United Property & Casualty CEO: Company to Start Writing in Massachusetts

United Property & Casualty Insurance Co. has strength and expertise in writing catastrophe-exposed properties, which it will bring into the Massachusetts market, Chief Executive Officer Don Cronin said.

The company expects to begin writing policies at the end of the third quarter or beginning of the fourth quarter, Cronin said.

"We intend to grow steadily," Cronin said, adding that if there are opportunities for assumptions of books of business, "we would welcome those."

Massachusetts regulators granted approval for United Property & Casualty, which primarily writes homeowners insurance, to begin writing insurance as an admitted carrier in that state.

"It's good diversification," Cronin said. St. Petersburg-based United Property also writes in Florida and South Carolina. Last year, it agreed to assume a $5 million book of business in South Carolina from Sunshine State Insurance Co. (BestWire, June 7, 2010).

Cronin adds that the company's employees, including its chief underwriting officer, Mel Russell, are familiar with the Massachusetts market. Russell started his career in the Boston area.

As of Sept. 30, United Insurance Holdings Corp. (OTCBB: UIHC), the holding company of United Property & Casualty, had 80,400 policies in force, while cash and investment holdings totaled $145.1 million, according to a November filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

In a Dec. 9SEC filing, Florida-based Homeowners Choice Inc. said it ended its agreement to purchase 1.5 million shares of United Insurance Holdings for $4.6 million from Synovus Financial Corp. In an October filing, Homeowners said it signed the agreement "as an indication of our serious interest in exploring with United the possibility [of] combining our companies." However, the December filing said the closing failed to occur on or before the required deadline.

Other Florida-based insurers recently have expanded into the Massachusetts market. In October, regulators granted approval for Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Co. to write property/casualty insurance in Massachusetts (BestWire, Oct. 20, 2010) and Privilege Underwriters Reciprocal Exchange also started writing in Massachusetts last year (BestWire, Aug. 17, 2010).

The top five writers of homeowners multiperil in Massachusetts for 2009 were Mapfre USA Group, with a 10.74% market share; Liberty Mutual Insurance Cos., with an 8.19% share; Travelers Group, with a 7.6% share; Chubb Group of Insurance Cos., with a 7.21% share; and Andover Cos. Pool, with a 6.8% share, according to BestLink, which provides online access to A.M. Best's database of insurance information.

(By Diana Rosenberg, senior associate editor, BestWeek)