Startups and out-of-state insurance companies have seized the opportunity to rescue stranded property owners in Florida’s insurance market as legacy carriers retreated from the state in droves over the last five years.
Eight of the 10 fastest-growing carriers in Florida ranked by policy count growth over the last 24 months were formed or licensed since late 2018, according to data reported by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation. Together, those nine insurers hold roughly 746,000 or 10% of the 7.43 million total commercial and residential policies in Florida, and recent data shows they are keeping up their rapid pace of expansion.
Tampa-based Slide Insurance, in particular, has rapidly risen in the ranks to become the state’s seventh-largest insurer despite its short time in the market. Since its founding by insurance veteran Bruce Lucas in early 2022, Slide has grown to more than 255,600 policies, adding nearly 95,000 policies over the last 12 months alone and 144,200 policies since June 2022.
Slide, along with nearly a dozen other property insurers, has grown substantially through policy takeouts from state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Corp. Slide has assumed around 147,000 policies from Citizens since the start of 2023, FLOIR data shows.
Tower Hill Insurance Exchange, a Gainesville carrier licensed in 2021, ranks as the fourth-largest insurer in Florida with 354,825 policies. However, it has expanded slightly slower over the last 12 months, adding 79,000 policies. Since June 2022, however, Tower Hill has grown by nearly 150%, adding 210,400 policies.
A more recent market entry, South Florida-based Orange Insurance Exchange, has amassed 14,600 policies since its launch in October, FLOIR data shows. Nearly 13,000 of those policies were assumed via takeout from Citizens Property Insurance Corp.
The legacy market, on the other hand, has shed hundreds of thousands of policies in recent years. Fort Lauderdale-based Universal Property and Casualty Insurance Co., the state’s third-largest carrier with 560,300 policies in total, has dropped around 88,900 policies over the last 24 months, or 14% of its total book of business in Florida. St. Petersburg-based ASI Preferred Insurance Corp., the No. 10 largest carrier with 201,200 policies, has eliminated 37% of its Florida policies during the same period, or 119,400.
Here are the top 10 fastest-growing insurance carriers in Florida by policy count growth over the last 24 months, along with their overall market rank, date of first license, and most recent policy count.
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