FedNat ups Florida hail loss to $11m after quota share reinsurance

Florida-focused U.S. primary insurer FedNat has increased its estimate of losses from the Brevard County hailstorm in late March by 57% to $11 million, after accounting for a share taken by its quota share reinsurance partners.

The Brevard County hail storm at the end of March has become the biggest catastrophe loss event of the quarter for insurers operating in Florida.

The hail storm struck is the most significant in Brevard County records and saw large hail of 2 inches in diameter fall in the Indialantic area, while more widely hail as large as coins fell across Canaveral Groves, Cocoa, Rockledge, Merritt Island and Satellite Beach for around a ten minute period.

Insurers United Insurance Holdings (UPC Insurance), Heritage Insurance Holdings, Inc. and HCI Group have all reported impacts from the hail loss event.

FedNat had previously announced a $7 million impact to its first-quarter 2019 results, net of quota share reinsurance, but this has now ben hiked by 57% to $11 million in a fresh statement from the insurer.

Given the increase in the hail storms expected impact, FedNat now reports that it expects to suffer $12.2 million of weather-related losses, net of its quota-share reinsurance, for the first three months of 2019.

The insurer noted that its subsidiaries FedNat Insurance Company and Monarch National Insurance Company both have above state-wide average residential property market share in Brevard County, which exacerbated the firms exposure to this particular event.

FedNat also reported adverse development related to a 2018 hail loss as well, $0.9 million, net of quota-share reinsurance, for hail storms that struck central Florida and South Carolina in the first half of last year.

FedNat also noted that its catastrophe reinsurance program would only kick in and cover losses if the hailstorm costs exceed $20 million for FedNat Insurance Company and $3 million for Monarch National Insurance Company.

The storm has dented Q1 profits for the Floridian primary insurers and analysts said that catastrophe and weather related losses are now heading above expectation for the quarter for this cohort.

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