Life After Runoff? Anchor Insurance coverage Exploring ‘Prospects’ in Warming Florida Market

It’s uncommon for a property insurance coverage firm to emerge from an orderly runoff and re-enter {the marketplace} as a going concern. In actual fact, it has by no means occurred in Florida, trade consultants say.

However that could be what’s about to occur with Anchor Property & Casualty Insurance coverage Co., after board members with Anchor Insurance coverage Holdings determined to usher in a longtime trade govt to check the waters and discover potentialities.

“The board has determined to think about an array of doable enterprise plans,” mentioned John Rollins, who was named CEO of the St. Petersburg-based firm in October.

Rollins has spent 32 years within the Florida insurance coverage trade, together with stints as chief monetary officer at Olympus Insurance coverage and at Gemini Monetary Holdings, and as chief threat officer for Cabrillo Coastal Basic Insurance coverage and as threat officer at Residents Property Insurance coverage. Most just lately, he was director of ventures at Evans Insurance coverage Holdings, vetting corporations for potential funding.

A rebirth of a troubled insurance coverage firm could be exceptional in Florida. At the very least two main insurers, United Property & Casualty Insurance coverage and FedNat Insurance coverage Co., within the final three years entered orderly runoff plans solely to be deemed bancrupt inside months. Eight different Florida property insurers in the previous few years skipped the runoff stage and went straight to insolvency and liquidation proceedings.

However Anchor’s current transfer seems to an indicator of a quickly enhancing market. Insurance coverage executives throughout the state have credited 2022 and 2023 insurance coverage and tort-reform laws with stemming what had been known as runaway claims litigation and prices. At the very least 5 different new carriers have entered or plan to enter the Florida market in coming months.

Anchor “is in a solvent, publicly administered supervision. It’s adequately reserved, operating off remaining claims,” Rollins mentioned.

Nearly 20 excellent claims stay, and the corporate has sufficient reserves obtainable to pay these, he famous.

Anchor P&C Insurance coverage was first licensed in Florida in 2014 and was permitted to take out 1000’s of Residents insurance policies. As just lately as 2019, Anchor held greater than 43,000 insurance policies within the state, with about $69 million in premium, regulator studies present. At one level, it supplied owners insurance coverage in 12 different states.

However by 2016, Anchor was shedding cash and continued to take action by means of 2018, regulatory and news reports point out. Three teams of buyers that yr gained management of the corporate and supplied infusions of capital. However the web losses continued. In 2019, the Demotech monetary score agency introduced it will quickly downgrade the provider.

Anchor bought its Texas subsidiary, renamed Anchor Specialty Insurance coverage, to Weston Insurance coverage Holdings (and Weston P&C Insurance coverage Co. itself was declared insolvent in 2022). The renewal rights to most of Anchor P&C insurance policies additionally had been bought in early 2020 to HCI, Householders Alternative Insurance coverage, as Anchor was positioned into runoff. The regulatory supervision order has been prolonged a number of occasions since then.

Till just lately, Brian Katz was CEO of Anchor P&C; David Weiner was CFO; Pramod Datta Kerker, Kyle Hooker and Christopher Moench are proven as board members, in response to a 2021 examination report by the Florida Workplace of Insurance coverage Regulation. As of the top of 2021, Anchor reported a policyholder surplus of about $400,000. It holds no insurance policies right now.

Rollins mentioned the board has given him no timetable to make suggestions on the feasibility of re-entering the market. He declined to supply info on potential buyers in a reborn provider.

Matters
Florida