Florida insurance regulators have greenlit plans for three insurers to collectively assume up to 135,540 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. in June, continuing efforts to transfer risk away from the state's insurer of last resort and bolster private market participation.

Florida Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky signed orders this week authorizing Mangrove Property Insurance Co., Patriot Select Property and Casualty Insurance Co., and Slide Insurance Co. to participate in the state's "depopulation" initiative. The program is designed to reduce Citizens' ballooning policy count, which swelled during recent years as private carriers struggled under the weight of financial losses, litigation costs, and extreme weather events.

Mangrove, which only received approval to enter Florida's volatile property insurance market in January, will be allowed to assume up to 81,040 policies this summer. Patriot Select is authorized to take on as many as 39,500 policies, while Slide has been cleared to absorb 15,000.

The depopulation effort has become a key strategy as state leaders try to stabilize Florida's troubled insurance market. Citizens had reached an unsustainable high of 1.4 million policies in 2023, making it the largest property insurer in the state. However, several rounds of policy transfers, alongside market reforms, have helped shrink that number to around 851,000 as of last week.

Yaworsky described these developments last year as signs of "a recovery, stabilization taking place" in Florida's insurance landscape.

One notable example of depopulation driving insurer growth is Slide Insurance Co., which expanded its book of residential policies from 209,799 at the end of 2023 to over 341,000 by the close of 2024. Similarly, American Integrity Insurance Co., another active participant in the program, saw its policy count jump to nearly 340,000 in the same period.

Even new entrants are capitalizing on this mechanism. Mangrove has been approved not only for the June policy assumption but also to take another batch of up to 81,040 Citizens policies in April.

In contrast, some large private insurers like State Farm Florida Insurance Co. have stayed on the sidelines, opting not to participate in depopulation. State Farm ended 2024 with roughly 647,000 policies -- virtually unchanged from a year earlier.

While shifting policies to private insurers helps reduce Citizens' exposure to hurricane-related losses -- and by extension, the risk of imposing post-storm assessments on Florida homeowners -- the process can bring cost implications for consumers.

Under Florida law, Citizens policyholders are required to accept coverage offers from private carriers if the premium is no more than 20% higher than their current Citizens rate. This often forces customers to move to more expensive policies, even as Citizens itself continues to raise rates.

As of February, Citizens had nearly 943,000 policies in force. It plans to implement average premium increases of 8% across its personal residential policies beginning June 1, with some segments, such as non-primary residences and mobile homes, seeing steeper hikes. Despite Governor Ron DeSantis' recent remarks touting potential premium decreases, regulatory filings show that about 80% of Citizens customers will actually face rate increases this year.

Recent policy assumptions by other companies illustrate how the private market is re-engaging. Tailrow Reciprocal Exchange, backed by HCI Group, assumed nearly 14,000 policies from Citizens in February, with HCI CEO Paresh Patel crediting the firm's technology and expertise for "achieving a high adoption rate."

Florida regulators and insurers alike hope that as more companies leverage depopulation opportunities and market reforms take hold, the state's property insurance market will regain long-term stability. However, balancing affordability for consumers remains an ongoing challenge.
 

New players in Florida:

Mangrove Property Insurance Company is a newly established Florida-based insurer, approved by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) on January 15, 2025, to offer property and casualty insurance to homeowners across the state. The company is led by Harvard educated CEO Stephen Weinstein. Weinstein has served in senior roles at major reinsurance firms and holds positions on a number of industry boards.

Slide Insurance Company, established in 2021 by founder and CEO Bruce Lucas, is a Tampa-based, technology-driven insurance provider specializing in homeowners and property insurance across Florida and South Carolina. Since its inception, Slide has rapidly expanded, acquiring policies from insolvent insurers like St. Johns Insurance Company and UPC Insurance, and securing renewal rights to approximately 86,000 Farmers Insurance policies after their withdrawal from the Florida market.

Patriot Select Property and Casualty Insurance Company is also Florida-based and is headquartered in St. Petersburg, specializing in homeowners insurance tailored to the unique risks faced by property owners in the Sunshine State. The company also offers standard HO-3 policies. The company is led by CEO John W. Rollins and COO Kelly Booten.

NEWS PAGE

HOME