Mangrove Property Insurance Approved to Offer Home Insurance in Florida
Florida’s insurance market is welcoming a new player. Mangrove Property Insurance Co. has received the green light from Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky to begin writing home insurance policies in the state. This development follows a period of significant insurance reforms, indicating a positive trend in the market.
The new company will also assume 81,040 personal residential multiperil policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp., Florida’s insurer of last resort, according to a BestWire report. This move is part of a broader strategy to stabilize and expand the availability of property insurance in Florida.
Stephen Weinstein, a seasoned insurance executive, will lead the St. Petersburg-based company. Weinstein cited recent legislative and regulatory reforms as key factors in Mangrove’s launch. The company’s launch was supported by Gallagher Re and Gallagher Securities.
“As the third most populated state in the US, and one of the largest economies in the world, Florida is a special state to me and our company. We want to help enhance Florida’s financial and physical resiliency as it safely continues to grow,” Weinstein said in a statement. Mangrove aims to offer its policies through local agents across all 67 Florida counties.
Before founding Mangrove, Weinstein held positions at RenaissanceRe Holdings Ltd. for nearly two decades. His career has focused on Florida property insurance, and he remains active in both global and Bermuda reinsurance markets. He currently chairs Itasca Re Ltd., a Bermuda specialty reinsurer, after previously chairing the Bermuda Business Development Agency.
According to the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation, Mangrove is the 10th company to enter the Florida market since the state’s insurance reform initiative began. These new entrants have collectively contributed over $297 million in policyholder surplus, demonstrating growing confidence in the market.
In December 2022, Governor Ron DeSantis signed a comprehensive property insurance legislative package into law. The legislation aimed to stabilize the market through several reforms.
“Domestic companies reported more than $389 million in net income as of September 2024,” Yaworsky said. “We will continue to emphasize the encouraging signs of the resilience and growth of our market to attract more business to our state.”
Logan McFaddin, vice president of state government relations for the American Property Casualty Insurance Association, noted that the entry of new companies signals that Florida’s efforts to address legal system abuses are proving effective. “Insurers are seeing Florida as a viable market once again despite the state’s significant risk for catastrophic hurricanes,” McFaddin said. “As more companies continue to enter the state’s marketplace, Floridians have more choices and can shop around for the best coverage at the best price.”
In addition to approving Mangrove’s assumption of policies, Yaworsky also approved a request for Slide Insurance Co. to assume 75,000 personal multiperil policies from Citizens. In December, Slide was approved to take on 100,000 Citizens policies.
Carriers looking to assume policies must offer replacement coverage that costs no more than 20% above the price Citizens charges policyholders. Policyholders will be given a deadline to make a decision. If no decision is made, the policy will be assigned to the private-market company with the lowest estimated premium.
Citizens had 938,845 policies in force as of January 17, a decrease from 988,051 on November 11, 2024, according to the carrier’s website.
