The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation says changes passed by the Fla. Legislature have attracted new insurers and removed 280K policies from Fla.-owned Citizens.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) approved Mainsail Insurance Company, a Texas-based property and casualty insurer – the second company to be approved to become an authorized property and casualty domestic insurer following the passage of a property insurance bill by the Florida Legislature this year, HB 837.
Mainsail joins Tailrow which, OIR approved in April. OIR continues to accept and review – and even encourage – new insurer applications and says it will announce new entrants on a rolling basis.
“The addition of Mainsail Insurance Company to the Florida market is evidence that recent legislative reforms are having a positive impact for consumers,” says Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky.
In addition to new market entrants, OIR is seeing greater participation and interest in the Citizens Depopulation program. This year, OIR has approved insurers to assume 280,000 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corporation (Citizens) through October 2023. Takeout, or depopulation, is the program created by the Florida Legislature to reduce the number of Citizens’ insured properties and state taxpayer exposure.
In noting shifts in Florida’s insurance market, OIR cites recent legislative changes “designed to promote market stability,” including SB 2-A and SB 2-D. As a result of these reforms, OIR says, there are additional opportunities in the market for insurers in the state of Florida.
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