Latest Florida Headlines

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

Florida Art Museum Sues Former Director Over Forged Basquiat Paintings Scheme

Aug 18 2023 // ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — A central Florida art museum which was raided last year by the FBI over an exhibit of what turned out to be forged Jean-Michel Basquiat paintings has sued its former executive director and...

Some Workplace Shootings May Not be Compensable, Florida Appeals Court Says

Aug 17 2023 // Workplace shootings, more common than ever now, may happen in the course and scope of employment. But do they have to be work-related to make the victims eligible for workers’ compensation benefits?That’s the...

Florida DFS Provides Grants for Firefighters’ Cancer Decontamination Equipment

Aug 16 2023 // Florida firefighters are covered by a limited presumption if they are diagnosed with cancer, but some fire departments still need special cleaning systems to remove carcinogens from gear.To help with that, Florida’s...

More Signs of Life in Florida: New Insurers in Market, More Citizens Takeouts

Aug 15 2023 // Florida’s property insurance market is showing more signs of life, with another company requesting a large takeout order from Citizens Property Insurance and two new companies entering the arena.Tampa-based HCI...

Florida Man Posed as Veterinarian, Did Surgery on Dog Who Died, Sheriff Says

Aug 14 2023 // A southwest Florida man was arrested Friday for claiming to be a veterinarian and performing surgery on a pregnant dog who died of complications from the procedure, authorities said.The man was a licensed pet groomer but...

Embattled Louisiana Law Firm Raised $40M from Florida Hedge Fund, Partner Says

Aug 11 2023 // McClenny Moseley & Associates, the embattled law firm that filed thousands of hurricane-damage lawsuits in Louisiana, raised a total of $40 million from private investors, one of its founding partners said during a...

Heritage Insurance Reports Third Straight Quarter of Profit After Shedding Policies

Aug 11 2023 // Tampa-based Heritage Insurance Holdings reported a $7.8 million profit for the second quarter of this year, along with an improved combined ratio, thanks in part to higher premiums and reduced exposure in Florida.The black...

Surplus Lines Premium Increases 16% to Nearly $36 Billion Through June

Aug 10 2023 // Surplus lines premium reached nearly $36 billion through the first six months of 2023, according to the 2023 Midyear Report of the U.S. Surplus Lines Service and Stamping Offices.Premium increased about 16% overall...

Blood is Not Excluded Pollutant, Florida High Court Says by Declining to Hear Case

Aug 9 2023 // The Florida Supreme Court this week declined to hear an appeal from Florida Farm Bureau General Insurance. The move essentially upholds a lower court that cut down the insurer’s argument that a burglar’s blood...

DeSantis’ Retaliation vs. Disney Hurting Florida, Former GOP Officials Say in Court

Aug 8 2023 // Saying Gov. Ron DeSantis has followed the autocratic examples of governments in Russia and China, a group of mostly Republican former high-level government officials and business leaders has called the Florida governor`s...

Massive Citizens Takeout Plan Seen as Sign That Things Are Looking Up in Florida Market

Aug 7 2023 // Stakeholders near and far are hailing a near-record number of takeouts from Citizens’ Property Insurance Corp. as a sign that the troubled Florida insurance market is improving, even if it will likely mean higher...

My New Markets

Aug 7 2023 // Market Detail: GMI Insurance Services offers workers’ compensation coverage for contractors, healthcare businesses, retailers and auto dealers, plus hundreds of other classes. GMI has over a decade of experience...

Fun Equals Risk. Sigh.

Aug 7 2023 // Those in the insurance industry tend to view everything through a lens of risk and responsibility. Sure, that game/sport/amusement/party looks like a good time, but what horrible thing could happen? And who is going to pay...

Florida Injury Lawyer Pleads Guilty to Defrauding Players, Litigation Funders in NFL Suits

Aug 4 2023 // A Florida injury attorney, now disbarred, has pleaded guilty to swindling litigation funders and former NFL football players who had sued the league over concussion injuries.Just before his trial was set to begin in...

Report: 244M in U.S. Felt at Least One July Day with Temps Likely Due to Climate Change

Aug 3 2023 // Eight-in-10 people around the globe in July were exposed to one day or more of heat made at least three times more likely by climate change, and 244 million people in the U.S. experienced at least one such day in the...

Ray of Sunshine: Florida Insurers Show Profit as Citizens Takeouts Rise – S&P Global

Aug 2 2023 // Republished from S&P Global Market IntelligenceFor the first time in three years, Florida’s struggling domestic residential property insurers have posted a quarterly profit, according to an analysis by S&P...

After UPC Insolvency, Parent Company Rebrands to American Coastal Insurance

Aug 1 2023 // Six months after its namesake insurance carrier was deemed insolvent, United Insurance Holdings is rebranding itself in the name of its surviving insurer, as American Coastal Insurance Corp.The St. Petersburg,...

Florida Judge Won’t Dismiss Suit Over Disney’s Governing Board

Jul 31 2023 // A judge in Florida on Friday refused to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Gov. Ron DeSantis appointees against Disney’s efforts to neutralize the governor`s takeover of Disney World’s governing district.The judge in...

Florida Citizens’ Board Approves $36M for New and Improved Clearinghouse Platform

Jul 31 2023 // Florida insurance agents will soon be able to access a new online clearinghouse platform designed to make it easier to steer policyholders away from the still-growing, state-created Citizens Property Insurance Corp.The...

Florida’s Universal Profits Are Up as Carrier Sheds Policies, Feels Impact of Reforms

Jul 28 2023 // Efforts by Universal Insurance Holdings, the publicly traded parent company of one of Florida’s largest property and casualty insurers, to shed policies, spread risk and raise rates appears to have paid off so far in...