Slide acquires renewal rights for Florida Farmers insurance policies [South Florida Sun-Sentinel]

Farmers Insurance policyholders in Florida are about to get a surprise: A renewal offer from Slide Insurance.

Farmers in July announced it would not be renewing 100,000 Florida policies sold under the Farmers brand, including, it said, home, auto and umbrella policies. It called the move a business decision to manage its risk exposure in the hurricane-vulnerable state.

On Friday, Slide Insurance announced it has acquired renewal rights to 86,000 of Farmer’s Florida home insurance policies, but not renters, auto or umbrella policies.

Renewals will begin for February 2024 effective dates, Slide said in a news release.

Slide, based in Tampa, is a rapidly-growing insuretech firm founded in 2022 by Bruce Lucas, who built Heritage Property & Casualty a decade ago before leaving that company in 2020. A news release in 2022 said that Slide’s “cutting edge technology leverages artificial technology and bid data to hyper-personalize, optimize and streamline every part of the insurance process.”

Earlier this year, Slide announced acquisition of more than 91,000 policies from UPC Insurance when that company announced its exit from Florida. In 2022, Slide agreed to take over 147,000 policies after Orlando-based St. Johns Insurance Co. went into receivership.

This year, Slide also received authorization from the state Office of Insurance Regulation to take out up to 250,000 policies from state-owned Citizens Property Insurance Corp.

Slide had become the state’s 12th largest insurer, by policy count, at the end of June with 148,136 personal and commercial policies.

With $35 million in additional capital from Regions Bank secured in June and $1 billion in reinsurance, Slide is well-positioned financially to absorb the policies, the release said.

Unlike older carriers, Slide is not burdened by litigation filed prior to reforms enacted by the Florida Legislature and governor in 2022.

Farmers agents will be offered an appointment with Slide, the news release said, adding, “As part of this transaction, Slide will bolster its big data advantage and market-leading focus on underwriting technology and predictive analytics.”

The news release credited Jimmy Patronis, Florida’s chief financial officer, saying the transaction would not have been possible without his efforts. “CFO Patronis’ leadership gave us the confidence to offer every policyholder a guaranteed renewal,” it said.

Ron Hurtibise covers business and consumer issues for the South Florida Sun Sentinel. He can be reached by phone at 954-356-4071, on Twitter @ronhurtibise or by email at rhurtibise@sunsentinel.com.

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