Over the past couple of years, the property market in Florida has witnessed significant turbulence - with several carriers exiting the state or reducing their book of business and most pointing to the risks from hurricanes and from extensive litigation as the primary reasons.
For Greg Leifer (pictured), Florida division leader at World Insurance Associates, the complex environment has led to significant disruption with reduced choices and increased costs for consumers.
“The excess and surplus lines markets continue to grow, but even those have limited capacity,” Leifer told Insurance Business. “As such, customers are finding fewer options, worsening terms and conditions, and increasing premiums for essentially the same product. So it’s challenging.”
And while World Insurance Associates, with its extensive market presence in Florida, is actively working to place clients, both new and existing, Leifer still acknowledges the overarching challenges in the marketplace.
“Our ability to place coverage for somebody, whether they’re a new customer or an existing customer, is something we’re definitely doing but with more pain for the customer, quite frankly,” he said. “I think that’s going to continue probably… for a bit. There appears to be some signs that it’s softening. It may be as we get later into this year and into next year, things might improve. That’s our hope. That’s the industry’s hope, that’s the customer’s hope and the state’s hope.”
In part, Leifer’s optimism comes from legislative changes within Florida that have brought some relief to the insurance industry. These changes, though gradual, are starting to show results, and Leifer anticipates they will attract new carriers and equity into the market, fostering more competition and choice for consumers.
“Legislation has changed in Florida recently,” added Leifer. “The issues that carriers and the industry have been complaining about for years, which have contributed to their poor performance, have been met with some relief by state intervention.”
For example, the removal of attorney’s fees related to the assignment of benefits provisions is a significant development that shifts the balance in favor of carriers. These legal adjustments are expected to bring about positive changes, providing relief to carriers and, ultimately, consumers.
“There’s been some different things that were stacked against the carriers for lack of a better word,” added Leifer. “And the community in Florida was able to use some of those laws to dig in on claims.”
But, despite the challenges within the industry, World Insurance Associates has evolved since Leifer’s purchase of West Coast Insurance in 2016. With subsequent acquisitions, the World Insurance agencies’ carrier representation has significantly strengthened, providing more resources and expertise to navigate the challenging market.
“Our resources, our people are deeper and better overall than they were - in addition our processes are state of the art,” he said. I think our platform is built to respond to the challenges - and we’re doing that but, again, we understand the customer’s pain.”
