Ron Hurtibise Sun Sentinel
The ability of Florida’s young homeowner insurance companies to manage a large catastrophic hurricane is “uncertain” despite recent strong financial performance, a new Fitch Ratings analysis asserts.
The report released last week, “Florida Homeowners Insurance Market Update: No Time for Complacency Following Hurricane-Free Decade,” says the short history and lack of experience with catastrophes would prevent many of Florida’s newly created insurance companies from earning “A”-level financial strength ratings.
The report does not suggest that newer insurance companies — which hold 60 percent of the market in the state — are in financial trouble.
In fact, it says that a decade without a hurricane making landfall has enabled Florida’s homeowner insurance market to replenish capital from 2004-05 losses and improve capacity to withstand future catastrophe events.
