Articles by Joseph L. Petrelli

Petrelli is the president and co-founder of Demotech, Inc., a Columbus, Ohio-based financial analysis and actuarial services firm. Visit Demotech.com for additional information.

Demotech: Investor Interest in Florida Will Diminish Without Legislative Action

As the first insurer rating agency to review and rate independent, regional and specialty insurers, we have a unique understanding of niche markets and serve as a trusted resource to third parties seeking to utilize regional and specialty companies. The …

COVID-19: No One Avoids the Impact

Workers’ Compensation Premiums Down 8% in First Half of 2020 Prior to discussing the results of our review of aggregate workers’ compensation insurance written in the U.S. during the first half of 2020 versus the first half of 2019, permit …

Update: Demotech Evaluating 2019 Results of Florida Carriers, Expects ‘Many’ Downgrades

Ratings agency Demotech is currently reviewing the 2019 fourth quarter earnings and year-end financials of the Florida insurers it rates after indicating in January that several Florida domestic insurers could receive rating downgrades. Demotech President Joseph L. Petrelli provided the …

An Update on Florida Insurer Downgrade Situation: Demotech Commentary

Demotech began involvement with the Florida homeowners’ insurance market at the State of Florida’s invitation in 1996 and today reviews and rates 46 insurers that write approximately 66% of Florida’s homeowners’ insurance premium. While Demotech reviews and rates 403 entities …

Workers’ Compensation Premiums Up 2.2% in First Half of 2019

In the aggregate, workers’ compensation insurers reported a modest increase in direct written premiums in the U.S. for the first six months of 2019 versus the same period 2018, up 2.2%. However, the 25 carriers with the largest dollar increase …

Commentary: It is a Catastrophe that No One Listens to the Experts on Florida

“If you don’t read the newspaper, you are uninformed. If you do read the newspaper, you are misinformed.” Although the author is unknown, this comment is often attributed to Mark Twain or Thomas Jefferson. Having spent more than 27 years …

Key Florida Players to Highlight Importance of Catastrophe Reinsurance

Although the role of catastrophe reinsurance in a wind exposed region is intuitively obvious to an insurance professional and most insurer rating agencies, the need for transparency, education and open dialogue on this important topic is necessary. Consumers, members of …

Citizens Depopulation and Rates – A Practical Solution

Today, the homeowners insurance marketplace in Florida is dominated by carriers that were start-ups in the 1990s. Many of them grew by participating in takeout programs initiated to reduce the policy count acquired by the Florida Residential Property Casualty Joint …

Analysis: Florida’s Insurers, Reinsurance and Catastrophic Storms

Since 1996, Demotech has rated most of the homegrown Florida domiciled insurers. Our efforts have focused on the assignment of Financial Stability Ratings® (FSRs) to all financially stable insurers, start-ups as well as established insurers. The top two writers are …

2012 Super Regional P/C Insurers™

Demotech Inc. Reveals Leading Multi-State P/C Carriers The original criteria and objective definition for Super Regional P/C Insurersª was established in the Feb. 12, 2007, issue of Insurance Journal. Prior to the establishment of an industry-wide definition, a number of …