Latest Florida Headlines

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

Florida Lawmakers Approve Expanded Wind-Mitigation Program

May 3 2023 // More rich and more poor residents will qualify for home-hardening grants under an expanded My Safe Florida Home measure approved by lawmakers.House Bill 881, if signed into law, will raise the wind-mitigation grant level...

Florida Legislature Sends Windshield Repair Bill to Governor, Ending AOBs

May 3 2023 // The Florida House of Representatives on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a bill that would prohibit assignments of benefits for windshield repairs, sending it to the governor for his signature.Senate Bill 1002, passed by a...

New Risk Retention Group Requirements in Question as Fla. Session Winds Down

May 2 2023 // Risk retention groups may not be the sexiest of insurance topics, but they have gained new attention this week after the Florida House of Representatives approved a bill that would require strong financial ratings for the...

South Florida Jury Awards Woman $5.5M from Mold, Water Damage in Condo

May 1 2023 // A south Florida jury has awarded $5.5 million to a woman who sued her condominium association after years of water infiltration and mold that the woman blamed for the death of her longtime domestic partner in 2021.The...

Biden Declares Flooded Part of South Florida a Disaster Area

May 1 2023 // President Joe Biden declared Florida’s Broward County a disaster area Friday, two weeks after record-breaking rain left parts of Fort Lauderdale and its suburbs flooded.Gov. Ron DeSantis had requested the declaration...

Florida Senate Approves Amended Insurer Accountability Act, Removes Some Reporting

Apr 28 2023 // The Florida Senate has unanimously approved an amended version of the Insurer Accountability Act, removing some reporting requirements for property insurers. The amended bill would continue to bar insurers from altering...

Florida Insureds Can’t Force Interest on Late Claims Payments, Courts Say

Apr 28 2023 // Two back-to-back federal court decisions may have dealt a lethal blow to recent proposed class actions that sought interest on property insurers’ late claims payments. But the rulings have left some insureds and...

Tesla Violated Law by Telling Florida Workers not to Discuss Pay, Conditions, NLRB Says

Apr 27 2023 // Tesla supervisors at a Florida service center violated U.S. labor law by telling employees not to discuss pay and other working conditions or bring complaints to higher level managers, a U.S. labor board official has...

Mystery on Why Two Pesticide Workers Died After Fumigating Florida Warehouse

Apr 27 2023 // South Florida authorities are still investigating after two pesticide workers died and a third was hospitalized after fumigating a Pompano Beach warehouse. The three workers sprayed the Baer’s Furniture Warehouse...

Uber Eats Driver Slain, Dismembered in Florida After Making Delivery

Apr 27 2023 // A Florida man is charged with murder and other offenses in the slaying and dismemberment of an Uber Eats driver who had brought food to the assailant’s house, authorities said Tuesday.Oscar Solis Jr., 30, is charged...

South Florida Condo Building Evacuated After 60-Year Inspection

Apr 26 2023 // Residents of a South Florida waterfront condominium that was deemed unsafe during a recent inspection have until Tuesday morning to evacuate.A building engineer conducting an inspection on April 14 for the Majestic Isle...

Florida DA Orders Investigation After Homeowner Fires at Delivery Driver

Apr 25 2023 // A Florida prosecutor has ordered an investigation in a confrontation in which a homeowner fired shots into a couple’s car when they mistakenly turned onto his property while making a late-night grocery delivery....

Florida Family Files Suit, Says Body of Man Who Died on Cruise Was Kept in Cooler

Apr 24 2023 // A widow and her family are suing Celebrity Cruises for allegedly mishandling her husband’s body after he died while they were on a ship last year, saying it was left to decompose and they suffered extreme emotional...

Florida Lawmakers Approve Catalytic Converter Bill, Senate Passes Windshield Limits

Apr 21 2023 // The Florida House of Representatives has approved a bill that would stiffen penalties for catalytic converter theft and would make it easier to prove intent. Senate Bill 306 now goes to the governor for his signature.The...

Florida Lawmakers May End Disney Ride Inspection Exemptions in DeSantis Crusade

Apr 19 2023 // Gov. Ron DeSantis and Florida lawmakers ratcheted up pressure on Walt Disney World on Monday by announcing legislation that will use the regulatory powers of Florida government to exert unprecedented oversight on the park...

Only 3 Insurers Sign Up for Florida Re Plan and Hopes for a New Plan Are Fading Fast

Apr 19 2023 // After five years of tweaks to Florida’s insurance and tort laws, all designed to reduce the vast amount of claims litigation and – eventually – bring down property rates, many in the industry argue that...

Florida Insurers Facing a New 1% Assessment on Premiums for Insolvent Insurer Claims

Apr 18 2023 // Florida property insurers are preparing for another assessment on premiums to help the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association fund outstanding claims from an insolvent insurer.The 1% emergency assessment on all premium for...

Breaking it Down: What Florida Insurers Need to Know about Bad Faith After Tort Reform

Apr 18 2023 // Bad-faith litigation is a hot topic in Florida following the passage of the new tort-reform measure known as House Bill 837. However, even in the face of reasonable legislative changes, it remains important for insurers...

Why Downpour in South Florida Just Wouldn’t Stop, Portending Future Floods

Apr 17 2023 // In some ways, it was the Florida Man of storms – not quite knowing when to say when.Usually, thunderstorms fizzle out after they run out of rain or get cold air sucked in. But not Wednesday, when the storm that hit...

Update: Florida Roofing Company Owners Plead Guilty to More Than $1M in Tax Evasion

Apr 17 2023 // The owners of a Fort Myers roofing company, one that has been the subject of a number of complaints from consumers and which has filed multiple assignment-of-benefits lawsuits against property insurers, have pleaded guilty...