More Insurance Companies Writing in Florida!!

5 More Property Insurance Companies on the way for Homeowners

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - June 5, 2007 - The property insurance market remains tight in Florida, but consumers are starting to get more choices.

The state Office of Insurance Regulation said Monday it has approved 5companies to sell homeowner policies, more proof that Florida's beleaguered insurance industry is recovering from a wave of recent hurricanes, officials say.

Still, these additional insurers won't do much to ease the insurance crunch quickly for people who might be worried about storm coverage, since hurricane season started Friday.

• Modern USA Insurance Co. of Clearwater will begin selling coverage in October on homes with an average value of $210,000
• American Keystone Insurance Co. of Ponte Vedra Beach will sell policies on homes valued from $250,000 to $3 million.
• Orlando-based Olympus Insurance Co. will begin selling coverage by the fourth quarter of 2007
• Plantation-based Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange Inc. will target homes valued at more than $1 million.
• Homeowners Choice Property & Casualty Insurance Co. of Port St. Lucie, will take roughly 10,000 policies in July from state-backed Citizens Property Insurance Co. Many of those policies will be in South Florida. The company will seek new business this fall. In the next two years, it plans to sell 20,000 to 25,000 policies on homes valued from $150,000 to $750,000.
  
  
  To address skyrocketing insurance rates, Florida lawmakers in January passed legislation that allows companies to buy reinsurance at lower costs. As of June 1, insurance companies were required to pass those savings on to customers renewing their policies.

Gov. Charlie Crist insisted that the legislation would encourage more competition in Florida, although some critics have argued otherwise.

The 5 companies receiving state approval are niche players that will be selective in selling policies, said Robert Hartwig, chief economist for the Insurance Information Institute."And you can be assured that the price is going to be commiserate with the risk they're taking," Hartwig said.

Sawgrass Mutual Insurance Co. of Hollywood has applied to the state for approval to sell homeowner policies.

Copyright © 2007 South Florida Sun-Sentine   

Abridged by Lois Szydlowski