Florida Surplus Lines Saw ‘Monumental’ Growth in February, FSLSO Says *Centurion Insurance AFS*

Surplus lines in Florida saw a huge increase in premium, policy count and new business for February compared to the same month last year, a spike in growth that the Florida Surplus Lines Service Office called “monumental” and “eye-popping.”

The growth may be more than a seasonal blip: For the previous year, from February 2022 to February 2023, premium grew only about 3.5%, an FSLSO report shows. The office is not sure of the reasons behind the increase, but will know more after the first quarter report is released in April, said Brian Young, director of agent and insurer services at FSLSO.

Big growth in surplus lines in Florida is not surprising, after four years of severe premium increases, policy cancellations, nonrenewals and coverage limits in the primary property insurance market.

“It’s Florida,” Young said Wednesday. “It’s been a very volatile market.”

Growth in surplus lines coverage in Florida could continue this year, at least to some degree, if bills now in the Florida Legislature pass. House Bill 1503 and Senate Bill 1716 would allow surplus lines carriers to make take-out offers on second homes now covered by the state-created Citizens Property Insurance Corp. The House of Representatives approved HB 1503 late last week and the Senate is expected to vote on SB 1716 today.

It’s not clear if many surplus companies will be interested in the takeouts, though, since the bills require that surplus carriers submit rates and forms to regulators before they can be approved for takeouts.

The FSLSO report suggests that surplus lines are doing well enough on their own without takeouts, thank you very much. Premium for February 2024 jumped by $507 million over February 2023, an increase of 66%. Policy count climbed by almost 41%, or 128,500 for the month. And new business and renewals saw about a 40% increase, the report shows.

The largest increases in premium were seen in commercial flood coverage, physician professional liability and commercial aircraft hull and liability coverage. Policy count also increased significantly for commercial flood. Homeowners policy climbed by more than 7,100 policies, a 35% increase.

“Commercial property and commercial general liability are still the top earners, though commercial general liability skyrocketed 79% over February 2023,” the report noted. “Several coverages that experienced a premium decrease in January are now back in the black.”

Topics
Florida
Excess Surplus