Slide growth continues, gets renewal rights to Farmers Florida homeowners policies

Slide Insurance Company has stepped up to support Florida homeowners, acquiring the renewal rights to policies that had been underwritten by Farmers Insurance® in the state.

Recall that Farmers Insurance announced in July that it was set to pull-back from underwriting certain business in Florida, as the company looked to manage its exposure there.

That news came soon after Farmers had announced an easing-back from property insurance exposure in California as well.

Enter the full-stack insurtech underwriter Slide, the insurer founded and run by former Heritage leader Bruce Lucas, which has been growing strongly in the state, including through takeouts from Florida Citizens.

Slide said today that it has acquired renewal rights for some 86,000 Florida homeowners insurance policies from Farmers Insurance.

“We remain bullish on Florida’s insurance market and believe the market is ripe for an innovator like Slide,” explained Bruce Lucas, Founder and CEO of Slide. “The timing is right for us to scale our business and do our part to foster long-term stability in this market. The transaction with Farmers® will provide policyholders a seamless transition and ongoing coverage.”

Farmers agents in Florida will be offered an appointment with Slide and renewals issued by Slide will begin for February 2024 effective dates.

To facilitate the transaction, Slide is set to utilise its big data advantage and focus on underwriting technology and predictive analytics.

“We have the technology, data set, and expertise to make better, faster decisions. Slide is profitable, has strong capitalization, and unlike legacy insurers, we’re not burdened by years of prior claims and litigation that still need to be resolved,” added Lucas. “We’re pleased to have the opportunity to acquire renewal rights to these policies from Farmers and are committed to providing much-needed insurance capacity to Florida homeowners.”

Previously, Slide had acquired the renewal rights to over 91,400 Florida homeowners policies from UPC Insurance.

The insurtech has showed a continued appetite to expand its Florida homeowners book, while leveraging its robust reinsurance arrangements, augmented by the two Purple Re catastrophe bonds it sponsored in 2023, to protect its business.

Slide continues to demonstrate that, while some of the larger nationwide carriers are shying away from catastrophe exposed property insurance business, there are specialists out there prepared to step in and help homeowners with their coverage.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis commented on the news, “The fact that Slide is picking up 86,000 policyholders is great news for those who were getting dumped by Farmers. It also demonstrates that carriers are finding more opportunities, in Florida’s insurance environment, after the reforms we enacted. The coverage that Slide will provide will make policyholders’ lives easier – and we’ll continue working to attract more carriers to Florida.”