Mangrove Property Insurance Company joins Florida marketplace

For AFP, transparency is the key word for property insurance reform.

Mangrove Property Insurance Company has received approval from the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation (OIR) to offer property and casualty insurance to homeowners in the state. 

Mangrove, a newly formed Florida company, is launching with a strong capital base and a seasoned leadership team, including long-time insurance and financial services industry expert Stephen Weinstein, the company said Monday. 

The company plans a long-term presence in the state. 

“Smart legislative and regulatory reforms have stabilized Florida’s marketplace, giving us confidence to enter the market with new capital and capacity to help homeowners meet their property insurance needs,” said Weinstein, who serves as Mangrove’s CEO. “Just as mangroves protect Florida’s coastlines from erosion and storm surge, Mangrove Property Insurance Company is committed to being a permanent solution Floridians can turn to in protecting their property.”

Mangrove organized to meet property insurance needs tailored to Florida’s unique market. While the company launched in Florida due to insurance reforms it saw as beneficial to the industry, which has long struggled in this hurricane-prone state, its leaders still see room for improvement. 

“As the third most populated state in the U.S., 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.

The company will work in all 67 Florida counties, including through partnerships with local independent agents. The company uses a data-driven approach to provide homeowners with actuarially sound, competitive rates with strong catastrophic event risk management, a crucial element in storm battered Florida. 

“Mangrove intends to build a partnership culture, and we look forward to partnering with Florida’s independent agents to provide stability and security to our mutual customers – Florida’s homeowners,” Weinstein said.

Mangrove’s launch is supported by its reinsurance broker of record, GallagherRe, and its capital markets advisor and sole structuring and placement agent, Gallagher Securities. Weinstein said the “expertise, analytics, and Florida leadership” from the partners “have been instrumental.”

Mangrove received its OIR approval on Jan. 15. The company has also been approved to participate in assumption of policies from Citizens Property Insurance Company, the state’s insurer of last resort, in April.

The company has applied for a Financial Stability Rating from Demotech, Inc., and plans to begin writing homeowners coverage for policyholders outside of Citizens as soon as possible after it receives the rating. 

Homeowners will soon be able to apply for Mangrove coverage by connecting with a Florida licensed independent insurance agent appointed to represent Mangrove.