One of Florida’s largest property and casualty insurers and one of its smaller insurers are at least partially affected by Hurricane Helen, which made landfall just before the end of the third quarter, and Hurricane Milton, which hit less than two weeks later. reported losses related to.
Universal Insurance Holdings, the parent company of Universal Casualty Insurance Company, which is considered the third-largest insurance company in Florida with more than 570,000 policies, reported net sales of $16.2 million in the third quarter of 2024. It said in a statement that it had suffered a loss. A profit of $49 million was reported in the second quarter of this year, which was larger than the net loss Universal saw in the third quarter of 2023, according to financial statements.
Chief Executive Officer Stephen Donaghy said the company’s “substantial reinsurance protection and strong reinsurance relationships built over many years provide financial position to weather frequent and severe storm seasons.” “This gives us resilience.”
He said in a statement that Universal’s consolidated holdings “we expect the financial impact of the weather in the fourth quarter, including Hurricane Milton, to be less as subsequent events reduce it.” Non-catastrophe underwriting trends continue to improve and we are very encouraged as we look to the future. ”
Revenue improved approximately 8% compared to the third quarter of 2023 due to higher net premiums written, investment income and fee income. However, some expenses, such as reinsurance payments, also increased, more than doubling to $420 million in the third quarter of this year. Losses and loss adjustment expenses increased to approximately $316 million last year.
Universal’s reported combined ratio also rose significantly, from a healthy 96% in the second quarter of this year to 117% in the third quarter. And while many Florida insurers have gone on a diet and eliminated thousands of policies in recent years, Universal added about 11,000 policies in the third quarter. The number of policies in force was 844,539, up from 807,553 in Q3 2023. Most of the growth in insurance policies comes from states other than Florida. Universal has 570,432 policies in Florida, about the same number of policies in the second quarter of this year and the third quarter of last year.
Fort Lauderdale-based Universal also noted that it opened operations in Wisconsin, its 19th state, this month.
Universal did not provide detailed information about claims, losses and expenses directly related to Hurricanes Helen and Milton. As of Friday, Oct. 25, more than 247,400 claims have been filed by Milton against all Florida airlines, according to a report from the Florida Department of Insurance Regulation. These claims are estimated to result in total losses of more than $2.8 billion, and this amount is expected to increase.
Meanwhile, St. Petersburg-based American Coastal Insurance Corp. (less than 23,000 policies as of June) said its executives were in the midst of disasters caused by hurricanes Debbie and Helen in the third quarter. The company reported that it expects its losses to be approximately $3.8 million. Approximately $1.4 million of this will be covered by AmCoastal’s captive reinsurance company, the company said in a news release.
Hurricane Milton, which hit Florida on October 9th and 10th of this year, is expected to cause approximately $16 million in cat damage in the fourth quarter. The prisoners will keep about $8 million of that.
“Total losses from Milton are estimated at $150 million to $200 million, with 100% of AmCoastal’s $1.26 billion occurrence-based reinsurance tower remaining in place in case of subsequent catastrophe. “AmCoastal President Brad Mertz said in a statement.
AmCoastal’s reinsurance tower is “fully intact” and with $10.3 million lower reserves for potential second and third events, net of tax impacts, “the company has We remain in a strong position through the remainder of the period and expect to remain profitable in 2024.”Despite the impact of Milton, we had a strong fourth quarter,” Mertz added.
Detailed financial information will be announced at the company’s financial results meeting on November 6th. AmCoastal has experienced significant changes over the past two years. After United Property & Casualty Insurance was deemed bankrupt, its subsidiary AmCoastal remained in existence and several UPC executives were transferred to manage American Coastal. And in December 2023, a Florida law that bars employees of bankrupt airlines from overseeing other airlines forced some of those same employees to resign or be reassigned.
Related: Changes at American Coastal Insurance after Florida OIR action on “no-fly list”
Photo: Property owners speak with officials as they deal with damage to their homes and communities from Hurricane Milton on Manasota Key in Inglewood, Florida. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)
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