Agents want eligibility cap study

Kyle Ulrich, president and CEO of the Florida Association of Insurance Agents, a trade group, says his organization’s board of directors supports a new study by the Office of Insurance Regulation. Agents in the association have reported seeing sharp declines in the number of private market insurance companies willing to cover their clients, even in the Panhandle and other northern Florida communities that insurers used to fight over.

“Most of our agents have never seen anything like this before,” Ulrich said. He added that FAIA “would be happy” to help the Office of Insurance Regulation study competitiveness across the state by providing names and numbers of insurers still writing policies in counties where its agents do business.

While the surplus lines market used to be a reliable source of coverage for clients pushed out of Citizens, the decision last spring by Lexington Insurance Co. to discontinue its home insurance division has left high-end homeowners who used to rely on Citizens with fewer choices, just like owners of lowerpriced homes, Ulrich said.

Late Thursday night, hours after the South Florida Sun Sentinel asked a spokeswoman for the Office of Insurance Regulation about the status of Bartleman’s request to Altmaier, Bartleman and her legislative assistant received an email from Alexis Bakofsky, Altmaier’s chief of staff.

“We have been diligently working on” Bartleman’s request, Bakofsky said in the email, “and hope to provide you an update soon.” She added, “This request requires a comprehensive look from OIR which takes time.”

The email was unclear as to whether the office agreed to conduct the study, Bartleman later said, adding, “I don’t know what it means.”

The office did not immediately respond to questions from the Sun Sentinel about Bartleman’s request.