Latest Florida Headlines

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

People: Florida-based Risk Services Names Haskell Captive Accounting Director

Sep 27 2023 // Florida-headquartered Risk Services, a captive insurance manager and risk retention group service provider, has named Jennifer Haskell director of captive accounting. Haskell, who spent 15 years with the Alabama Department...

Could Appeal Decision in Florida Roof Case Lead to More Expert Witness Challenges?

Sep 27 2023 // Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co. will have to go back to court to show how an insured’s roof expert was in error when he used questionable data and failed to inspect the claimed damage before a south...

Six Killed When Train Strikes SUV at Unguarded Florida Rail Crossing

Sep 26 2023 // PLANT CITY, Fla. (AP) — Three adults, two teens and a child from an extended family died after their SUV was struck by a freight train at an unguarded crossing in central Florida, authorities said. Another adult...

Florida Agriculture Losses from Idalia Reach $78M to $371M, Study Says

Sep 25 2023 // ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) — Florida agriculture losses from Hurricane Idalia are estimated at between $78 million and $371 million, with farmers also suffering widespread damage to such infrastructure as irrigation...

AM Best Tweaks State Farm Outlook to Negative After Weather, Regulatory Issues

Sep 25 2023 // The AM Best financial rating firm has downgraded its outlook for multiple State Farm insurance companies due to weather losses and regulations that the firm said hinder the insurance giant’s ability to adequately...

First Private US Passenger Rail Line in a Century Launches in Florida. Safety is a Concern

Sep 22 2023 // MIAMI (AP) — The first big test of whether privately owned high-speed passenger train service can prosper in the United States will launch Friday when Florida’s Brightline begins running trains between Miami...

OSHA Fines Georgia Concrete Pipe Maker $246,000 After Death of Worker in Florida

Sep 21 2023 // The death of a 19-year-old Florida worker could have been prevented if a concrete pipe maker had ensured that employees followed proper safety procedures, the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration said.OSHA...

Next Florida House Speaker Wants More Property Insurance Legislation, Deliberations

Sep 21 2023 // The next speaker of the Florida House of Representatives, set to take charge in 2025, said he hopes to see more legislation that could further address spiraling property insurance costs.“Do I believe we are done with...

Florida OIR Wants Enhanced Hurricane Ian Data by Sept. 27. Claims Have Topped 740,000

Sep 21 2023 // The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation is reminding carriers that additional information about Hurricane Ian claims is due no later than Sept. 27.By law, the office is required to collect data after hurricanes. Simple...

2023 to Test Recent Growth in Private Flood Insurance Market

Sep 18 2023 // The private flood insurance market has been growing but 2023 may provide a real test following Tropical Storm Hilary in California, as well as future storms that may come during the remainder of the Atlantic hurricane...

Agents, Regulators Remind Insurers to Take Care of Insureds as Idalia Claims Start Coming in

Sep 18 2023 // The property insurance industry breathed a sigh of relief after Hurricane Idalia landed in a less-populated part of the coast, triggering just a few billion dollars in losses. But regulators have urged insurers to make...

Trial Begins in Lawsuit vs. Florida Hospital in Case Made Famous by Netflix ‘Maya’ Doc

Sep 15 2023 // The trial in a liability lawsuit against a Florida hospital, a story featured in a Netflix documentary, began this week, bringing new attention to health care providers’ responsibilities in complex cases involving...

J&J, P&G Sued After FDA Panel Ruling on Cold Medicine Decongestant

Sep 15 2023 // A new lawsuit accuses Johnson & Johnson and Procter & Gamble of having deceived consumers about decongestant cold medicines containing an ingredient that a unanimous U.S. Food and Drug Administration advisory panel...

Former NFL Receiver Dies Two Weeks After Florida Construction Accident

Sep 14 2023 // TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Former NFL receiver Mike Williams, who was injured in a construction accident two weeks ago and later put on a ventilator, died Tuesday, his agent said. He was 36.Williams, who played for the Tampa...

New Florida Immigration Law Could Worsen Property Insurance Costs

Sep 14 2023 // If Florida insureds and insurers haven’t been pummeled enough by rising costs in recent years, they could soon see another factor that could hit them in the pocketbook.Florida’s tough new immigration law that...

No Danger of Assessment: Florida Citizens Seeing Just 2,000 Claims from Idalia

Sep 13 2023 // Florida’s Citizens Property Insurance Corp. has so far seen just about 2,000 claims from Hurricane Idalia, well below the threshold that would exhaust the carrier’s personal lines surplus and trigger a...

Florida Copter Pilot Heard Bangs Before Fatal Crash into Apartment Building

Sep 12 2023 // FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — A pilot told investigators he heard a loud bang before a Florida medical rescue helicopter caught fire in flight last month, leading to a crash that killed a paramedic and a woman on the...

How Reinsurers Can Win in the Game of Volatility

Sep 12 2023 // Executive summary: Reinsurance underwriting is all about finding equilibrium between reinsurers’ reason for being—reducing the volatility of cedents earnings—and producing stable profits in their own businesses....

Infamous Florida Plaintiffs’ Firm Files For Bankruptcy. Will Strems Get His $36 Million?

Sep 12 2023 // The successor to a law firm that was known as “public enemy number one” by Florida’s property insurance industry after it filed thousands of unnecessary lawsuits – many of them on the same claim – has...

Death Toll for Idalia Rises to Four as Disaster Declaration Added for Georgia Counties

Sep 11 2023 // CROSS CITY, Fla. (AP) — An elderly man who was cleaning debris from Hurricane Idalia in north Florida when a tree fell on him has been declared the state`s third death from the Category 3 storm, officials said...