Latest Florida Headlines

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

Florida Regulators’ Move to Oust Insurer Execs May Not Hold up in Court

Jun 3 2024 // Current and former leaders with Florida property insurers have had some strong reactions to state regulators’ recent efforts to oust company executives who previously helmed now-insolvent carriers. Some have called...

Greater Chance of Major Hurricane on the East Coast This Year, But Less in Gulf, Scientist Says

Jun 3 2024 // Multiple computer models from forecasting organizations across the globe have predicted a very active hurricane season starting next month, spelling trouble for much of the coastal Southeastern tates.The models are...

‘Cautiously Optimistic’ on Florida: Defense Costs Down, but Reinsurance Still a Drag

May 31 2024 // Analysts with the AM Best financial rating firm and other stakeholders are cautiously optimistic about the resurrection of the Florida property insurance market, 18 months after state lawmakers approved monumental...

32.7M Homes at Risk of Hurricane Damage, CoreLogic Report Shows

May 30 2024 // More than 32.7 million residential properties from Texas to Maine are at risk of moderate or severe damage sustained from hurricane-force winds, a new report shows.The large number of at-risk homes in CoreLogic’s...

Kentucky, Alabama Towns Dealing with Tornado Damage, Florida Feeling Record Heat

May 29 2024 // The latest community left with shattered homes and no power was the tiny Kentucky town of Charleston, which took a direct hit Sunday night from a tornado that the governor said appeared to be on the ground for 40 miles (64...

Four More Charged in Staged Auto Accident Scheme in Miami

May 29 2024 // Florida authorities have nailed another alleged accident-staging group, one that collected more than $50,000 in personal injury protection benefits from auto insurance companies.Bryan Carlos Hernandez, Rusland Rivero...

Posh Florida Care Facility to Borrow $260 Million for Expansion

May 23 2024 // The largest single-site, not-for-profit retirement community in the US is selling municipal bonds to finance an expansion, less than two years after Hurricane Ian caused as much as $85 million of damages.Fort Myers,...

Florida Agents Will Soon Need Three Appointments Before Selling Citizens

May 23 2024 // Starting July 1, Florida insurance agents must have at least three appointments with authorized carriers before they can sell policies for the state-created Citizens Property Insurance Corp.That’s the mandate laid...

Couple Staged Half Million Dollar Fraud Against Theater Nonprofit, Insurer Claims

May 21 2024 // Philadelphia Indemnity Insurance Co. is suing a Connecticut couple the insurer alleges defrauded its insured, a Florida theater nonprofit, by using the organization’s checking and credit card accounts for more than a...

Florida’s 125% Surge in Property-Insurance Bills Sows Havoc

May 20 2024 // For Filicia Porter, the insurance bills were the final straw. They’d been climbing steeply for her assisted-living business as Florida was battered with ever more-powerful storms, and eventually, the numbers stopped...

After Two Years in the Eye of the Storm, Neal Steps Down From FIGA. Brown Up Next

May 20 2024 // Corey Neal took over as executive director of the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association in early 2022, at the height of what many would say were some of the darkest days for the Florida property/casualty market. Two...

Declarations

May 20 2024 // “As far as we can see, the momentum for the liability lines continues to be as strong as ever. … To the extent you’re seeing any slowing in the momentum of E&S, it’s likely to be property...

Business Moves

May 20 2024 // Lancashire InsuranceLancashire Insurance, a subsidiary of Lancashire Group, has been launched as an excess and surplus insurer in the United States. Lancashire Insurance US (LUS) operates under a delegated underwriting...

Security First Touts 5% Rate Decrease for HO-3, Renters Policies in Florida

May 17 2024 // Citing the stabilizing impact that legislative reforms have had on the Florida market, Security First Insurance Co. executives this week announced two residential property rate reductions of more than 5%.“For the...

Driver Says He Smoked Pot Oil, Took Meds Before Florida Crash That Killed 8 Workers

May 17 2024 // OCALA, Fla. (AP) — A man with a long record of dangerous driving told investigators he smoked marijuana oil and took prescription drugs hours before he sideswiped a bus, killing eight Mexican farmworkers and injuring...

DeSantis, Amid Criticism, Signs Bill Making Climate Change Less of a Priority

May 17 2024 // TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — Climate change will be a lesser priority in Florida and largely disappear from state statutes under legislation signed Wednesday by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis that also bans power-generating wind...

Greater Chance of Major Hurricane on East Coast This Year, Less in Gulf, Scientist Says

May 17 2024 // Multiple computer models from forecasting organizations across the globe have predicted a very active hurricane season starting next month, spelling trouble for Florida and much of the Eastern United States.The models...

Driver of Pickup Charged with DUI After Crash with Bus that Killed 8 Farmworkers

May 16 2024 // OCALA, Fla. (AP) — The Florida Highway Patrol has arrested the driver of a pickup truck that crashed into a farmworker bus early Tuesday, killing eight, on charges of driving under the influence-manslaughter.Bryan...

Four in Florida Charged with Faking Auto Accident Injuries to Gain PIP Payouts

May 15 2024 // Florida authorities this week charged four people with falsifying injuries from an auto accident and attempting to defraud three insurance companies out of personal injury protection payments.Maria Campos, Isabella Mendez,...

Kansas Schools Turn to AI to Spot Guns

May 14 2024 // TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas could soon offer up to $5 million in grants for schools to outfit surveillance cameras with artificial intelligence systems that can spot people carrying guns. But the governor needs to approve...