Competition Increases as Two New Property Insurers Start in Florida
As property insurance reforms have taken effect in Florida, new insurers have entered the marketplace. Recently state regulators approved Viceroy Preferred Insurance to write policies in the state. It also permitted Vision Insurance Exchange, making them the 15th and 16th new insurers to enter the Florida market since it hit its low in 2022.
Nine insurers went bankrupt between 2019 and 2022 in Florida with dozens of others being downgraded by rating companies, in 2023 the tenth insurer in the state went under.
As market reforms have improved conditions in the Florida market, new insurers are moving into the market, offering more policy options for homeowners in the Sunshine State.
Mark Friedlander, senior director of media relations for the industry-funded Insurance Information Institute, claims the turnaround in Florida proves the issues that drove price increases were man-made, not weather related.
“Insurers want to do business in Florida because of the vast improvement in the market's environment due to legislative reforms that addressed legal system abuse and assignment of benefits claim fraud,” Friedlander said in a recent Yahoo News article.The legislative changes that were put in place prohibits lawyer fees from being automatically added to a settlement taking away a major incentive for less than honest law firms to sue insurance companies. The law also made it more difficult for policyholders to dispute a settlement claim.
“Now insurers are confident they can write profitable business in all areas of the state,” Friedlander said in the Yahoo News article. “Further, consumers are benefitting from a competitive market with vastly improved pricing.”According to the Florida Office of Insurance, a whopping 29 homeowner companies have filed for a rate decrease this year while an additional 44 companies will not be raising their rates this year.
Here is a quick overview of the two new insurers entering Florida:
Viceroy Preferred Insurance shares officers and a Tallahassee address with Monarch National Insurance Co., which has been offering condo and homeowner policies in Florida since 2015.
The other new insurer, Vision Insurance exchange announced it will be writing insurance coverage throughout Florida, excluding Monroe County, which is where the Florida Keys are located. Vision will be taking out some of its policyholders from Citizens Property which is the insurer of last resort in Florida.
Viceroy Preferred Insurance have filed a plan for every Florida county with state regulators but intend to focus on the East Coast of Florida and inland parts of the state.
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