The Freedom from Unwarranted Surveillance Act (FUSA), which took effect in Florida July 1, prohibits a person, state agency or political subdivision from using a drone to capture an image of privately owned property.The law applies to law enforcement and private individuals and was intended to go along with Florida’s 2013 law that requires police to obtain a warrant to use drones to collect evidence, according to the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC). The law also applies to those on the property – including an owner, occupant or invitee. The law further requires that those using drone technology in such a manner must have written consent from the people on the property under surveillance if a reasonable expectation of privacy exists. Individuals who feel their privacy has been violated under the terms of the law may now sue for civil damages and injunctive relief and be awarded attorneys’ fees if they are successful.
Twelve-year-old Jaheem Horn is prepping for his return to school, and though he may look like an average junior high student, the Miami Police Department is hailing him a hero. The South Florida boy was hailed a courageous First Responder In Training for his quick actions in rescuing a man who found himself trapped during a house fire. On July 29, while attending summer camp, Horn noticed 75-year-old Cesar Martinez trapped in the balcony of his burning apartment. The young responder ran and sprayed him down with water from a nearby hose until officers and firefighters could get him to safety. To thank him for his help, Jaheem and his sister were given a $400 budget to buy uniforms and shoes for school.
Police in southwest Florida say vandals spray painted the words “lion killer” on the garage door of the vacation home owned by a Minnesota dentist who has been identified as the hunter who killed Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe. The vandals also left at least seven pickled pig’s feet on the driveway of Walter Palmer’s $1.1 million home. A security company has been hired to protect the property. Palmer has insisted he relied on professional guides to ensure his hunting was legal. Regardless, officials in Zimbabwe have said they’ll seek the extradition of Palmer.
Summer Flooding has caused damage and evacuations in Tampa Bay Area this year. The floods have forced some road closings and evacuations which have delayed airline flights. At Tampa International Airport, 161 outgoing and incoming flights were delayed in the morning due to rains and wind shear. About 3.78 inches were reported at Tampa’s airport during a 12 hour period. Even theme park Busch Gardens closed for the day because of inclement weather. The American Red Cross opened two shelters in Pasco County and one in Pinellas County to help evacuees. Pasco County was among the hardest hit areas. Emergency management officials reported $1 million in damage from weekend flooding, while National Weather Service officials are checking on whether the rainfall may have broken records in some places.
It’s lobster mini-season in South Florida! Thousands of divers in South Florida will don masks and fins in search for spiny lobsters. But the popular sport-diving days can also be dangerous for divers – over the last 10 years, the two-day season in Florida accounted for almost half of all underwater-hunting deaths in the state — 22 of 51, or 43 percent, according to Divers Alert Network. This is an average of two deaths over the same two days each year. Divers should be physically prepared for extra exertion during repeated lobster dives, DAN advises, and must pay close attention to scuba gauges. The Mineo Salcedo Law Firm just wants to remind you to be careful out there!
Mandy Rodriguez, 35, was arrested on felony fraud and grand theft charges after an investigation revealed that Rodriguez, a licensed insurance agent, stole more than $80,000 in premium funds from four of his clients. Rodriguez created fake proof of insurance documents and gave them to his clients in an effort to conceal that he was pocketing the money intended to pay the premiums on policies his clients thought were valid. Rodriguez instructed his clients to write their premium checks to his company, Risk Management Agency Group, rather than to Citizens directly. Bank records show that the victims’ checks were deposited into his company’s account for personal use. His clients believed they were paying for legitimate commercial or homeowners’ insurance policies from Citizens Property Insurance Company. Citizens verified that none of the policies ever existed.
South Florida residents are planning to spend billions on revamping infrastructure as the seas continue to rise. Many scientists believe the sea level rise will lead to another phenomenon in South Florida. More importantly, local leaders need to start preparing for it now. The area has thousands of high-priced homes nestled against the water is expected to be threatened directly by the rising seas. Many believe that in the coming decades, when the harsh reality sets in, a mass exodus could begin. To put it bluntly, there’s no way to save South Florida, and lawmakers should start to prepare for millions to move north.
As you may have noticed, several new insurance companies have been entering the market recently. Some Florida insurance companies are so new that they do not even have a sign on their office. Yet, the compensation for the CEO’s of these new insurance companies has grown more than 50 percent in one year, past $7 million, disclosures in April show. Another company did not even exist 3 years ago but is now the fastest growing property insurer in the United States. The market has completely reinvented itself thanks to Florida having the nation’s highest premiums and record departures from Citizens, the state-run insurer. Up to 45,000 customers of Citizens are getting offers from other insurance companies such as Mount Beacon Insurance Co. and Heritage Property & Causality Insurance Co. in June alone. Citizens’ customer base has now dropped to fewer than 600,000 customers, the lowest since its creation in 2002, from a high of nearly 1.5 million customers. This drop in customers has resulted from the lower rates of competing insurers such as Heritage.
It is important to read over your insurance policy and have annual conversations with insurance professionals in order to make sure that your policy will provide adequate coverage. You want to make sure that you have enough coverage to rebuild your home if it is completely destroyed. This is especially important if any major improvements have been done to your home such as minor upgrades or even a full- scale remodel; your insurance company needs to know about it. At times, an additional premium is required in order to have the ability to get back the post-remodeled version of your home. Taking inventory of all your possessions will also streamline the claim process in the event of any disaster. Insurance companies recommend that everything be included in these inventories such as furniture, electronics, personal property and any other valuables in your home.
Being safer rather than sorry holds true when it comes to your homeowner’s insurance policy. The annual premium price difference between a standard policy and a specialized policy may only be in the hundreds of dollars, says the president of Encompass Insurance, Tom Ealy. But the real question is how worth it are these specialized policies? Are they worth the extra hundreds of dollars?