Florida regulator approves new insurer Tailrow’s application, first since reforms

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) said today it has approved the application for HCI Group’s new Florida-focused carrier, Tailrow Insurance Company.

The regulator said it has approved Tailrow Insurance Company’s application for a permit to become an authorised domestic insurer, enabling it to write homeowners multi-peril insurance business in Florida.

The regulator highlighted that Tailrow Insurance Company is the first company to be approved as an authorised property and casualty domestic insurer since the legislative reforms designed to address challenges in Florida’s property and casualty insurance market were enacted.

“OIR’s greatest priority is to promote a stable and competitive insurance market for consumers. Today’s announcement is great news for Florida policyholders who will benefit from having additional options when shopping for homeowners insurance,” explained Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky.

“As we begin to see the impacts from recently passed legislation, OIR will continue to use all available resources to attract more insurance-related companies, jobs and capital to the Florida insurance market.”

We reported earlier this month that HCI Group is looking to capitalise on the opportunity presented by an improved outlook for writing property insurance in Florida, with the launch of Tailrow.

The launch of Tailrow and the start of its underwriting activity in Florida is still subject to the approval and issuance of its Certificate of Authority, which remains contingent on it following all provisions in the agreement with OIR, the regulator said.

The regulator also said that there are “additional opportunities in the market for insurers to sell insurance in the state of Florida,” now that the reforms are in place.

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