All insurance policies issued by United Property & Casualty Insurance Company (“UPCIC”) are cancelled as of March 29, 2023, according to the Florida Department of Financial Services. There is one exception for flood insurance policies.
The action follows a Florida court order that the Florida Department of Financial Services assume the role of receiver of United P&C. The company entered into liquidation on February 27, 2023. The claims filing deadline is February 27, 2024.
Family Security Insurance Company, Inc., a related company, was merged into UPCIC prior to its liquidation. UPCIC is the surviving entity. United Insurance Holding Corp. (Nasdaq: UIHC) is the parent company of UPCIC. UIHC has since de-consolidated UPCIC from its financial results.
Earlier this year, Slide Insurance acquired the renewal rights to over 91,400 Florida homeowners policies from UPC Insurance. The acquired policies represented $272 million in annual premium, and with this acquisition of UPC Insurance renewal rights, Slide had total in-force premiums of $560 million.
Slide Insurance, based in Tampa, is a “full-stack insurtech” serving the Florida homeowners market. It was founded in 2021 by Bruce Lucas, who founded Heritage Insurance. Slide Insurance is now one of the largest homeowner’s insurers in Florida and has approximately 100,000 policyholders. In November 2021, Slide also acquired the St. John’s book of business.
Florida has taken multiple actions in the past few years to rein in excessive litigation in the homeowners insurance market. Most recently, the Florida legislature passed S.B. 2-A which included many reform efforts. One key feature was to eliminate the assignment of benefits (“AOB”) on homeowner claims as of January 1, 2023, for claims relating to admitted carriers.
Click on the link for more information on the liquidation process for United Property and Casualty Insurance Company, as published by the Florida Department of Financial Services.
https://www.myfloridacfo.com/division/receiver/companies/detail/563
United P&C Panel Counsel Implications
The Florida Insurance Guaranty Association (FIGA) will handle United P&C claims within Florida, along with the claims of other insolvent property and casualty insurance companies in Florida.
Law firms that were defense counsel for United P&C certainly have lost a future stream of billable files, and may be at risk for their existing files as FIGA works to resolve all claims. The Florida market continues to be very challenging, despite recent efforts at tort reform. Panel counsel law firms may want to diversify their market share away from any dependency on one or more specific homeowners insurance companies. One opportunity may be to look at adjacent market segments, like targeting property managers at apartment buildings and commercial properties.
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Disclaimer
This article is provided for educational purposes only. It is not to be interpreted as legal advice or an opinion in regard to any topic discussed. The article should not be used as a substitute for legal advice from a licensed attorney in your state. Every situation is different and circumstances vary widely depending on the governing state law, policy provisions, and related considerations.