Latest Florida Headlines

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

South Florida P/C Insurance Agent Charged With Swiping $131,000 in Premiums

Nov 2 2023 // A south Florida insurance agent has been charged with absconding with more than $130,000 in premiums, leaving property owners uninsured after Hurricane Ian.Naser Al-Sweity, of Boca Raton, was booked into Palm Beach County...

Feeling the Strain of a Hurricane? Emergency Adjuster Licensing Can Help

Nov 2 2023 // This post is part of a series sponsored by AgentSync.Hurricane season is upon us once again, and while The Band of Heathens isn’t worried, the rest of us are preparing. So as homeowners brace for unprecedented winds...

Ravaged Fort Myers Becomes Magnet for Risk-Taking Property Buyers

Nov 1 2023 // A year after Hurricane Ian ripped through southwest Florida, wealthy risk-takers are transforming one beach town.In Fort Myers Beach, many of the middle-class cottages that once dotted the Estero Island town were wiped off...

Florida Senator Raising Eyebrows with Pitch for Investment in New Insurance Company

Oct 31 2023 // Florida state Sen. Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, has sparked some controversy by pitching investment opportunities in a startup property insurance company in Florida.This may be a good time for a new business venture by an...

Lighthouse Insurance Misled Hedge Funds Before it Collapsed in 2022, Lawsuit Claims

Oct 31 2023 // A Florida lawsuit brought by private equity fund Fortinbras Enterprises and three others charges that Lighthouse Property Insurance Corp. executives concealed the extent of underwriting losses after Hurricane Ida, even as...

Florida Appeals Court Ruling Puts New Scrutiny on Wind Experts’ Credibility

Oct 31 2023 // Expert testimony is subject to a well-established standard set forth by the US Supreme Court 30 years ago in Daubert v. Merrel Dow Pharms., Inc. Under the Daubert standard, trial judges are gatekeepers of expert testimony,...

Duke Energy Plans Green Hydrogen Project in Florida

Oct 30 2023 // Electric utility Duke Energy plans to build a project to create clean energy using an end-to-end system to produce, store and combust 100% green hydrogen, in Florida.The new system, a collaboration between Duke,...

Universal Ready to Add Florida Policies Again, Contemplates Potential Rate Cuts

Oct 30 2023 // Universal Insurance Holdings, after discontinuing more than 160,000 policies over the last two years, now sounds like it’s ready to start growing again in its home state of Florida.“As we move forward,...

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 non-recurring...

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...