5 New Homeowners Insurance Companies Step into the Florida Insurance Market

Florida’s property insurance disaster may be taking baby steps in the right direction as five new insurers step into the Florida market, taking over hundreds of thousands from Citizens Property, Florida’s insurer of last resort. This could lead to more insurance options for residents of the Sunshine State soon.

The five companies in the mix include Slide Insurance Company, Safepoint Insurance Co., Southern Oak Insurance Co., Florida Peninsula Co. and Monarch National Insurance Company.

New choices will be a welcome change in the Florida insurance market as damage claims, start rolling in from Hurricane Idalia.

“The storm didn’t have a direct impact on Tampa Bay. But we still saw homes are flood damaged. So, if you have one inch of water, that could equate to $25,000 of damage, two inches could equate to $50,000,” said Mark Friedlander, the Florida spokesperson for the Insurance Information Institute in a recent Fox News article. Friedlander estimated Idalia losses are estimated between $2 billion and $5 billion.

“When we see significant hurricane damage in Florida, it typically is a trigger for changes in the global reinsurance market. Reinsurance is basically insurance for property insurers,” said Friedlander in the Fox News article. “This year, Florida property insurers saw average increases for reinsurance, 40 to 70 percent above what they were last year.”

The increased reinsurance cost may end up getting passed on to homeowners via higher premiums. Despite the new insurers coming to market, the Florida property insurance is still volatile and in flux.

Florida’s insurance Commissioner, Michael Yaworsky, of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (FOIR) commented on legislative passed last year in the Fox News article. “Some changes that have taken place will take time to be felt and there’s a lot of reasons for that.” 

One new development is that the FOIR has approved five new insurance companies to move into the Florida insurance market. They will be taking 202,000 policies from Citizens Property to help ease the pressure on the insurer of last resort. 

“We’re seeing positive reactions and feelings to where rates are, where the environment is becoming more favorable not only to insurance companies that are here but growth,” said Yaworsky in the Fox News article. This means homeowners may have more insurance choices next year and in the future. 

“More choice means better news for consumers, perhaps even better pricing,” said Friedlander in the Fox News article.

With more home insurance carrier options, we can help you shop and save more money on your homeowners insurance premiums. Let us help you shop and decrease your annual home insurance cost today! Call us now at 1-888-685-4704 or request quotes online, visit our Florida Home insurance Quotes page.