Florida Insurance Update as Homeowners Receive
'Very Positive' News |
Article Courtesy of Newsweek
By Giulia Carbonaro
Published
February 1, 2024
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Six new private insurers are
entering the Florida market, spelling optimism for a state that has
recently suffered an exodus of major providers and is experiencing an
ongoing crisis in the sector.
According to the Insurance Information
Institute (Triple I), the six new companies expected to
write homeowners insurance policies in the first quarter of
2024 are Tailrow Insurance Company, Mainsail Insurance
Company, Orion 180 Insurance Company, Orion 180 Select
Insurance Company, Orange Insurance Exchange and Condo
Owners Reciprocal Insurance.
This is a significant change for Florida, which in the past
couple of years saw major private insurers leaving the state
due in part to the increased risk of extreme weather events
and the enormous damage claims these might come with, while
others fell into liquidation in 2022.
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This exodus has left many Florida homeowners short of options to insure
their home, at the same time when residents are paying the highest
premiums in the entire country.
Florida residents are currently paying an average of
about $4,218 a year for insuring their homes, according to the latest
data from Insurance.com. That's nearly double the national average of
$2,777. According to data from Triple I, the average insurance premium
for Florida homeowners in 2023 was $6,000 per year, a 42 percent
increase compared to 2022.
According to Triple I's spokesperson Mark Friedlander, as quoted by WPTV,
the move is "very positive" for the Florida insurance marketplace and
for homeowners, who will now have a choice "on shopping for coverage."
Friedlander told Newsweek that "new insurers will provide more
opportunities for consumers to shop their home insurance coverage, which
should generate more competitive pricing and choice, something most
Florida homeowners have not experienced in many years."
He added that, "combined with the successful depopulation of the
state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp., new insurers wanting to
write home policies in Florida is a positive sign that the market is
heading in the right direction."
State-backed Citizens Property Insurance, considered a so-called insurer
of last resort for Floridians who cannot convince a private company to
cover their properties, have been taking on new customers in recent
years and now insures about 1.3 million policyholders.
These six new companies, which have been vetted and cleared by state
regulators, have been waiting for the new year to enter the state's
insurance market, after the Florida legislation passed litigation
reforms and the 2023 hurricane season ended, Friedlander said. They will
all be represented by independent insurance agents across the state.
The timeframe for these six companies to start writing new policies in
Florida is unclear, but should happen within the next three months,
Friedlander said.
"We do have confirmation from some agents that Orange Insurance has
opened for business," he said, as reported by WPTV. "They are writing
policies and have started to appoint independent agents across the
state."
Meanwhile, many Floridians are still struggling. In previous months,
residents spoke to Newsweek about having their earnings "wiped out" by
the increased cost of insurance in the state, as going bare—without any
coverage—is unthinkable considering the damages their properties could
suffer from hurricanes or flooding.
Friedlander told ABC News that Florida homeowners having been offered
new options for coverage is "something we haven't seen in many years."
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