Florida welcomes ninth property insurance carrier since 2023

Florida welcomes ninth property insurance carrier since 2023 | Insurance Business America

Property

Florida welcomes ninth property insurance carrier since 2023

New entrant comes as premiums continue to stabilize in the state

Property

By
Kenneth Araullo

The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FLOIR) has approved Trident Reciprocal Exchange as the ninth new property insurance carrier to enter the state since 2023.

Trident received authorization on June 31 to write fire and homeowners multiperil policies, according to an order from Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky.

This approval follows a series of legislative reforms aimed at stabilizing Florida’s property insurance market, a report from AM Best said. After these reforms, Insurance Commissioner Yaworsky met with several insurance company executives to explore opportunities for expanding business in the state, according to a spokesperson from the insurance department

Companies such as Progressive Casualty Insurance Co, State Farm, AAA, and Kin Insurance Technology Hub LLC have expressed their commitment to Florida’s property market.

State Farm confirmed its continued presence in the state, with a focus on responsible growth. Roszell Gadson from State Farm corporate communications noted the company’s encouragement by recent reforms aimed at curbing legal system abuses.

Gadson said that State Farm plans to continue collaborating with the Florida legislature and the Office of Insurance Regulation to improve the marketplace for Florida customers.

Recent rate filings indicate that homeowners insurance premiums are beginning to stabilize in the state. As of August 1, the 180-day average request for homeowners rates was 1.2%. Twelve companies have filed for rate decreases to take effect this year, while 24 companies have filed to keep rates unchanged.

Additionally, reinsurance costs are projected to decline by 1.7% in 2024, based on preliminary data from the regulator’s annual reinsurance data call. This marks the first decrease in reinsurance costs in several years.

The stabilization of Florida’s insurance market is also reflected in carriers’ increased participation in the depopulation of Citizens Property Insurance Corp.’s book of business. The regulator has approved 768,692 policy takeout requests this year, representing an 858% increase from 2022. More than 410,000 of these requests were approved since July 31.

To date, 132,445 policies have been removed from Citizens’ book of business, according to the insurance department. As of August 9, Citizens had 1.23 million policies in force, with the company receiving approximately 5,000 applications weekly.

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