Florida Insurer Losses Swell After Hurricane Ian

Hurricane Ian has bulked up losses for three Floridian homeowners’ insurers, with one seeing its net loss for the quarter increase tenfold.

The market had already been grappling with profitability before the storm -- just two of the 10 largest domestic carriers reported profits in 2021, a phenomenon that has been blamed on a litigation boom in the Sunshine State -- and a slew of carrier exits.

Ian, which made landfall as a category four storm in late September, was Florida’s first major storm since 2018’s Michael.

HCI Group, which includes Homeowners Choice and TypTap, saw its net loss shoot from $4.9 million in Q3 2021 to $51.1 million for the same period in 2022.

The storm played a part in a net loss of $70.9 million for United Insurance Holdings, parent company of UPC Insurance, or more than four times its Q3 2021 net loss of $14.3 million.