Latest Florida Headlines

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

Catastrophe Bond Market Defies Global Selloff With Record Returns

Oct 16 2023 // As bond markets everywhere get battered by a cocktail of higher interest rates, deficit angst and hawkish central bankers, one class of debt instrument is handing creditors double-digit returns: catastrophe bonds.Investors...

Slide Assumes 86,000 Farmers Policies in Florida, Offers Appointments to Agents

Oct 16 2023 // Tampa-based Slide Insurance, which has made a practice of assuming Florida policies from other insurers in the last two years, said it has acquired renewal rights to 86,000 homeowner policies from Farmers Insurance.Farmers...

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

Oct 16 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 rating firm said hinder the insurance giant’s ability to...

Homeowners Face Rising Insurance Rates as Climate Change Makes Wildfires, Storms More Common

Oct 16 2023 // A growing number of Americans are finding it difficult to afford insurance on their homes, a problem only expected to worsen because insurers and lawmakers have underestimated the impact of climate change, a new report...

Multifamily in Peril: The Perfect Storm

Oct 16 2023 // The multifamily and rental property industries have faced quite an upheaval over the past few years, the impacts of which are certainly being felt by landlords and property managers. More than one national multifamily...

Florida Supreme Court Declines to Rehear Med Mal Case that Changed Rule on Experts

Oct 13 2023 // The Florida Supreme Court on Thursday declined to rehear a medical malpractice case that has made it easier for insurers and health care providers to challenge a plaintiff’s expert.In University of Florida Board of...

Possible Tornadoes Cause Damage in Parts of Florida

Oct 13 2023 // CLEARWATER, Fla. (AP) — A storm system that moved across parts of Florida early Thursday left a path of damage to cars, houses and businesses, authorities said.The storms moved north into Citrus County, where...

Integris Expands out of New England, Acquires MedMal Direct in Florida

Oct 13 2023 // Integris Group, a member-owned professional liability insurer based in Connecticut, has agreed to purchase MedMal Direct Insurance Co. and its agency, CorePRO, from Physicians Trust Inc., the firms announced this...

When Florida Insurers Go Bust, it Means Changes in North Carolina Insurance Law

Oct 12 2023 // Insurance department omnibus bills in state legislatures are often seen as housekeeping or budget items that may revise regulatory language, fund insurance department positions or clean up the wording of previous laws.But...

How Alleged Florida Theft Ring Led to Pastor’s ‘Anointed Liquidator’ eBay Account

Oct 11 2023 // A St. Petersburg pastor and head of a drug recovery program, along with his wife, mother and others, is awaiting trial after authorities say he ran a theft ring that stole tools from Home Depot and sold them on eBay for...

Florida Settles Lawsuit, Must Provide Denied COVID Data on Deaths, Vaccines

Oct 11 2023 // TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Florida will have to provide COVID-19 data to the public again after a former Democratic state representative settled a lawsuit with Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis` administration over the...

Despite Reform Laws, Florida Premiums Won’t Drop, Karen Clark & Co. Says

Oct 11 2023 // State laws adopted in 2022 and 2023 may have stemmed excessive claims litigation in Florida, helping to stabilize the distressed property insurance market and slow rate increases. But premiums, which have doubled for some...

Less Red Ink in Florida, 2 New Insurers, and Citizens Wants Commercial Take-outs

Oct 11 2023 // Florida-based insurers still aren’t profitable, overall, but their net losses and underwriting losses are getting smaller. Two more property insurance companies are preparing to enter the Florida market. And the...

Is Mar-a-Lago Worth $1 Billion? Valuations at the Core of Trump’s Fraud Trial

Oct 10 2023 // FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — How much is Donald Trump`s Mar-a-Lago worth? That`s been a point of contention after a New York judge ruled that the former president exaggerated the Florida property`s value when he said...

Sarasota and Ocala Named Florida Housing Hot Spots — Ocala Due to Lower Insurance

Oct 10 2023 // Two areas in Florida have become hot spots for home buying and building, one of them due to higher insurance costs in the rest of the state, according to news and insurance agency reports.Ocala, in the central part of...

Are Florida Workers’ Comp Rates Getting Too Low? Roofers, Insurer Urge Freeze

Oct 6 2023 // Workers’ compensation rates have shrunk to such a low level in Florida, at least for some classifications, that they are causing problems and could be masking issues that will lead to higher premiums in coming years,...

Climate Change Can Cause U.S. Households ‘Significant Financial Strain’

Oct 5 2023 // Households can experience significant financial strain through pressures to income and expenses due to climate hazards, a report from the U.S. Department of Treasury shows.The report, The Impact of Climate Change on...

Florida OIR Approves Another 153,000 Citizens Takeouts; Assumption Rate is Low

Oct 5 2023 // Florida’s Office of Insurance Regulation has approved the take out of another 153,000 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state’s price-controlled residual insurer.Almost half of the takeouts...

Bill Gates-Backed Florida Startup Aims to Turn Oil-Drilling Gas into Useful Methanol

Oct 3 2023 // (Bloomberg) — Semi trailer-sized machines could provide a unique solution to a major source of the fossil fuel industry’s methane problem. Rather than flaring or venting the planet-warming gas into the...

Video Shows Officers Surrounding Bloodied Man During Florida Traffic Stop

Oct 3 2023 // JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) — A traffic stop captured on video by a bystander shows a handcuffed Black man with swollen eyes and a bloody face sitting on the ground surrounded by officers outside a vehicle in northeast...