Universal Insurance Holdings, Inc. has announced that its wholly owned subsidiaries, Universal Property & Casualty Insurance Company (UPCIC) and American Platinum Property and Casualty Insurance Company (APPCIC), have completed their 2018-19 reinsurance programmes.
Private participants in the reinsurance programmes include Nephila Capital (via Allianz Risk Transfer), Everest Re, RenaissanceRe, Chubb Tempest Re, and A+ rated Lloyd’s of London syndicates.
Jon W. Springer, President and Chief Risk Officer at Universal Insurance Holdings, said: “We are pleased with the completion and outcome of the 2018-2019 reinsurance programs for both of our insurance companies.
“With this renewal, the first following the impact of a major hurricane on Florida and other Southeastern states this past September, we have continued building on the recent trend of adding additional conservatism to our reinsurance programs while decreasing the percentage of premium spent on reinsurance.
“Importantly, we accomplished this goal while maintaining all our core relationships with our reinsurance partners who paid catastrophe losses in 2017 as a result of Hurricane Irma.”
UPCIC grew its total insured value by 17% in all operating states and 46% in states other than Florida over 2017, but maintained the same $35 million catastrophe retention for a Florida loss and $5 million retention for a loss involving other states.
The subsidiary also expanded the top of its reinsurance tower for a single Florida event to $3 billion, up $350 million from last year, which provides coverage for a 1-in-300 year event, and includes $1 billion of coverage with limits that automatically reinstate to protect against multi-event scenarios.
Additionally, UPCIC has secured over $365 million of catastrophe capacity with contractually agreed limits that extend to the 2019 wind season or beyond, all of which is below the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe layer, where reinsurance costs are the highest.
APPCIC continued its conservative trend by reducing the overall percentage of premium spent on reinsurance, while maintaining the same $2 million catastrophe retention and expanding the top of its reinsurance tower for a single event by 24%.
Springer continued: “In completing the 2018 renewal cycle, it is clear that our panel of leading reinsurance partners is eager to partner with companies like Universal, who are financially stable, have a strong infrastructure and can efficiently handle a large volume of claims from a major catastrophe.
“The continued support of these partners has helped put us in the strongest position in our company’s history as we enter the 2018 hurricane season.”
