Latest Florida Headlines

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

Florida Storm Surge Swamps Nuclear Plant, Pro Golfer’s Home, Many More

Sep 30 2024 // Hurricane Helene’s storm surge along Florida’s western edges is being called the most devastating since 1921, responsible for destroying or heavily damaging hundreds of homes and businesses in the area.One of...

Florida Suspends Doctor’s License After Fatal Surgery That Removed Wrong Organ

Sep 30 2024 // A Florida surgeon’s license was suspended last week after he reportedly removed the wrong organ from a patient, leading to the man’s death.Dr. Thomas Shaknovsky, working at Ascension Sacred Heart Emerald Coast...

Tropical Storm Helene Lashes Florida With Powerful Winds, Rain

Sep 27 2024 // Hurricane Helene barreled into the western coast of Florida with dangerous winds, knocking out power for more than a million customers and threatening to unleash deadly flooding across several states.Helene made landfall...

GEICO Can’t Sue or Void Invoices from Auto Glass Shops, Florida Supreme Court Says

Sep 26 2024 // In the long war between auto insurers and windshield repair shops, the Florida Supreme Court this week sided with glass companies, leaving GEICO with little choice but to ask lawmakers to change the law if it feels repair...

Should Citizens Do More to Assist With Coming Flood Claims in Florida? Can it?

Sep 25 2024 // Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida’s largest insurer, has suspended policy binding ahead of predicted Hurricane Helene, and a board member asked if the carrier could do more to help policyholders manage flood...

Highstreet Acquires Mitchell Agency in Florida

Sep 25 2024 // Michigan-based Highstreet Insurance Partners has acquired the Mitchell Agency, headquartered in Largo, Florida, near St. Petersburg. Highstreet said in a news release that the Florida agency and its eight employees will be...

Florida’s Big Bend Braces for Third Hurricane in a Year as Helene Gains Strength

Sep 24 2024 // Florida’s Big Bend region on the northern Gulf Coast is bracing for yet another hurricane, the third in the last 13 months.Wind speeds for what could soon be Hurricane Helene are forecast to reach up to 115 mph,...

Florida Braces for Potential Gulf Hurricane Strike This Week

Sep 23 2024 // The US Gulf Coast from Mississippi to the Florida Panhandle is at risk of a hurricane strike by the end of the week as a patch of turbulent weather in the Atlantic becomes more organized.Currently a swirl of thunderstorms...

Apex One Inspections & Surveys Expands Comprehensive Home Inspection Services in Florida to Ensure Buyer Confidence and Safety

Sep 18 2024 // Miami, FL., September 17, 2024 — Apex One Inspections & Surveys, a leading provider of home inspection and property survey services in both residential and commercial properties, is pleased to announce the expansion...

Senator, Congresswoman Warn of Property Crisis as Climate Change Grips Florida

Sep 16 2024 // Florida and much of the country face a real estate crash unless government officials deal with climate change, members of Congress said at a roundtable discussion Saturday in St. Petersburg.U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse,...

How One Florida Engineer Tried to Blow the Whistle on Plaintiffs’ Expert Witnesses

Sep 16 2024 // He’s been called a “do-gooder,” a “troublemaker” and a whistleblower. And he may be the best friend the Florida property insurance industry has.A mechanical engineer based in Edgewater, George...

Florida Home Inspector Used Stock Photos 200 Times, Defrauding Citizens, DFS Says

Sep 12 2024 // A Florida home inspector allegedly used the same stock photographs in more than 200 home and wind-mitigation inspections, costing Citizens Property Insurance Corp. more than $88,000, the state Department of Financial...

Hurricane Debby Florida Losses Top $121M; 60% of Claims Closed

Sep 11 2024 // A month after Hurricane Debby made landfall in northern Florida, the number of property insurance claims has reached almost 20,000, and total estimated insured losses are more than $121.5 million, the Florida Office of...

Florida Governor Floats Condo Relief Session; Condo Captive Idea Flagging

Sep 10 2024 // Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis urged lawmakers to weigh ideas on providing condominium owners with relief ahead of a Jan. 1 deadline that requires condo buildings to be inspected and repaired in the wake of the Surfside condo...

Florida-based FCCI Moving Into Excess and Surplus Market Oct. 1

Sep 6 2024 // Sarasota-based FCCI Insurance Group will soon start writing excess and surplus lines across much of the country, the carrier announced this week.Florida, Georgia and Texas insurance agents can submit general liability and...

NCCI Calls For Tiny Workers’ Comp Rate Decrease for Florida After New Doctor Fees

Sep 4 2024 // Annual workers’ compensation rate cuts in the double digits have become routine in almost every U.S. state in recent years. That trend may have now come to an end in Florida, where the National Council on...

Sponsor of Florida Anti-Squatting Bill Indicted on Forgery Charges

Sep 3 2024 // TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — A Republican state representative in central Florida, a lead sponsor of an anti-squatting property rights bill signed into law this year, has been indicted on felony forgery charges related to...

How One Florida Engineer Charged Others With Fraudulent Insurance Reports, Testimony

Sep 3 2024 // He’s been called a “do-gooder,” a “troublemaker” and a whistleblower. And he may be the best friend the Florida property insurance industry has.A mechanical engineer based in Edgewater, George...

Hurricane Debby Claims Already Two-Thirds of Idalia Claims in Florida, as Insurance Market Strengthens, Regulator Says

Sep 2 2024 // The number of Florida claims from Hurricane Debby, filed within 10 days of the storm, stood at almost two-thirds of the number of claims filed from Hurricane Idalia in a three-month period.Debby claims by Aug. 16 had...

Downward Departure: Florida Insurance Agent Charged with Embezzling Premiums After He Was Hit with Lawsuits, Complaint

Sep 2 2024 // Florida authorities in August arrested a well-known southwest Florida insurance agent, charging him with larceny and embezzlement of premiums.Reid McDaniel, 33, who was named the honorary mayor of North Fort Myers last...