Mangrove, a newly formed property and casualty insurer, has been approved to operate in Florida, offering a glimmer of hope for a market plagued by rising insurance costs and insurer exodus. This entry follows legislative reforms aimed at stabilizing the industry and a growing trend of rate decreases filed by existing companies.
A new property and casualty (P&C) insurer, Mangrove, has been approved to operate in Florida by Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworksy, marking another positive step for the state's beleaguered property insurance market. Headquartered just outside St.
Petersburg and led by industry veteran Stephen Weinstein, Mangrove joins ten other insurers who have been granted entry into the Florida market since Tallahassee legislators enacted a series of regulatory reforms in 2022-2023 aimed at stabilizing the industry. Mangrove plans to offer coverage through licensed independent agents across all 67 counties in Florida, focusing on providing sustainable P&C insurance with competitive rates while ensuring robust catastrophic event risk management, according to Reinsurance News. The company intends to assume 81,000 homeowner policies from Citizens, Florida's insurer of last resort, by April 15th. However, it's important to note that not all targeted homeowners will necessarily accept the offer to transition to Mangrove. Data from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) and published by the Insurance Journal indicates that roughly 10 percent of offers made in 2024 were accepted by policyholders. The arrival of Mangrove is being hailed as a success by regulators, who view it as a testament to the effectiveness of recent legislative reforms. It joins a growing list of new entrants, including ASI Select Insurance, Trident Reciprocal Exchange, Ovation Home Insurance Exchange, Manatee Insurance Exchange, Condo Owners Reciprocal Exchange, Orange Insurance Exchange, Orion180 Select Insurance Company, Orion180 Insurance Company, Mainsail Insurance Company, and Tailrow Insurance Exchange. Florida's property insurance market has been grappling with a perfect storm of issues in recent years, including widespread fraud, excessive and unnecessary litigation, and the increasing frequency and intensity of natural disasters exacerbated by climate change. This confluence of factors led to a mass exodus of insurers from the state, leaving many homeowners struggling to find affordable coverage as premiums soared. The influx of new insurers, coupled with a recent trend of rate decreases filed by existing companies, signals a potential turning point for the market. In January 2024 alone, 17 insurers filed for rate decreases, while 34 requested no change or zero percent increases, according to OIR data. This positive shift contrasts sharply with the situation two years ago, when 60 percent of the top 10 national carriers in Florida had shrunk their business and 40 percent filed rate increases. Another encouraging sign is the successful depopulation of Citizens, Florida's state-backed insurer, which had seen its policy count balloon in recent years. Since last year, 18 private insurers have taken over more than 1.2 million policies from Citizens, significantly reducing its exposure by over $170 billion.
Business FLORIDA INSURANCE PROPERTY INSURANCE MANGROVE INSURANCE CITIZENS INSURANCE INSURANCE MARKET STABILIZATION LEGISLATIVE REFORMS RATE DECREASES
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