North Pointe Reducing Commercial Policies; Announces Fla. Guaranty Assoc. Assessments

North Pointe Holdings Corp. has confirmed it will be reducing its Florida commercial policy count by approximately 40 percent and its commercial insurable value by almost 70 percent, according to James Petcoff, chairman and CEO of the Southfield, Mich. based property and casualty insurer.

Petcoff also said North Pointe has received an assessment from the Florida Insurance Guaranty Association Inc. to help pay the liquidation of the POE Financial Insurance Group.

The FIGA assessment will result in a $1.4 million pre-tax ($913,000 after-tax) expense in the second quarter of 2006. The assessment was based on two percent of North Pointe’s $69.1 million direct premiums written in Florida in 2005 and is due in July 2006.

“As previously announced, we anticipate reducing our Florida commercial policy count by approximately 40 percent, and our total Florida commercial insurable value by almost 70 percent,” Petcoff said. “This latest assessment for 2005 is directly related to the recent liquidation of three Florida insurance carriers.”

The assessment resulted from the liquidation of the POE Financial Insurance Group including Southern Family Insurance Co., Atlantic Preferred Insurance Co. and Florida Preferred Property Insurance Co.

Created by the Florida Legislature, FIGA services Florida policyholders’ claims of insurance for companies that have become insolvent and are ordered into liquidation. FIGA can assess other property and casualty insurance companies writing in Florida in order to fund deficits that may exist within the insolvent companies.

Source: North Pointe Holdings Corp.