Almost two years after Progressive Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³» announced it would stop renewing some homeowners policies in Florida, Flo and crew have dropped another 100,000 HO and landlord policies in the state.
The insurance giant and Florida regulators said Progressive had struck an agreement with Tampa-based Loggerhead Reciprocal Interinsurance Exchange, a recent entrant into the Florida market, to offer replacement policies for affected customers early next year.
The dropped HO policies were considered “high risk,” although Progressive did not say which counties were most impacted. The carrier also will discontinue dwelling-fire and DP-3 policies in the state, and will begin sending nonrenewal notices in late December.
Also, the company said it has determined that certain agents will no longer represent Progressive Home insurance. The insurer did not name the agents but said they would be notified soon.
In a statement, Progressive said it needed to take the actions “to ensure we can be a long-term, viable property carrier option” for independent agents.
“While we need to make these business decisions to help rebalance our book, we’re encouraged by and grateful for the work of Florida state officials who helped recently enact needed legislative reforms that are stabilizing the insurance business environment and encouraging new carriers to enter the market,” the statement reads.
Progressive has a strong presence in Florida. The state represents about 6.5% of all single-family homes in the US, but 17% of all homes insured by Progressive are there, the company said.
“Florida is a priority for Progressive Home and we are not leaving the property market,” the statement said. “We look forward to realizing the benefits of the recent state market reforms while we continue to insure more than 200,000 Floridians and their homes.”
Progressive in July 2022 sent a similar bulletin to agents, explaining it had temporarily stopped writing new DP-3 policies in the turbulent Florida market. That came eight months after it had stopped renewing some HO policies. “We’ve made this difficult decision now so we can remain a stable and viable property market solution for years to come,” the bulletin read.
Progressive is one of several national carriers that have pulled back to some degree from Florida and other markets. American International Group said in June it would stop writing homeowners in high-risk ZIP codes in Florida, California, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Montana, New York and Wyoming. Farmers Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³» Group also said it would exit its Farmers-branded personal lines in Florida, although its Foremost subsidiaries remain.
Loggerhead, approved earlier this year to do business in the state, was founded by former Auto Club Group executives Landon Todd Dixon and James Santo. It agreed this summer to take out about 1,000 policies from Citizens Property Å˽ðÁ«´«Ã½Ó³» Corp., Florida’s state-created insurer of last resort.
The pullback by Progressive could bring some opportunity to others in the market. Florida Peninsula, one of the larger insurers in the state with more than 200,000 policies in force, announced Monday that it has begun offering a new dwelling-fire coverage for landlords.
The product is designed to cover homes that may not be eligible for standard home insurance policies, including homes with older roofs, vacation homes and investment properties, the company said in a news release.
Update: A previous version of this article contained an incorrect photograph of James Santo.
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