Judge appoints receiver for insolvent insurer Weston

A Leon County circuit judge has appointed the Florida Department of Financial Services as a receiver for the insolvent Weston Property and Casualty Insurance Co.

Judge Angela Dempsey issued an order Monday, after the department last week requested the appointment.

Weston notified state regulators on July 27 that it was insolvent and agreed to go into receivership, according to court documents.

Dempsey’s order said Weston’s remaining policies will be canceled in 30 days.

Amid widespread problems in the state’s property-insurance market, Weston became the fifth insurer declared insolvent since late February, following Southern Fidelity Insurance Co., Lighthouse Property Insurance Corp., Avatar Property & Casualty Insurance Co. and St. Johns Insurance Co.

In a petition seeking appointment as a receiver, the Department of Financial Services’ Division of Rehabilitation and Liquidation listed a series of issues, including saying that Weston’s “assets if made immediately available are insufficient to pay all of its liabilities.”

Also, it said Weston had not fully placed reinsurance for the 2022-2023 year. Reinsurance, which is backup coverage, plays a critical role in Florida, in part because of the threat of hurricanes. “Therefore, respondent’s (Weston’s) continued operation is hazardous to policyholders, creditors and the public and receivership proceedings are appropriate pursuant to (state law),” the petition said.

The company’s customers will have to find coverage in a market where many private insurers have stopped writing policies and have dropped policyholders to stem financial losses.

That likely will result in more policies going into the state-backed Citizens Insurance Corp., which was created as an insurer of last resort but has ballooned in size during the past two years.