Florida

Florida woman details home insurance woes on Capitol Hill

Published

2 years ago

June 5, 2024

Florida woman details home insurance woes on Capitol Hill

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Capitol Hill, a Florida woman speaks out about high home insurance costs. The Senate Budget Committee held a hearing Wednesday called “Riskier Business: How Climate is Already Challenging Insurance Markets.”

What You Need To Know

The Senate Budget Committee held a hearing Wednesday called “Riskier Business: How Climate is Already Challenging Insurance Markets”

One Florida woman, Deborah Wood, testified about rising home insurance costs

Wood says she sold her Florida home and that she will not be purchasing a new home in the Sunshine State

Deborah Wood told the committee she moved to South Florida in 1979, but sold her home last year largely because of the high cost to insure it.

“In 2017, we paid $3,700 per year for insurance, and in subsequent years the rates increased significantly, so that our proposed renewal for 2023 was more than $8,000,” she said.

Wood said she and her husband who are retired, sought to buy a home in Tallahassee near their daughter, but found the rates to be expensive there too, and have not decided on their “next step.”

“Flash forward to 2024. We have reluctantly made the decision that we will not be buying a home in Florida. We’ve learned there’s no escaping the insurance problems and weather disasters are becoming more and more prevalent, even in previously safe areas like Tallahassee,” Wood said.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse, a Rhode Island Democrat, noted rates in Florida far exceed the national average.

“Ten percent of our nation’s homeowners live in Florida. Florida homeowners pay on average over $6,000 for insurance, the highest in the country. Indeed, more than three times the national average, which is $1,700. Florida’s average premium has doubled between 2020 and 2023,” Whitehouse said.

While Democrats blamed the crisis largely on climate change, Republicans and an economist with a conservative think tank blamed Democratic policies and inflation for the higher insurance rates felt nationally.

“This hearing ought to be called ‘Riskier Business: How Massive Deficit Spending, which Caused Inflation is Challenging the Insurance Markets,’” said Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin.

“Your focus should be on reducing the government spending that created the inflation, which is responsible for most of the increase in insurance premiums over the last several years,” Heritage Foundation Research Fellow E.J. Antoni told the committee.

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Florida

South Florida powers clash in dramatic championship matchups: High School Hightlights

Published

1 hour ago

December 13, 2025

Press Room

South Florida powers clash in dramatic championship matchups: High School Hightlights – CBS Miami

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The final Friday night of high school football delivered two dramatic South Florida championship matchups.

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Florida

Read Florida’s lawsuit against Roblox

Published

13 hours ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

The Florida Attorney General’s Office on Thursday, Dec. 11, filed a lawsuit against popular online gaming platform Roblox, accusing the company of failing to protect its millions of underage users from predatory adults who would “find, groom, and abuse children.”

“Roblox aggressively markets to young children, but fails to protect them from sexual predators,” Attorney General James Uthmeier said in a post to X. “As a father of three little ones and as Florida’s attorney general, my number one priority is simple: to protect our kids.”

The lawsuit claims Florida children have been talked into taking and sending sexual images of themselves and lists several recent incidences, including a 20-year-old California man arrested last month for having sexually explicit conversations with a Palm Coast child and asking for nude photos.

A Roblox spokesperson said the lawsuit “fundamentally misrepresents how Roblox works.”

“We have advanced safeguards that monitor our platform for harmful content and communications,” Roblox Chief Safety Officer Matt Kaufman said in a statement, adding that the company — currently the most downloaded game in the world — will be rolling out additional safeguards “beyond what is required by law and what other platforms do.”

Read Florida’s lawsuit against Roblox

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What is Roblox?

San Mateo, California-based Roblox, released in 2006, hosts millions of user-created games (or “experiences”) constructed with the platform’s built-in game engine. Any user can create a game and share it with others, and there are millions of games available of all types.

The game platform and most games are free to use, but some cost to play. There is also a thriving economy based on Robux, an in-game virtual currency used to purchase virtual items. Roblox offers a subscription service called Roblox Premium that provides access to more features and a monthly allowance of Roblox.

Voice chat is available, but only for users aged 13 or older with verified ages. Age ratings were introduced for games in 2022, and in 2023, 17+ games were permitted to include more graphic violence, romance, and drinking.

According to Roblox, as of 2020, the monthly playerbase included half of all American children under the age of 16.

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Florida

Florida’s complete 2026 football schedule unveiled

Published

1 day ago

December 12, 2025

Press Room

Florida’s complete 2026 football schedule unveiled

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The 2026 football schedule for the Florida Gators has been set. Next year’s slate was unveiled Thursday night on SEC Network.

The most notable dates are Florida’s SEC opener on Sept. 19 — a Week 3 trip to Auburn, where the Gators haven’t played since 2011 — along with a road game at Texas on Oct. 17 and home games against Ole Miss (Sept. 26) and Oklahoma (Nov. 7).

Next season will mark the Sooners’ first-ever visit to Gainesville. The teams have previously played twice in the postseason, with the Gators defeating Oklahoma 24-14 in their first-ever meeting to win the 2008 national championship.

The Gators open the season in The Swamp on Sept. 5 against Florida Atlantic. UF’s other non-conference opponents will be Campbell (Sept. 12) and at Florida State (Nov. 28).

Florida is also hosting South Carolina (Oct. 10) and Vanderbilt (Nov. 21). The Gators haven’t played the Gamecocks or the Commodores since 2023.

UF takes on Georgia in Atlanta on Oct. 31 after the bye week. Florida’s other road games are Missouri (Oct. 3), Texas (Oct. 17) and Kentucky (Nov. 14).

The Gators will be led by first-year coach Jon Sumrall. He won the American Conference title with Tulane last week and has the Green Wave in the College Football Playoffs. They will have a rematch against Ole Miss on Dec. 20 in the first round after losing in Oxford, 45-10, on Sept. 20.

Sumrall was back in Gainesville this week to assemble his staff. So far, he has hired offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, defensive coordinator Brade White and defensive line coach Gerald Chatman.

Date	Opponent	Location
Sept. 5	Florida Atlantic	Gainesville, Florida
Sept. 12	Campbell	Gainesville, Florida
Sept. 19	at Auburn	Auburn, Alabama
Sept. 26	Ole Miss	Gainesville, Florida
Oct. 3	at Missouri	Columbia, Missouri
Oct. 10	South Carolina	Gainesville, Florida
Oct. 17	at Texas	Austin, Texas
Oct. 24	Bye
Oct. 31	Georgia	Atlanta, Georgia
Nov. 7	Oklahoma	Gainesville, Florida
Nov. 14	at Kentucky	Lexington, Kentucky
Nov. 21	Vanderbilt	Gainesville, Florida
Nov. 28	at Florida State	Tallahassee, Florida

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