The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) has approved Stand Insurance Exchange and Praxis Reciprocal Exchange to write property insurance in the state.
Both carriers will offer fire, homeowners multiperil, allied lines, inland marine and other liability coverage. Praxis will also provide boiler and machinery insurance.
Insurance Commissioner Mike Yaworsky noted that legislative reforms in recent years have attracted new entrants to Florida's property insurance market. In August, OIR approved Viceroy Preferred Insurance Co., backed by Monarch National Insurance and private equity firm Hale Partnership Capital Management LLC, to write home insurance.
Yaworsky said the state’s insurance market is showing growth, citing 17 new companies since reforms and multiple insurers requesting rate decreases or no increases.
According to a report from BestWire, Stand is described as a technology-forward company focused on helping homeowners mitigate risk. Praxis executives bring more than 75 years of experience in the Florida market. Both companies intend to transfer 25,000 policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp., the state-backed insurer of last resort. Citizens now has fewer than 780,000 policies, down from more than 1.4 million in September 2023.
Florida Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia said that new entrants strengthen competition and could help lower homeowners insurance rates. Attempts to obtain comments from Stand and Praxis were unsuccessful.
The OIR noted that market reforms are also contributing to declines in auto insurance rates. The state’s top five personal auto insurers are requesting an average rate decrease of 6.5%, down from average increases of 4.3% in 2024 and 31.7% in 2023.
In the homeowners multiperil sector, the five largest writers in Florida in 2024, based on direct premiums written, were Citizens Property Insurance Corp. (14.84%), Universal Insurance Holdings Group (8.10%), State Farm Group (7.03%), Florida Peninsula Group (6.40%), and Slide Insurance Group (5.49%).
The approvals of Stand and Praxis underscore the ongoing reshaping of Florida’s property insurance market, reflecting both increased competition and a steady decline in reliance on the state-backed insurer.
