Florida insurers show best year since 2015 despite catastrophic insurance claims
Years after teetering on the brink of financial disaster, Florida’s battered property insurance market has reached another milestone that makes it seem more likely it can withstand the calamities that show up on radar. For the first time since 2015, Florida-based insurance companies in 2024 collected more in premiums than they paid out in claims, despite three hurricanes, Debby, Helene and Milton, making Florida landfall last year, according to the most recent Property Insurance Stability Report from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. More from the Sarasota Herald-Tribune.
DeSantis chooses Jay Collins for lieutenant governor. Who is he?
Gov. Ron DeSantis has named his new second-in-command: Tampa Republican Sen. Jay Collins. DeSantis on Tuesday appointed Collins as his lieutenant governor, a largely ceremonial position that has been vacant since February, when former Lt. Gov. Jeanette Núñez left the post to become president of Florida International University. Collins, a former Green Beret, hasn’t ruled out running for governor in 2026. More from the Tampa Bay Times and the Tallahassee Democrat.
Brightline's fares fall along with its credit rating
Can Brightline run its finances on time? The private passenger train service faces a deadline to refinance almost $1 billion of its bonds while financial and new legal pressures mount. The company faces a balloon payment on other bonds it has refinanced several times, and hopes to do again. The $985 million of rollover debt will come with an even higher interest rate, making it more expensive for Brightline. More from WLRN.
Northeast Florida housing market starting to shift toward buyers
The seller’s market that dominated Northeast Florida during the height of the COVID-19 housing boom has cooled this summer. Signs of a more balanced market are surfacing across the region, and buyers are finding room to breathe for the first time in years as home prices hold relatively steady, according to the Northeast Florida Association of Realtors. Inventory is increasing, homes are staying on the market longer, and bidding wars are less frequent. More from the Florida Times-Union.
Spirit Airlines issues warning about its future. Will company stay in business?
Spirit Airlines on Monday warned investors and passengers that it may no longer be in business in a year even after a successful bankruptcy restructuring and recent attempts to generate new sources of revenue. The alert came in a 222-page financial statement the Broward company is required to submit every quarter to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, a regulatory body. More from the Miami Herald.
Entertainment
New Discovery reality series tracks monster truck builds and family drama at Pompano plant
Hollywood has come for Apocalypse Manufacturing, the Pompano Beach-based truck customizer that converts big Jeeps, Hummers, Land Rovers and more into six-wheeled monstrosities with names like HellFire and Bone Saw. Truck Dynasty, a new reality series set to premiere Tuesday, Aug. 12, at 9 p.m. on the Discovery Channel, puts the operation under a microscope.
» More from the South Florida Sun-Sentinel.
Recreation Trends
Are sharks an ‘overwhelming problem’ for anglers in Florida? What the experts say
Florida anglers say sharks are snatching their catches at unprecedented rates, calling it an “overwhelming problem” and blaming a boom in Gulf shark numbers. But scientific research paints a more complicated picture. Scientists who study sharks acknowledge that depredation — the act of fish being eaten by an underwater predator while on a fisherman’s line — is a growing concern in some areas, especially Florida.
» Read more from the Miami Herald.