Slide Insurance to offer some Florida Farmers policyholders coverage following insurer’s exit

Slide Insurance announced it has acquired renewal rights to 86,000 Farmers Insurance homeowners polices in Florida.

Back in July, Farmers Insurance Group announced it would pull its Farmers-branded coverage options from the state, impacting close to 100,000 Florida home, auto and umbrella policies. A month later, the insurer announced it was laying off 11 percent of its employees, about 2,400 people. Now 86,000 of those homeowners insurance policies will get renewal offers from Slide Insurance. Farmers agents will also be offered appointments with Slide so some homeowners will be able to keep their insurance agents.

• READ MORE: More bad news for Florida homeowners’ insurance market. Another company to stop renewing

The transition

Slide’s website breaks down how the acquisition will happen and when. Impacted policyholders will get a formal written notice from Farmers 120 days before the policy’s renewal date. Slide will then send an offer 45 days ahead of the Farmers policy expiration date. This only applies to homeowners policies (HO3 and HO6), not auto, renters or umbrella policies.

Impacted policyholders won’t have to do anything if they like the offer. Slide said the policy will automatically renew like it has in the past. The insurer will also notify mortgage companies.

• READ MORE: Senator calls for insurance fix after AAA won’t renew some Florida policyholders

Slide’s previous acquisitions

This is not the first time Slide Insurance has acquired policies after an insurance company was declared insolvent or after a company pulled out of Florida. In the company’s two year history, it’s taken on close to 150,000 policies after St. Johns Insurance Company’s and United Property and Casualty’s insolvencies. It has also offered to take about 100,000 policies from Citizens Property Insurance as the state insurer of last resort looks to depopulate.