Tampa startup Slide buys 91,400 homeowners policies from UPC Insurance

A quick-rising Tampa insurance coverage know-how startup has acquired greater than 91,400 Florida householders insurance coverage insurance policies from St. Petersburg’s UPC Insurance coverage, which determined final summer time to withdraw from the Florida market.

Slide, based in 2021 by a former govt of Tampa’s Heritage Insurance coverage, will tackle what quantities to $272 million in annual premiums, bringing the worth of all its premiums to $560 million.

UPC, which is owned by United Insurance coverage Holdings Corp., stated it might be canceling 72,000 householders insurance policies on Wednesday, with Slide instantly issuing substitute insurance policies. Slide CEO and co-founder Bruce Lucas stated the remaining insurance policies are attributable to finish in March and April, and can be up for renewal then.

“It’s basically an similar coverage, is the way in which we’ve structured this,” Lucas stated. “It’s the identical premium, it’s the identical coverages, it’s the identical deductibles. We’re utilizing the authorised UPC varieties till your pure renewal date. After which at renewal, you’ll be getting a renewal provide from Slide utilizing our varieties and our charges. In the intervening time, for those we’re taking on at this time, there’s successfully no change.”

Phrases of the deal weren’t instantly disclosed.

The acquisition is just like one final 12 months, when Slide acquired $400 million in premiums overlaying between 120,000 and 150,000 policyholders from Orlando’s St. Johns Insurance coverage Co.

Lucas stated changes to the state’s insurance laws, handed by the legislature in December, made firm leaders assured it was a protected time to increase their presence in Florida. The adjustments embrace a $1 billion fund to help struggling insurers, and restrictions on policyholders’ skill to sue them.

The UPC deal contains the corporate’s mental property, together with threat and underwriting information on greater than $1 trillion in insured worth and years of claims data. The info is vital to Slide’s enterprise mannequin, which makes use of it to construct customized insurance policies.

“It helps us to grasp the portfolio on a extra granular and correct stage, which helps us to raised underwrite the insurance policies and choose insurance policies which can be going to have an appropriate revenue margin,” Lucas stated. “We’ve already included that information, and we’re already utilizing it.”

United has stated it plans to withdraw homeowners policies in Florida, Louisiana, Texas and New York after its score was downgraded from an “A” by monetary evaluation agency Demotech. Slide’s Demotech score is presently an “A.” The corporate attributed some $36.5 million in losses to tropical storms, together with Hurricane Ian, through the quarter ending in September, in line with U.S. Securities and Change Fee filings.

Lucas stated Slide “in all probability posted a break-even, or a small loss, or a small achieve,” through the quarter wherein Ian hit, given its smaller coverage load. And it’s nonetheless flush with money. In late 2021, the corporate closed a Series A funding round of $105 million, adopted by an oversubscribed follow-on spherical of $30 million.

Observe developments affecting the native economic system

Subscribe to our free Enterprise by the Bay publication

We’ll break down the most recent enterprise and client information and insights you could know each Wednesday.

You’re all signed up!

Need extra of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get began.

Explore all your options

“We don’t actually need to lift any cash, not even to assist this transaction,” he stated. “We’re in discussions with a number of personal fairness companies a few a lot bigger transaction and partnership. However till one thing is finished, that’s discuss.”

Slide now has greater than 100 staff, and Lucas stated the corporate might add one other 50 or so after this deal, doubtlessly together with some from United who might discover themselves out of labor.

“We’re working with UPC to establish dislocated staff in order that we may give them a brand new dwelling at Slide,” he stated. “So it’s good for our native economic system, for certain.”