Thousands of Florida homeowners will need to find new insurance policy after State regulators ordered Sarasota-based Florida Specialty Insurance Co. to liquidate.
According to a statement and several news outlets, the homeowners insurance company, Florida Specialty Insurance Co., failed to keep the required amount of assets and continued to write new business after executives knew the company as insolvent.
All Florida Specialty Insurance policies are cancelled effective November 1, 2019. Policyholders are being encouraged to find new options. (You can visit HoneyQuote.com to compare quotes from dozens of Florida carriers).
"Effective October 2, 2019, Florida Specialty Insurance Company ("FSIC") was ordered into receivership for purposes of liquidation by the Second Judicial Circuit Court in and for Leon County, Florida. The Florida Department of Financial Services ("Department") is the court appointed Receiver,” a statement from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation says.
“FSIC was a property and casualty insurance company located in Sarasota, Florida. The company was licensed in Florida in 1997 and wrote personal property insurance policies for homeowners, condos, renters, and manufactured homes.”
According to the Tampa Bay Times, insurance companies are required in Florida to maintain a $10 million surplus but Florida Specialty was found to have a surplus of just $21,093.
The company’s officers and directors still accepted and renewed policies after mid-August, “when they knew or should have known that (Florida Specialty) was impaired or insolvent.”
The insurer is one of four within the last five years that the state ordered to liquidate, according to the Florida Department of Financial Services. Others include Sawgrass Mutual Insurance company, National Insurance Company and Sunshine State Insurance Company.
