holehouse Agency to obtain the firm’s personnel and accounts. Financial terms of the agreement are not...

24 Apartments Near University of Central Florida Destroyed by Fire

Jul 15 2015 // Fire officials say fire destroyed an apartment building at a complex near the University of Central Florida.It took about 60 firefighters to put out the fire at the Tivoli Apartments on the afternoon of July 12. Seminole...

Florida Supreme Court Asked to Decide Constitutionality of Workers’ Comp

Jul 15 2015 // A legal challenge to the constitutionality of Florida workers’ compensation system that was thrown out by a state appeals court may be headed to the Florida Supreme Court.The plaintiffs in the case have asked the...

Florida Approves Removal of More Than 80,000 Policies from Citizens

Jul 13 2015 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FLOIR) approved the removal of up to 80,000 personal residential policies and 1,050 commercial residential polices from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (Citizens) by the...

Cell Phone Notifications Drive More Distraction: Study

Jul 10 2015 // Driver distraction could happen even when the driver isn’t using their cell phone. That’s according to a new study by Florida State University that found just receiving a notification on a cell phone can cause...

Florida Fraud Case to be Featured on A&E Series

Jul 9 2015 // The Florida Division of Insurance Fraud will be featured on tonight’s episode of A&E’s newest series, American Takedown, at 10pm EST. According to producers, American Takedown goes behind the scenes of...

Hub Acquires Assets of Florida-Based Cooper Simms Insurance

Jul 9 2015 // Hub International Limited (Hub), a global insurance brokerage, has acquired the assets of Cooper, Simms, Nelson & Mosley (Cooper Simms), based in Winter Park, Fla. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Cooper...

Florida Fire Marshal Rules Church Fire an Accident

Jul 8 2015 // State investigators say a fire that destroyed a predominantly black church in Florida’s capital was accidental and not the work of an arsonist.Some reports had linked the fire last week at Greater Miracle Temple in...

Uber Says ‘So Long’ to One of Florida’s Largest Counties

Jul 8 2015 // The popular ridesharing service Uber has announced it is leaving Broward County.The company announced July 6 that it will withdraw completely from the county on July 31. Uber had previously agreed to withdraw from the...

Florida Strip Club Company to Pay $6M Settlement in Dancer Wage Lawsuit

Jul 7 2015 // A company that owns strip clubs in Florida and Ohio has reached a $6 million settlement in a class action lawsuit led by a former exotic dancer. Under the terms of the settlement approved by a federal judge this week,...

Fire Destroys Historic Florida Cigar Factory

Jul 7 2015 // A historic Tampa, Florida cigar factory has been destroyed in a fire. Authorities say the roof and floors of the Palmetto Beach Cigar Factor collapsed in the fire which broke out shortly after midnight July 5. The fire...

Florida Has Most Lightning Claims but Texas Has Highest Cost Per Claim

Jul 6 2015 // The number of insurance claims from lightning strikes in the United States continued its steady decline, as severe thunderstorm activity eased from near-record levels and dry weather prevailed throughout much of the...

Florida’s Citizens Approves Rate Increases Along Coast

Jul 6 2015 // Citizens Property Insurance Corporation’s Board of Governors has approved a 2016 rate package that lowers rates for nearly half of Citizens’ personal lines policyholders while responding to increased water loss...

People – Southeast

Jul 6 2015 // MarketScout, the national electronic insurance exchange and specialty MGA headquartered in Dallas, has expanded its Private Client Solutions (PCS) division with several new hires in its Fort Lauderdale, Fla., office and...

6.6M Atlantic, Gulf Coast Homes at Risk of Storm Surge

Jul 6 2015 // More than 6.6 million homes on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts are at risk of hurricane storm surge with a total reconstruction cost value estimated to be nearly $1.5 trillion, according to an annual report released by...

Business Moves

Jul 6 2015 // Patriot National, BrandywineFort Lauderdale, Fla.-based Patriot National Inc. has acquired Brandywine Insurance Advisors, a specialty insurance brokerage focusing on the construction industry. Patriot National said the...

Plugging the Hole in the U.S. Flood Market: How Risk Modelers Can Help to De-Risk the NFIP

Jul 6 2015 // The National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) has long been the dominant player in the U.S. flood insurance market, providing subsidized flood insurance based on actuarially unsound rates for millions of property owners, in...