Insurance commissioner says 12th new property insurer enters state thanks to reforms

Ron Hurtibise, South Florida Sun-SentinelSouth Florida Sun Sentinel

Another new property insurer has been approved to conduct business in Florida — the 12th since the state enacted what Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky called “historic legislative reforms” in 2022 and 2023.

The new company, Apex Star Reciprocal Exchange, will be based in New Port Richey, the Office of Insurance Regulation said in a news release on Monday. It will offer numerous different coverages, including fire, allied lines, homeowners multi-peril, commercial multi-peril, inland marine and other liability coverage, the release said.

Apex Star is part of the StarLight Insurance Group, which is based in Tampa and also operates in Mississippi.

The company’s website identifies its CEO as David Nichols. According to Nichols’ LinkedIn page, he previously served as chief insurance officer of Inhabit IQ in Knoxville, Tenn., managing director of FTI Consulting in New York, and president and CEO of Interboro Insurance Group.

He served as assistant commissioner of the New Hampshire Insurance Department for seven years between 1988 and 1995, the site says.

Nichols has served as president and CEO of StarLight Insurance Group since October 2023, according to his biography.

Utkarsh Patel is the company’s chief financial officer, according to the company’s website.

According to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s online records, the company was granted permission last November to begin operating in Florida and received its certificate of authority in February.

Spokespersons for the office did not immediately respond to an email asking why it released news about the company on Monday.

But in the release, Yaworsky was quoted saying the company’s debut was made possible by the “historic legislative reforms we have enacted.”

Those reforms, enacted by the Legislature and governor in 2022 and 2023, were intended to restrict the number of lawsuits filed against insurance companies in Florida by outlawing the so-called “one-way attorney fee” statute.

That was a law that required insurers to pay all attorneys fees if litigation ended with insurers paying any amount over their initial settlement offer. In 2022, insurers argued that a small group of Florida attorneys were exploiting the law by filing large numbers of lawsuits, costing the industry tens of millions of dollars and driving up insurance rates across the state.

This year, bills were filed in the Senate and House that would restore plaintiffs’ rights to collect attorneys fees from insurers. The 2025 legislative session is scheduled to conclude on May 2.

Yaworsky and others, including Gov. Ron DeSantis, are cautioning the Legislature not to unravel the reforms. They argue that rates are starting to fall, consumers’ premiums have leveled off, and more companies are again vying to do business in the state.

“The continued growth in Florida’s insurance market is due in large part to the historic legislative reforms we have enacted,” Yaworsky is quoted in the release as saying. “We must continue on this path and not turn the clock backwards. I am pleased to approve Apex Star Reciprocal Exchange as our latest property insurer to provide coverage in our great state.”

Other newcomers are Mangrove Property Insurance Company, ASI Select Insurance Corp., 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.

Many of the new companies have built their initial books of business by participating in the depopulation program underway for state-owned Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the so-called “insurer of last resort.”

Nichols did not respond to a text message asking if Apex Star plans to participate in Citizens depopulation program.

Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071 or by email at [email protected].